I have a dog named Gus. We adopted him and when we did he was in fine shape. after a year, he is pretty fat. We only feed him once a day (in the evening). I tried persuading my mom to try feeding him twice a day (same amount but in two different servings) and she wont do it because he is in his crate while we are at school/work during the day, and she doesnt wanna have him suffer by having to go while we are gone. Anyone got any suggestions on what i should do and when we should feed the dog??Thanks.
Fat Dog help!!!
- Thread starter Carriejk19
- Start date
If you feed the dog a bit earlier than normal, and MAKE SURE he goes before he is put in his crate, he will be just fine. As it is, giving him all his food in the evening is a big part of why he is fat. I'm guessing that in the evening you and your family are tired after a long day and a big supper and don't really feel like going out for a long walk. So if he is fed a smaller amount in the evening, and couple that with a long walk he should start to loose weight. Also, the type of food you feed does have a big impact. If you are feeding a low-quality "grocery store brand" it is full of fillers and crap that seems to be designed to make a dog gain weight.
Mordy can give you more informtaion about a different type of food to switch him to, but keep in mind that Science Diet really isn't that great of a food. There are better, healthier options out there.
Mordy can give you more informtaion about a different type of food to switch him to, but keep in mind that Science Diet really isn't that great of a food. There are better, healthier options out there.
before you do anything else, examine the food you are feeding. i'll say it now so it's out of the way most popular, highly advertised brands are poor quality, despite what the commercials tell you.
don't feed a "diet" or "weight management" food. most of them are too low in protein and fat to keep a dog healthy and just supply lots of (unnecessary) carbs.
first of all, i would definitely suggest feeding twice a day. if you feed first thing in the morning, right after getting up, you should have plenty of time to let the dog potty before everyone leaves the house. ideally you would also take him for a walk for that and not just let him out to do his business - movement stimulates the bowels. going for a brisk 10 minute walk with him before you go to school would be awesome already but if at all possible, work it up to half an hour. take it easy in the beginning, just like overweight people, overweight dogs can easily injure or overexert themselves.
feeding a good quality food and increasing exercise slowly should do the trick. go for another walk in the afternoon/evening, it will give your dog a different type of exercise than just running/playing in the back yard.
i don't know what you are currently feeding your dog or what is locally available to you, so making a recommendation is a little difficult right now. you will need to determine what would be the dog's ideal weight and feed accordingly. many people make the mistake and feed however much the bag o food tells them to feed a dog of a specific weight group - not taking into consideration that a dog who weighs 30 pounds and should ideally weigh 25 pounds should eat the amount appropriate for a 25 pound dog and no more.
don't feed a "diet" or "weight management" food. most of them are too low in protein and fat to keep a dog healthy and just supply lots of (unnecessary) carbs.
first of all, i would definitely suggest feeding twice a day. if you feed first thing in the morning, right after getting up, you should have plenty of time to let the dog potty before everyone leaves the house. ideally you would also take him for a walk for that and not just let him out to do his business - movement stimulates the bowels. going for a brisk 10 minute walk with him before you go to school would be awesome already but if at all possible, work it up to half an hour. take it easy in the beginning, just like overweight people, overweight dogs can easily injure or overexert themselves.
feeding a good quality food and increasing exercise slowly should do the trick. go for another walk in the afternoon/evening, it will give your dog a different type of exercise than just running/playing in the back yard.
i don't know what you are currently feeding your dog or what is locally available to you, so making a recommendation is a little difficult right now. you will need to determine what would be the dog's ideal weight and feed accordingly. many people make the mistake and feed however much the bag o food tells them to feed a dog of a specific weight group - not taking into consideration that a dog who weighs 30 pounds and should ideally weigh 25 pounds should eat the amount appropriate for a 25 pound dog and no more.
He is a pitbull mix, and we feed him Purina One. We researched food when we first got him and learned how to tell good food from bad. The main ingredient in purina one is real chicken, and we read that a meat or chicken main ingredient is better than something else.When we got him, he was around 40-50 lbs. now he is around 60ish. ill try to get picture of him soon