Weight advise

[Josh Adams]

We ran into our vet and I asked her how Sam looked since it had been a while. She felt him and said he looked a little overweight. She called it “winter pudge”. I was a bit surprised because I don’t think he looks or feels overweight. When I feel him under his fluff (and do the “knuckle test”), I can lightly feel his ribs.

We feed him Fromm Large Breed Puppy Gold, 3 cups per day (1.5 cups morning and at night), which is on the low end of the bag’s feeding recommendation for his weight range. We never free feed. We've done a lot of training over the past couple of months. We use Purebites Chicken (average 10-12 pieces per day) and small pieces of cheese for high reward. We've scaled back since seeing our vet.

He gets at least two hours of walks per day (an hour in the morning and an hour at night) plus some indoor and outdoor playtime in the yard. Some days he also has a playdate. 

I’ve attached some photos. He’ll be 14 months this week and weighs 67 pounds (his parents were around the same).

[Josh Adams]

LOLL

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Yeah for high reward treats we use these beef sticks cut into tiny pieces... they are very stinky and drive Riley nuts :p

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

We’ve bought the sample size of different kibbles to use for training. One thing I want to mention is that doodles are not poodles and some are built more solidly, even when they have a more poodle build in their looks. My son has a a standard poodle that is quite tall but her weight is deceptively slight. One of my doodles is very poodle-like but he weighs more than a similar sized poodle would. This is his adult weight- within 2 pounds for the last 10 years. 

[Josh Adams]

Update: Sam had his one year check up today. Our vet still thinks he can loose a little weight. She feels the ribs but also feels some fat on top. Just a couple pounds. She thinks he gets plenty of exercise so she recommended we reduce his meals from 3 cups per day to 2.5 cups. That's still much lower than what Fromm recommended when I spoke to them a few weeks ago and much lower than the bag's recommendation. 

We told our vet we've been doing a lot training lately.  She said she prefers to reduce the calories from the kibble instead of the Purebites treats since training is important and the treats are all protein with low calories. 

By by the way, Sam's transition from the Fromm Large Breed Puppy to the Fromm 4 Star Chicken a la Veg has gone well. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Well, I'm glad the transition has gone well. 

[Josh Adams]

Thanks, Karen. I still think his weight is fine, but I suppose it doesn't hurt for him to trim down just a tad. In my opinion (and that of other dog owners who go to her), I think she likes to see bones on her doggie patients.

She did say his waist tuck was "fabulous", it's just the top and ribs. He's fully grown now. Weighs 65.5 pounds.

Karen, do you agree with her prioritizing the reduction from the kibble vs. the Purebites? 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's a tough call. The kibble contains all the vitamins and minerals he needs; the treats don't. BUT...the treats are pure protein, and it may be better to cut some of the fat and carbs in his diet (which are all coming from the kibble) than to cut the protein. 
It does sound like this vet may be a bit over zealous about keeping her patients extremely lean. I think maybe cut his food by just a quarter cup a day instead of half and see how that goes. You can always cut back more if needed. He is going to be getting more exercise too as the weather gets warmer. 

[Josh Adams]

Thanks, Karen. I always trust your judgment over a vet when it comes to nutrition. :) 

On a somewhat related topic (regarding his anal glands from my other post) she recommended we add some pumpkin into his diet, which may also help the weight loss. We're going to start that next week.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Any weight loss from adding pumpkin would be temporary, but it's not a bad thing to do. :)