Sam's Weight

[Chelsie]

Last night at our obedience class the trainer said Sam should drop some weight. I think he heard her becasue he didn't eat all of his dinner and breakfast! He eats Acana and we switch through the different regional formulas. This past summer I thought he was starting to get a little too much finishing on his ribs so I cut back his food some. He is getting 2 2/3 cups a day of the Pacifica formula right now. He weighed 75lbs in July and this past month at the vet he weighed 71lbs. According to the bag, a 66lb dog should get 2-3 1/4 cups depending on activity. He gets a good amount of excercise on most days and even on the days I work he gets a good walk in. Should I just cut his food back more or anything else I'm missing? Thanks so much!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I wouldn't cut back his food any more. 2 and 2/3 cups per day of Pacifica is only 1120 calories per day. (And the other Regionals formulas are close to the same). A 70 lb dog with a normal activity level (not sedentary, not working) needs about 1400 calories per day to maintain that weight. The fact that he lost 4 lbs in 3 months shows he is not taking in more calories than he needs.

I'd politely ignore the trainer's adivce on this. Eyeballing a doodle is not a good way to judge his weight. :) All that fur makes them look heavier than they are. I am sure that your vet would have told you if he/she felt Sam needed to lose weight, most vets are very good about assessing body condition. It sounds like you are doing everything right, I wouldn't change a thing.

[Chelsie]

Thanks Karen. I don't want to starve the poor guy but don't want him unhealthy either. Is it common for a young dog to not need a typical amount of calories? In the trainer's defense, she was touching him! Sam wasn't the only one she told this too either!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Maybe she just thinks that all dogs should be exceptionally lean. I think she's overstepping her bounds a little. You're paying her for training lessons, not for health or weight assessments. I generally don't pay much attention to trainers' opinions of health or nutrition issues, I've heard too many that were totally off-base. Between the vet and the trainer, I'll take the vet's opinion on health issues over the trainer's every time. If Sam was just at the vet, and the vet didn't think he needs to lose weight, I'm sure he doesn't. 

A calorie is a unit of energy; the exact amount required by any individual dog (or person) varies depending on many factors including activity level, body composition, general health, growth, and age. How old is Sam?

[Chelsie]

The trainer is very forward...you have to have thick skin with her! Sam is almost 1.5 years old. His activity level I would say is normal and I have always thought he was built more like the Golden Retriver. He does have loose skin and a "brisket" like thing on his neck! He has really mellowed out recently and I just chalked that up to him getting older. I also took him to pet food store that has a scale today and he weighed 76 lbs, which is closer to the weight he had this summer, so I think the vet's measurement could have been off a little. Thanks for all your help!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

We feed Acana Wild Prairie to Clancy.  In order to keep him at 63 pounds, we give him 2 cups per day. At five, he isn't that active.  I have found that I have to watch his weight carefully because he gains easily.  This is just how he is.

[Stella]

See my discussion on Green Beans!!! http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/green-b...

My 75 pound F1 LD was gaining weight on only two cups Acana per day!! Although, I was giving him spoonfuls of canned food (Petcurean Go!) as a reward for doing well at agility trials, and we had a very successful summer, so he got lots of rewards.... maybe that also had something to do with it! (Karen, forgot to mention that bit when we talked about his weight!)

If you are unsure if your dog is the correct weight, the Purina Body Condition Score is a good reference.
http://research.unc.edu/files/2012/11/CCM3_032387.pdf