Toby needs to lose weight..... :(

[Sandy]

When Toby had his vet appointment in the fall, he said Toby should lose a little weight.  He is on Acana Adult food, and I was giving him 3 cups a day.  I cut him back to 2 1/2 cups, and when we took him in to get his nails clipped today, he had GAINED a pound.  What????  Now, mind you, Toby is a fairly low energy doodle.  The vet suggested Medi-cal, but the dog analysis site lists Acana at 4 stars, and Medi-cal at 2.  My first option is, I suppose, to try the Acana Light and Fit, and see if that helps.  He still acts hungry on his 2 1/2 cups a day, so I can't imagine cutting him back further.  Thoughts?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

How much does Toby weigh, and which formula Acana are you feeding?

DO NOT FEED MEDI-CAL....and that's not because of the DFA website rtatings. It's because it's grabage, and it's Rx garbage, so you're getting ripped off on top of feeding your dog crap, lol.

Give me the above info and we'll see what we can do.

 

[Sandy]

Toby currently weighs 81 pounds, and is on the Acana Adult dog food formula (the dark blue bag).  Thank you for any thoughts you might have!

[BG and Gavin]

Maybe his exercise is down a bit due to it being winter time.  Hopefully spring fever will kick in and he will lose some weight through activity.

[Sandy]

He still gets walked the same amount, but he's basically just a low key guy.  Doesn't play fetch, and prefers to wander around the yard instead of running.  :)

[Leslie, Dexter & Kirby]

Could you feed him some low cal foods to help fill him up (like veggies?)?

One of our doodles (Dexter) had knee surgery recently and is crate confined for awhile so I feel your pain.  We have cut his food intake because it will be important that he stays around 80 lbs for the rest of his life to avoid any other problems.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Acana's website lists the feeding guidelines in kgs rather than lbs, so I had to do some calculating. 81 lbs is approx. 37 kg.

The three cups is the outside limit for a 40 kg dog (88 lbs) who gets an hour of exercise or less per day...so unless Toby is very active, and exercises more than an hour a day, 3 cups is a little too much to maintain him at his current weight, and definitely too much if he needs to lose.

To determine how much to feed a dog who needs to lose weight, here's what you do: First, determine the dog's ideal weight...your vet can help you with that. Then compare the feeding amount recommended for the ideal weight against the amount recommended for the weight the dog is currently at. Let's say it's a half cup less. Feed the lesser amount of kibble, and make up the difference with a half cup of green beans. (Heck, give him a whole cup of green beans if you like, they're very low in calories.)

I have a foster here who needs to lose some serious weight. He currently weighs 109 lbs, but should be about 85. The food he's currently eating calls for 3 cups a day for an 85 lb dog and 4 cups per day for a 110 lb dog. So he's getting 3 cups of kibble plus one cup of green beans. Because the green beans are high in fiber, they help him feel full.

You could also try switching to the Acana Light and Fit formula. It has 80 calories less per cup than the formula you're currently feeding.

 

[Sandy]

Thanks for your hard work and detailed response.  I cut him back to 2 1/2 cups about 2 months ago, and since then he gained a pound.  :)  Silly guy.  I will definitely check into the light and fit version of the Acana food and go from there.  I think the vet would like to see Toby between 70-75 pounds.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Our larger doodle, Clancy was 55 pounds when we rescued him last year  in March. By summer he was 61 pounds and by fall 63. We understand some gain from the shelter life to us, but he continued to gain.  We cut his food to 2 cups a day - exact cups - this is less than we feed our 51 pound Springer! We watch his food intake very carefully and he still gained.  The vet tech didn't think he was overweight but who can tell with all that fluff? I think Clancy should weigh less because he is so short. I would think that even though he has 'elephant legs', it must be hard to carry around 64 pounds.  Clancy is also a low energy guy, but he is getting more exercise with the training we are currently doing - and, you guessed it, he gained a pound.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Gaining doesn't surprise me if the exercise level is increased....muscle weighs more than fat. Too bad they don't do body composition tests on dogs!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Okay then, Clancy is quite muscle-filled!  teehee

[Stella]

What about treats??  Does he get many and what do you give him?  You might have to look for some lower calorie versions of those too.  I think changing to the Light and Fit would be a good idea, because then he would probably be still getting a similar volume of food but with less calories.  If you keep him on Adult and keep reducing the volume to reduce the calories, he will be hungry because he won't feel full. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

That's where the green beans come in. :)