Weight Issue.....

[Tracey & Spike]

Hello!
So here is the deal. We had Spike fixed in the beginning of June. Shortly before the deed we transitioned from Acana Puppy to Grasslands. At that time Spike weighed in at 30lbs. He was always near or on the 30lb mark. He is a mini and his adult weight should be between 30-35.

We now weigh in at 38 lbs. Not good! His neuter weight was 30. Two weeks later he was 31. On July 22 he was 33. and today. 38. When he hit the scales today they started making noises about weight vet food. Um. No thanks!

The feeding instructions on grasslands is hard to gauge since Spike falls in the middle.
22lbs = 1 1/3 cups per day
44lbs = 2 1/3 cups per day
Both based on active dogs. Which Spike is.

We've been feeding him 1 1/2 cups per day. He honestly doesn't get a lot of treats. We aren't in class right now so the training treats are put away. He gets on random a couple of mini old mother hubbard p'nutter cookes. He does get 1 Timbit a day. Any canadian will understand this. Other than that he gets carrots and pears every day along with a table spoon of pumpkin and a tiny amount of plain Cheerios on his breakfast.

In addition we did spend over the course of the summer two weeks at my aunts house. Where I know Spike hoovered a few mouthfuls of crap cringe worthy food. But nothing that would account for an 8lb gain.

I'm coming up on the time where I need to buy a new bag. Should I switch? To what? Is it possible that grasslands is just to fatty or rich for him? Would one of the LID Acana foods be better? Less in calorie? Ideally I'd like to stay with our loved ACana. But if a brand switch is needed I will do it. Just for the love of all things doodle..... Not to the vet crap!

An 8lb gain in such a short amount of time is not sitting right. I want to nip whatever this is in the butt before we have serious weight issues. I know weight gain after a neuter is common. But he is on a steady uphill climb. His weight chart is nauseating!

[Stella]

I'm in Canada and use Light and Fit for my guy :)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Here's the calorie/cup breakdown for the formulas mentioned:

Grasslands 423

Wild Prairie 434

Light & Fit  360

Singles: Lamb 395

             Pork  395

             Duck  403

So you can see that switching from Wild Prairie to the Duck & Pear saves 31 calories per cup. Using one of the other two Singles formulas would save 39 calories per cup. 

Switching from Grasslands to Light & Fit saves 63 calories per cup.

When weight loss is your goal, follow the feeding guidelines for the goal weight, not the current weight. 

[Tracey & Spike]

Thanks so much for this. It's really very helpful! Is it okay to flip him to the singles line? I know it's probably a big misconception but he doesn't have any food issues that would warrent a lid diet.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

There's absolutely nothing wrong with using an LID formula for any dog, and you can rotate from one to another to provide some variety. 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Two of our dogs got the exact same serving of food and one weighed 42 pounds and one weighed 59. One is very calm and one was not.  Sometimes the individual dog metabolizes their calories differently so needs a different serving from the recommended one on the bag.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yes, metabolism varies from dog to dog, just like it does from person to person. Among the factors that play a role in that is the individual's percentage of lean mass; very muscular individuals burn more calories than those with less muscle mass, even though their weights may be the same. That's true of dogs as well as people. The feeding guidelines are just that, guidelines. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

Luca eats almost as much as Calla, of course she supplements her intake when she can, and he weighs about 20 pounds less than her.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

:-}  I love that she 'supplements where she can.'