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!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Just so I understand correctly, his activity level has not gone down one tiny bit since he was neutered? 

And the vet feels that he is too heavy? Forgetting what he is "supposed" to weigh according to breeder predictions, which really mean nothing at all, the vet assessed his body condition as being too heavy for his frame? What weight did they think would be right for him? Are we looking for him to lose 5 lbs? 

He's getting the number of calories that a 33 lb adult dog would need to maintain that weight from a cup and a half of Grasslands a day, without any treats at all.

We've talked about those Timbits before. They are extremely high in calories. One Timbit equals one tenth of the number of calories a 30 lb dog needs per day, and some if them are even more than that. (the sour cream glazed variety equals 15%!!!) Those Timbits need to stop. One tenth of a dog's calorie requirement every day should not come from fried dough. There's no nutritional value there at all, just fat and sugar. I am sure that the Timbits have a lot to do with Spike's weight gain. He isn't growing any more and his calorie requirements are lower. 

Grasslands is not too "rich" (same thing as too fatty) for him. Calories are calories; if you take in more than you burn, you gain weight. So to lose weight, you either have to take in fewer calories or increase your activity, or both. 

You could switch to Acana's Light & Fit which is considerably lower in calories; follow the feeding guidelines for a 33 lb dog if that's his target weight.  Or you could stay with Grasslands, give him only one cup per day, and add half a cup of no sodium added canned green beans to each meal (total 1 cup of green beans per day). Either way, the Timbits have to go. I'd also stop the Cheerios and I'd swap the peanut butter cookies for plain chicken or turkey Pure Bites. Are the pears fresh, canned, or what? How much does he get each day? 

[F, Calla & Luca]

Wow, I just looked up Timbits. Up too 90 calories! and nothing good about them but i guess the taste.

[Tracey & Spike]

Yes. Understood. What he was getting was probably around the 25 cal mark. It's just one thing that's so easy to ignore. Since it's just one. An addiction we both need to break I think. I'm going to cut them out. I think I might buy a bag of pure bites or something to give to our friend so she has something for Spike.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

That's a good idea. 

Just one Timbit every day for a person would add up to one lb of weight gain in 8 weeks. :) 

[Tracey & Spike]

Thanks Karen :)
I do confess the sin of the drive through Timbit. It his one thing. In fact he has a lady friend there who gives it directly to him. I swear he is the highlight of her day. Truly. She's seen him every day since the very day we brought him home. I'll figure something out. Although I should note that said Timbits are smaller than normal. Completely plain. No glaze. No sugar. But still. As hard as it will be. If they have to go. They will.

So it sounds like I am feeding him too much. So I should drop to 1 cup from 1 1/2 cup per day. I do like grasslands. For future reference once I get a handle on him can I swap in a bag of singles here and there? Just to mix it up.

It's a hard thing to figure out. It is stupid easy to over feed. But just as easy to under feed. It's so hard to tell what is happening either way. I don't want to starve him out. He's always going to his bowl looking for food. On the same point I don't want to proverbially blow him up.

In terms of the pears and carrots they are fresh. And the carrots aren't the baby kind. He gets a slice of a pear. Or a chunk of carrot. Not much of either. I never thought about green beans. I never would have thought about canned. Canned pumpkin. Yes. Green beans of any kind have Never been on my radar. I'll see what I can find.

His activity level hasn't really changed. He spent all winter going to class once a week. He doesn't have that now. However now he is outside all day every day. Chasing every leaf that blows through. He is in the pool as much as possible. I have a starter agility set I work through with him once or twice a week. Plus playtime with the neighbourhood dogs. Ball time. Etc.

The vet is not asking us to have him drop weight. It's more the clucking about the steady gain. The vet said he won't complain about the weight he is now if it's maintained. He's okay..... Perfect actually....frame wise. He just doesn't want this type of drastic increase to continue especially since I will be doing agility with him. If he gets much heavier he will be too big for his frame.

I don't care if he drops weight. There is no weight loss goal. He isn't fat. At this point.........It's just the steady uphill climb that worries me. I don't want the weight to become an issue. I know it can easily with them. I want to be a good dood mom and stay ahead of the game. He will be two in December. We have many happy healthy years ahead.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

You're not feeding him too much if all he was getting was a cup and a half of Grasslands a day. One cup of Grasslands has 423 calories. To maintain a weight of 33 lbs, an active young dog would need about 600 calories per day, so you can see that a cup and a half is not too much. It's the extras that are contributing to the weight gain.

I would not cut back to a cup of food a day without adding the green beans to help fill him up, especially if he's the kind that's always going to the bowl to look for food. That's why the Light & Fit might be another good option, as he can eat more food and still reduce his calories. 

The Singles formulas actually are lower in calories than the Grasslands, so that's another option as well. The feeding amounts will vary, but use the guidelines for a 33 lb dog.

JD, the ultimate carnivore, loves canned green beans. I hope Spike does too. 

If the Tim Horton drive through is something you two just can't give up, ask the lady to give him a little piece of chicken or turkey breast, or a tiny piece of cheese instead of a Timbit. I don't know if that's a possibility, but if she really cares about him as much as she seems to, maybe she'd be willing to try it. Just don;t get into a discussion with her about trying to get his weight down. Tell a white lie and say that he's been having tummy troubles, or the vet thinks he's allergic to grains, or wants you to reduce his fat intake, or something along those lines.

I think you are wise to want to keep his weight from continuing to climb to a point where it does become a problem. You're being proactive, good for you. 

[Tracey & Spike]

Thanks Karen. That's all I want to do. Get a handle on things so it doesn't become a problem. Especially when the long cold winter is not far off.
I covered today. It was 110f today with humidity. So I left Spike in the air. When I got home his "Timbit" had turned Orange and crunchy. A carrot.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I hope he wasn't too disappointed. ;)

[Carla, Lucca and Izzy]

Lucca and Izzy are medium GD's and weigh 48-50 lbs. They WERE on the Acana Wild Prairie. Izzy is active, Lucca is lazy:) I was only giving them 1 1/2 cups per day even for their weight. Which is lower than the recco weight on the bag. Lucca could use to lose around 5 lbs since he is not active. Someone had suggested the Light and Fit in another post. I contacted Acana and it is only sold in Canada. She suggested I try their limited ingredient line as it is lower in fat. I just transitioned them both over to the Duck and Barlett Pear. So far so good. We'll see what happens to their weight in another month or so.

[Tracey & Spike]

I actually haven't seen the light and fit and I'm in Canada. I know Spike does love the duck and pear. Ditto for the lamb and apple. Let me know how it goes.

[Cathy, Josie and Piper]

Josie was slowly gaining weight too over the winter weighing in at 57. The vet was concerned because she was getting too heavy for her fine legs. I switched her over to the Acana Light and fit. She loves it and doesn't feel hungry on it. We have also increased her activity, and got her a puppy to play with( I know a little drastic, and not usually recommended for weight loss, lol) she is now down to 53 lbs and looks so much better. I highly recommend the Acana Lit and Fit.
We live in Canada as well, it's not sold in a lot of stores. I get it at Global pet stores and our private pet Store in town will order it in for us. I know I've seen it around at other stores, you can find the stores that sell it on the Acana website.

[Tracey & Spike]

I'm going to check out my go to store tomorrow to see what they have. I know they have the whole line but I just don't remember seeing the light and fit. Winter. That's my fear. Although we will be back in class. It's not the same as being outside playing all day.