Diet Advice, Help Please (Poppy)

[Brian M]

Hi
As i have mentioned in previous posts ref Poppys diet ,a quick jump on the scales this morning told me she had actually increased so i am a littlle ( a lot really) deflated .So can i pls have guidance she is fed 40 grms of Royal Canin Light biscuts then on top i put 20 grms of Applaws chicken/fish (i alternate this with white turkey meat) dog food then approx 4-5 baby carrots and a handfull of green beans and lastly on top a squirt of salmon Kronch oil ,this is fed twice a day.It does not look a lot so i will get a smaller bowl and i am nervous about increasing the carrots/beans as on one website it talks about upsetting natures balance with feeding too many greens ,so any ideas pls ,she gets the maximum exercise i can give with working all day and running Luke about at night so i am stuck ,do i reduce her food if so to what, just her biscuits or the overall amount.Help! When i feed her Pops is fed outside her crate and Daisy and Rosie inside theirs and poor Poppy eats hers quickly then lies outside the others crate salivating and barking cos she wants theirs as well ,needless too say all three girls are being fed this mixture though varing amounts.

[Daisy's Mom]

I'm not much help on quantity because I don't know how grams compares to the cup measurement I use, but I just wanted to say I do empathize with you.

We are working on Daisy's weight and it is not easy. She gets about 3/4 cup of dry food a day (divided into 2 meals), and a couple of treats. We occasionally give her some green beans or other cooked vegetables. And she is hungry all the time. Immediately after she eats, she runs to the pantry and scratches on the door looking for more food. I'm assuming at this point that it is the treats that get us into trouble because that is just not much dog food for a dog whose ideal weight is probably 22-23 pounds. I use all-meat jerky type treats, or fruit/veggie treats, but they must be more caloric than I think. I hate to cut them out altogether, as she gets one when I leave for work in the morning, and any other time I put her into her crate. I want going into her crate to be a positive thing. Right now, when I get out a treat, she runs into her crate and turns around looking at me wagging her tail.

She was in Obedience II class this Spring, and I think all those treats we used in the class may have caused her to gain weight in the last 3 months, even though we skipped her dinner those nights of class.

I do think she wants to eat less in the hot weather, so maybe that will help. I can already notice a little difference in her appetite.


I haven't tried any Light type dog food yet, but I do try to stick to foods that have no grain. Someone mentioned on this board that choosing a grain-free dog food can help reduce calories. I'm not sure about that, but it's worth a try. I use the Taste of the Wild dog food in the salmon variety because it has the least calories compared to the other flavors. All the flavors/varieties of that brand are grain-free.

Good luck to you! We're fighting the same battle of the bulge. It is so frustrating to feel like you've been careful and that your dog is hungry all the time, and then put them on the scale and see that they've actually gained. Depressing. I'm going to have Daisy's thyroid levels checked next time at the vet.

[Brian M]

Hi Daisy's Mum

Thanks for the advice and kind thoughts ,like you my girls apart form being pets i also think of them as my best friends so i would move heaven and earth to help them ,i had pondered about her thyroid so i think i will continue with the diet for a month or so then if no improvement get her thyroid checked out .The only treats i give the girls are ones made by Barker & Barker they are mini liver flavour tablets with a maximum daily amount of up to 170 and as i only give as a max 5 or 6 the calorific content must be minimal so or i can think of doing is lessening the overall amount i give her ,thanks again and hello from one Daisy to another.

[*Pauline*]

Thats quite a bit more than I feed. I'll just make up Dylan's food and I can weigh it for you....(BUT he is entire and that can make a difference).

Interesting, weight wise, I am giving more than I thought. The soft food I mix in must weigh much more than the dry as to my eye, I give more kibble than wet food. I use 40g JWB plus 70g of Nature Diet twice a day and I have a skinny boy! He does leave some though.

[Brian M]

Hi Pauline
After reading that you feed Dylan 80 dry and 140 wet daily a total of 220 grams i decided to double check all my weights .A couple of months ago a bought just for the girls a good set of salter kitchen scales ,i then weighed Poppy's empty bowl which came out at 216 grams then i put in 34 grams of Royal Canin Light then 20 grams of Applaws chicken or fish making a total of 270 grams plus as a filler carrots and beans and salmon oil on top .So Poppy's daily dog food total is 108 grams so out came the human scales again and i weighed myself six times then myself and Poppy six times and took an average and repeated it all with Daisy then Rosie and HURRAY i mucked up first time and reported incorrect readings the correct ones are

POPPY 14.30 KGS
DAISY 7.40 KGS
ROSIE 7.40 KGS

So the diet is working it just seems i am not ,so pleased to say after me panicking and feeling glum on with the diet.

[*Pauline*]

How much has she lost and what is her goal weight? Well done on her progress so far

[JeanKC]

I'm not much help on quantity because I don't know how grams compares to the cup measurement I use, but I just wanted to say I do empathize with you.

We are working on Daisy's weight and it is not easy. She gets about 3/4 cup of dry food a day (divided into 2 meals), and a couple of treats. We occasionally give her some green beans or other cooked vegetables. And she is hungry all the time. Immediately after she eats, she runs to the pantry and scratches on the door looking for more food. I'm assuming at this point that it is the treats that get us into trouble because that is just not much dog food for a dog whose ideal weight is probably 22-23 pounds. I use all-meat jerky type treats, or fruit/veggie treats, but they must be more caloric than I think. I hate to cut them out altogether, as she gets one when I leave for work in the morning, and any other time I put her into her crate. I want going into her crate to be a positive thing. Right now, when I get out a treat, she runs into her crate and turns around looking at me wagging her tail.

She was in Obedience II class this Spring, and I think all those treats we used in the class may have caused her to gain weight in the last 3 months, even though we skipped her dinner those nights of class.

I do think she wants to eat less in the hot weather, so maybe that will help. I can already notice a little difference in her appetite.

Our Cavaliers get close to what you're feeding... 3/4 cup or so split between two meals, and a lunchtime treat. Beauregard was at the vet today and weight 22.2 lbs. Elvis is a bit heaver (and taller/longer). Neither are fat... but they're not skinny either. They act like we're starving them to death.

[pippa]

Hi
i am nervous about increasing the carrots/beans as on one website it talks about upsetting natures balance with feeding too many greens

I feed green beans a few times a week and wondered whether I should,I would be interested in what you found out about feeding greens.

[Brian M]

Hi
Poppy weighed 15.2 kilo about four weeks ago and with her being considerably larger than either Daisy or Rosie i would love her to achieve about 10 kilo (22 lbs) or near, so in four weeks she has lost about 1 kilo.We take them with us up to Northumberland for a weeks holiday with lots of walking in the last week in June so hopefully by then she will be about 12 kilo .

[chloe92us]

My Casey has been on a diet for about 6-8 weeks now? and she has lost 4 pounds!!!!! She has about 4 more to lose I think. At first she acted like she was starving but now she is used to it.

I buy a big bag of frozen broccoli florets and give those as treats. They actually really like them frozen and chew on them for several minutes, they're like a chew stick that way and it adds a little vitamins and a healthy treat at the same time.

Karlin gave me great advice on helping Casey to lose weight, and you have to understand it is a slow process. I think Karlin had a rescue that lost 6 pounds and it took over 4 months. So be patient. If she's losing any weight it sounds like you're on the right track!