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What are your reccomendations for food for an overweight Cavalier?

Our two are very tubby, every since they were spayed and neutered they piled on the pounds and its been really hard to control their weight but I've decided i'm going to crack down on it because our first cavalier was overweight in old age and we lost him at 12, I think if he had been slimmer he may have lived a bit longer. They are both 10.5 kg which is considerably over weight I think, about 4 pounds over what they should be ?
Also is it better to feed them twice a day? They're on one meal a day at the moment. How much should they be fed in grams around? We have trouble deciding portion amounts!
 
Hi

With Daisy ,Rosie and Lily I feed 15 gramme twice a day of Royal Canin Light and with our big girl Poppy I give her 15 gramme of Royal Canin Satiety twice a day plus assorted added vitamins and green beans ,broccoli,and carrots as a filler .With pops since Nov shes dropped from 13 .4kg to just over 11.1 kg and of course increased walkies .

ps dont forget to clean their teeth.

Best Wishes

bri
 
Hi there. We had the same problem with our girl Belle after she got spayed. It took less than a year for her to pile on the pounds, even though she doesn't eat much and is quite active (yet napping is her favourite pasttime). We took her to the vet and he recommended Hills Science Diet. We were recommended to feed her a very small bowl of this two times a day and absolutely NO treats and only a piece of the kibble if we wanted to treat her, it's very strict!! She lost two pound the first 6/7 weeks. I've given in after that and I give her a little piece of carrot, apple or lean turkey for a treat, because it's tough not to treat them, you know? But that's what we're doing for now. Best bet is to take them to the vet to get a check up and a professional recommendation. The diet is very strict, but you have to stick to it if you want it to work, poor little mites. Good Luck!
 
Cut the amount they get by a third to begin with (up to a half if they have been greatly overfed), stop treats except for pieces of fruit or veg, and give at least an hour of walks each day. If they don't start to lose after a week or two then cut their meal in half. Talk to your vet about how overweight they are and how much they should be fed. There is no correct weight for all dogs nor correct amount to feed -- it varies by individual. Dogs don't tend to pile on weight simply because they were neutered -- they only need a tiny bit less food (about 10-20% for *some* dogs) after a neuter. It is that most people neuter at the time a young dog is turning into an adult and needs less calories anyway -- adults eat less generally than puppies, sometimes half as much -- adults are not as active as puppies either -- and also people tend to overfeed their dogs anyway. Most dogs I see around my area are overweight and almost all are not neutered!

I think diet foods are a waste of money (you just pay for filler). Instead just as with people, maintain a quality diet but far less of it, stop snacks for the dog, and increase activity. Few owners wouldn;t benefit from more walks!! :)

I'd also recommend buying smaller food dishes -- I use small cat dishes that hold no more than 8 ounces of food. Most dogs would not ever need more than 8 ounces in a day. I have three cavaliers than eat only 4 ounces a day.

Doesn't matter how many times you feed, but how much. Start measuring/weighing their food at every meal so you are not topping up the bowl. A small small bowl really helps control portions.

Studies have shown that on average your dog will die 3-4 years sooner if overweight. Being fat is the single biggest contributor to early onset disease and poorer health -- plus every single pound makes their hearts work far harder and thus for cavaliers, being overweight is an early death sentence -- their heart valve will wear out earlier and this is the number one cause of death in the breed.

There is lots of info on overweight issues and feeding and lowcal treats in the Library section. (y)

Also see (with pictures):

http://roycroftinformationcenter.com/Roycroft Cavaliers/Roycroft Cavalier Care Feeding new.html

From which:

HOW DO I GET MY DOG TO LOSE WEIGHT?
The same as humans--less food and more exercise!

Less Food: cut back to about 1/2 of what you had been feeding. If you are feeding kibble, take 1/2 of what you plan on giving your dog and soak it long enough so that it expands. Mix the dry in with the wet expanded food. The expanded food will help your dog feel a bit more full right after eating. Then add about 1/2 cup of green beans---fresh or thawed frozen (canned has too much salt) to the top and feed. The green beans are a very low calorie filler and quite good for your dog too!

If the dog isn't losing weight within 2 weeks, cut back on the food even more.

Some Ideas for More Exercise: try to take your dog for a walk daily, especially if you don't normally do so. If you can't do that for whatever reason, attempt to play fetch or whatever with your dog for 15 minutes a day. Tether your dog to you while you are working around the house so the dog has to go with you instead of sleeping on the couch. Try a buster cube with a few treats inside. That might help keep the dog busy for a bit. Throw the dog's kibble so it has to go and get it--either the treats or even the dog's entire meal.
 
thanks all this is really helpful! they are both quite active and love to swim, my mom has been in charge of feeding before and because there are so many people coming in and out of the house they always get treats that they shouldn't, but i'm going to take charge of the feeding now and sneak around and catch people in the act of treating them... haha, theyve been on 1 chicken breast a day diet which didn't work (maybe it was because they got treats inbetween :sl*p:) but I really need this to work! especially with Ali getting a little older. it will work!! lol
 
Hi

With Daisy ,Rosie and Lily I feed 15 gramme twice a day of Royal Canin Light and with our big girl Poppy I give her 15 gramme of Royal Canin Satiety twice a day plus assorted added vitamins and green beans ,broccoli,and carrots as a filler .With pops since Nov shes dropped from 13 .4kg to just over 11.1 kg and of course increased walkies .

ps dont forget to clean their teeth.

Best Wishes

bri

do you mean 115 grammes :confused:
 
theyve been on 1 chicken breast a day diet which didn't work (maybe it was because they got treats inbetween :sl*p:) but I really need this to work! especially with Ali getting a little older. it will work!! lol
I would definitely feed them a quality kibble rather than feeding them 'people' food like chicken breast, because a good quality kibble will include all the nutrients they need to be healthy. A reasonably priced dog food such as James Well Beloved is much healthier for their meals than chicken breast, or there are several higher priced kibbles such as Royal Canin, etc.
 
Hi

Nope I mean 15 gramme twice a day .I bought some accurate scales and I weigh to the exact
kibble ,then add green beans ,broccoli ,cauli and carrots plus 1/2 of a rice cake (the healthy type no salt ones from Holland and Barrett ) and one or two whitebait plus a teaspoon of H&B natural bran and one square of shredded wheat all per Meal .Then on their evening meal only which is as as above but I add in addition to it ,a squirt of Kronch Salmon oil ,a few drops of evening primrose oil, one measured scoop of Keepers Mix and all of the following in a very small scoop (the scoop supplied in the Plaque Off tub ) of each of the following

Plaque Off
Barker and Barker-multi vitamin powder
" " -fenugreek powder
" " -garlic and liver powder
" " - antioxidant powder
" " - plain garlic powder


all from barker and barker
http://www.dogtraininginfo.co.uk/contact_us.html

So as you can see feeding time for my four is an exact science and a very time consuming process ,but the girls are all happy to sit sit there and watch and wonder what the silly old bxxxxx is up to now ,but it keeps
me happy fussing over them and they all seem OK from it all .I think what I feed is a combination of many tips I have picked up from reading and browsing the internet over time ,don't ask me yet about cleaning their teeth as I think you can imagine that for me that wont be a simple process either .:confused:
 
Yes they're on Bosch food at the moment but we're switching to arden grange soon, which is good quality as far as I know, its made with human grade meat meals rather then meat derivitives. Poor ali is going in for a seizure test soon so I don't want weight to be a factor in her health.
 
Hi

Nope I mean 15 gramme twice a day .I bought some accurate scales and I weigh to the exact
kibble ,then add green beans ,broccoli ,cauli and carrots plus 1/2 of a rice cake (the healthy type no salt ones from Holland and Barrett ) and one or two whitebait plus a teaspoon of H&B natural bran and one square of shredded wheat all per Meal .Then on their evening meal only which is as as above but I add in addition to it ,a squirt of Kronch Salmon oil ,a few drops of evening primrose oil, one measured scoop of Keepers Mix and all of the following in a very small scoop (the scoop supplied in the Plaque Off tub ) of each of the following

Plaque Off
Barker and Barker-multi vitamin powder
" " -fenugreek powder
" " -garlic and liver powder
" " - antioxidant powder
" " - plain garlic powder


all from barker and barker
http://www.dogtraininginfo.co.uk/contact_us.html

So as you can see feeding time for my four is an exact science and a very time consuming process ,but the girls are all happy to sit sit there and watch and wonder what the silly old bxxxxx is up to now ,but it keeps
me happy fussing over them and they all seem OK from it all .I think what I feed is a combination of many tips I have picked up from reading and browsing the internet over time ,don't ask me yet about cleaning their teeth as I think you can imagine that for me that wont be a simple process either .:confused:
Ah sorry i though just 15 grams kibble and nothing else so I was like :confused: you must be very devoted to your cavaliers! Unfortunately Ali doesn't have that much in the way of teeth to clean, she's worn them down so much from chewing constantly she is rather obsessed, rocks in particular and giant sticks twice her size :eek: I remember her first ever walk at 4 months old she picked up a stick that was three times the length of her and she hit people with it when we were walking by :lol:
 
Yes they're on Bosch food at the moment but we're switching to arden grange soon, which is good quality as far as I know, its made with human grade meat meals rather then meat derivitives. Poor ali is going in for a seizure test soon so I don't want weight to be a factor in her health.

Arden Grange is very good, I have fed it in the past, but was having problems getting the large bags, so I switched to James Wellbeloved, which is just as good.
 
My two have both been done and still weigh what they did before the operations. I walk them for at least an hour everyday even longer when we go out as a family into the country on the weekends. Ziggy is a lot bigger in height/ length weighing 10.6kg and he gets 60g twice daily of Burns kibble Dotty is on the bottom weight and height for the breed weighs 6.6kg she is fed 40g twice a day I give them boiled chicken/ Turkey with this occasionally.
Treats wise I am mean sea jerky or JWB rice cakes or logic chew s which are good for the teeth.
 
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