Overweight

My one year old male Cavalier is getting too heavy.We are feeding Taste of the Wild Wetland foemula dry food, grain free.Vet says to switch to Iams or something like that, Its cheaper but not sure it is the right food. Yes, he needs more exercise. He doesnt eat all that much but obviously getting more calories than he is burning. I have a bad knee and unable to take him on walks like I should be doing. Considering Eukenuba weight control formula. Any suggestions on alternate diet?

Our Bentley has been on Science Diet reduced calorie small kibble for 2+ years. He loves it and it has done well for him; however, since he has been on prednisone he wants to eat 4 meals a day rather than two! I can see he's rounding out again so, hopefully, the weather will start straightening up so we can walk more. We ALL need it!

I'm a fan of that Taste of the Wild food, I would reduce the amount you feed and replace the volume with something healthy, guinness likes carrots that have been pureed (but only if they've been pureed). I know others on here use other things (green beans? non-fat yogurt?), so maybe they'll pop in with some extra suggestions.

Do you have someone in the neighborhood who might be able to walk Bentley a few times a week? Or is there a place you could go where he might be able to run on his own (assuming that he would run on his own). Exercise is really the way to go if you can arrange it for him.

I put Bosco on Blue Chicken and Rice (small breed) Healthy Weight. Over the course of the winter, I would guess that he dropped 2 lbs. He was never heavy, but borderline. We had a cold winter and neither of us were too active, so I credit the food with the good result.

Reducing the quantity of biscuit and bulking it out with fresh veg works well. My two like grated raw carrot, courgette and parsnip, cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, sweetcorn (maize), peas (not for Aled because they give him a runny tummy), melon and banana. Aled is on a more or less perpetual diet of Burns Weight Loss, but I don't know whether you can get it in the US; it's a high quality oat-based food and works well as a steady weight reducer. Would walking to a nearby place where he could run around with another small dog help Bentley's exercise? You could make enquiries at the local pet store for a suitable friend - then you could just sit down while the dogs exercise themselves!

Kate, Oliver and Aled

We have a fenced back yard and another small dog so they can run around the yard together and play. I dont leave them out there long because there are coyotes and cougars in our area and they dont go out there unless I am there to watch them. The coyotes cant get in unless they dig a tunnel under the chain link fence but a cougar could easily hop over, not to mention there are rattle snakes here.

Other people here leave their dogs out for hours at a time (continuously barking) but I do not think mine are 100% safe and maybe a little overly protective. As the weather gets better now I can spend more time with them outside.

Going to change the food and look into feeding some veggies too.

Bentley and Me said:

Going to change the food and look into feeding some veggies too.

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Bosco is easily 25 lbs. He and my six pound chin eat approximately the same amount. I think he has a low metabolism. Granted, the chin is much more active (always spinning around and jumping), but I'm amazed that they both consume about the same amount of food.