<p>They say you should be able to feel your dog’s ribs, but not see them. If you can’t feel them, he’s too heavy.</p>
<p>I guess I’d suggest reading your food label and measuring carefully, and if the suggested amount seems too paltry, try adding some green beans to the food. The beans fill them up but don’t add any weight. You might also buy a “maintenance” formula, if the brand you like has one.
Do you have a Trader Joe’s nearby? They have a maintenance, or senior, formula that is reasonably priced and probably comparable in quality to Sam’s, although I think the Cosco brand is a bit better. You want a food that isn’t really high in carbs.<br>
Also, if you could up his exercise a bit, it would definitely help. I think an hour a day is minimal for most large to medium dogs, which is probably about 2+ miles. My own lab didn’t start looking trim until we made the point of 3 miles a day.</p>
<p>My dogs (two female spayed standard poodles) adore vegetables and fruits as part of their regular diet. I give them apples, peppers, carrots. Broccoli gives them exceptionally stinky gas. (Members of the onion family–including garlic–are bad for dogs. So are grapes.)</p>
<p>I actually cook for my dogs. Most days they get vegetable soup with a little meat in it for dinner. I use up all the vegetables that are getting kind of bedraggled in the refrigerator. Today they got spinach, beets, and carrots and 1/4 pound of hamburger each. I add a dog vitamin supplement and some flax seed oil. This is all approved by the vet. I make the soup by pouring boiling water over everything in a big bowl, then letting it cool. I have friends who add canned pumpkin to their dogs diet–good bulk, low-calorie. </p>
<p>They get a tiny amount of kibble first thing in the morning and as a bedtime snack. </p>
<p>They get beef bones–four or five inches of soup bones–once a week.</p>
<p>They also get homemade treats that I make from chicken liver, oatmeal, and flax seeds. I train them in dog agility so I need high quality treats. </p>
<p>I watch their weight very closely. One weighs 51 pounds when at optimal weight, the other 52. If their weight changes too much I either step up the exercise (if over) or add oatmeal (if under).</p>
<p>I’m sure that what you’re doing has helped–it just may not be enough. Don’t go by the recommendation on the dog food package. The manufacturer wants you to use a lot. I train agility dogs, so my dogs get TONS of exercise and need to be in excellent condition, but I don’t feed them anywhere near the recommended amounts. I would feed 1 cup in the AM, 1 cup in the PM, plus continue the walks. Also, is there a way you can increase the intensity of his exercise, so that he’s running, not walking?–maybe by going to a dog park, or playing fetch? Many large dogs don’t get sufficient aerobic exercise if they’re walking at human pace, and they seem to have more fun running around.</p>
<p>FYI - lots of good advice so far. We had to put our pup (actually 10 year old dog) on a diet also … switched to diet food and had to experiment with the quantity … cut back about 10% on what we were giving her; which didn’t really work … then we cut buck to about 20% lower than originally and that was too much … and had to add a little back. The punchline was working with the vet we had experiment and figure out what works for our pup … and discovered being off just a little in quantity of food really affected her weight (says Dad who always threw a little extra in when he fed the pup).</p>
<p>My personal observation is that most of the charts on the dog food bags encourage over feeding.</p>
<p>We have LARGE breeds, a Newfoundland male @ about 130 lbs ( actually on the low end of the breed standard), and a retired racing greyhound male @ 85 lbs. Dogs are fed once a day, 2 1/2 cups dry plus a half of a one pound can for the Newf, 3 - 3 1/2 for the greyhound, plus an 1/8 th of a can for the greyhound. 5 out of 7 days, a minimal amount of table scraps (meat trimmings, veggies, potato skins, the occasional small amount of potato; never pasta, bread, starches or other “people” food). If there is a three pound fluctuation either way, we adjust. Both are at their “ideal” weight, but each tends to have seasonal fluctuations.</p>
<p>You may have to play around with the foods. Some are better than others. There are as many opinions as to the best food as there are on Yale versus Harvard. Trust your vet, and your vet techs. You do have to experiment, and monitor. Breed specific metabolism, age and level of activity should factor in as well.</p>
<p>Since he is wolfing down his morning meal, I’d keep that the same and cut the evening meal from 1.5 cup to 1 cup. That’s easy enough to do and he’ll probably not even notice.</p>
<p>Most common cause for dog obesity that I’ve seen: feeding them people food along with or instead of dog food. Is he getting table scraps in addition to his food?</p>
<p>No table scraps for this dog except the very occasional steak bone.</p>
<p>My kids think I’m crazy and say the dog isn’t fat. He isn’t, really, but I want him at optimal health. Yesterday I went to a friend’s house and met her dog, and he was soooo overweight. I felt sorry for his little joints.</p>
<p>I wondered about canned green beans. Ds1 was concerned they wouldn’t stay warm in the dog bowl. :)</p>
<p>My vet, when I lived out east, had a recipe for diet dog food that included lean ground meat, cottage cheese and green beans. Dog could eat it hot or cold. It worked as long I was willing to cook it every few days.</p>
<p>Our standard poodle gets a scant cup of kibble in the morning and evening. Usually flavored with a tablespoon something or another (I spoil her–she’s my baby). She’s healthy, happy and very agile considering she tore her ACL a couple of years ago (chasing leaves on damp grass). She loves cold carrots, so I give her those for treat when it’s hot outside, and a little less kibble for dinner. She likes fruit, too.</p>
<p>Do see who else is feeding the dog, including things like avocados, apples, etc. Our dog was finding the avocados before we did…and she can reach the apples on the dwarf tree.</p>
<p>I don’t belong to Sam’s Club, but I’ve heard their food isn’t great and has a lot of corn in it. Dogs don’t digest corn, so it goes right through them. Ditto with cats. When I switched my cats from a grain-heavy food (Science Diet) to one without grains, I was stunned by how much less mooshy and less smelly their poop became. </p>
<p>I’m doing the same trial and error as you are to figure out how much to feed my cats . . . I was feeding them too much and one ended up a few pounds overweight, so I’ve been cutting back and cutting back, trying to figure out the right amount. The overweight cat is FINALLY beginning to slim down.</p>
<p>Muscle weighs more than fat- while you don’t want puppies to grow too fast, I wouldn’t be worried unless he was snacking on pork rinds and kitty salmon all day.
However, dry food is pretty calorie dense- wet food has a lot more water- and is easier to digest( less poop)</p>
<p>I gave my dog a tiny bit of Orijen ( dry food) & freshpet dog food and occasionally supplemented with canned.</p>
<p>I’d say there’s your culprit(s) right there! My D says the same about our dog, who is very trim, and even though the vet says she is at a “perfect” weight, my D does not like being able to feel her ribs. Mysteriously, our dog gains weight over summer vacation, but is back to her regular weight within a month after D goes back to college.</p>
<p>Youdon’tsay- I just saw your post where you said you feed 3 1/2 cups per day. That does seem like a bit much, especially if it’s a carb rich food.
You might try giving him 1 full cup of dry along with a third of a can of wet food, or some veggies, once in the morning and then the same again at night. I wouldn’t feed just once per day. it’s much healthier to spread out the food a bit, and with large dogs who tend to bloat, it’s even more important that too much dry food isn’t given at once.
This is pretty much how I feed my lab, except that he also gets a third of a can of wet food for lunch, too.</p>
<p>Yep, lunch. He’s a spoiled one.</p>
<p>The total comes out to 2 cups of nutrient dense (grain free) dry food and 1 can of high quality (low grain) wet per day.</p>
<p>One of goldens weighed almost 130. Had his thyroid check…he is now 80 pounds. Yes, with his medicine he is at a perfect weight (and all the food he counter surfs does not go to his hips).</p>
<p>One of their favorite treats? Carrots…apple slices (yes, I slice apples for them) and regular treats.</p>
<p>Filler dog food in means more out- more poop. Muscle weighs more. Dog food bag recommendations are high. Feeling ribs is good. We were lucky- our dog only ate until he was full so we could leave the dry kibble out, the good stuff, for a small dog.</p>
<p>Aside- “Similar Threads” just below this has “I know it’s a dog eat dog world…” from the U of Chicago forum listed first. Hmm…</p>
and is easier to digest( less poop)</p>