Please note: I am not having anxiety or deciding that we are bad puppy parents. When did it become ok to shame people, puppies or children about their weight?! Strangers no less. And yes we are doing something about it. I am making a vegetable stew (carrots, fresh apples, sweet potato and peas in a chicken broth) to go over her low fat kibble with a soupspoon of chicken breast.
But open statement to the bi*** who wasn’t the first or last, to tell us that the breed is prone to heart failure so she should lose 10 pounds. Her weight is 26 and she should lose a pound or two. Maybe three…say it again and I will ask you when you’ve scheduled your next facelift…or lipo.
Our first dog was overweight. And it was our fault. We overfed her. She had an appetite with no end. But it wasn’t like she was coming down to the kitchen in the middle of the night to make herself a snack. She only ate what we fed her. Her end of life was made tougher by being overweight. The current dog isn’t overweight. We just do not feed her as much as the last one.
But don’t criticize the lack of discipline of my dog. She is spirited.
I raise service dogs and we have to very careful about weight. It’s hard for hungry dogs. I have to measure kibble and adjust regularly up and down. No treats are allowed for training incentives either.
It is always the humans’ fault if a dog is overweight. They can’t feed themselves. I am overweight, but my dog isn’t, for that very reason. If I had someone else controlling my diet, I’d be better off.
@bevhills, you are a devoted dog mama and a kind and generous person, and I say this with great affection. Am I correct in thinking that your dog is a Cav? ( Or did you get another golden?) Cavs are supposed to range from 13-18 lbs fully grown, male or female. So if yours weighs 26 lbs, then losing 10 is probably in the right ballpark.
What kind of kibble are you feeding now? How much of it are you feeding? Is this diet something your vet suggested? A quality kibble will have fruits and vegetables in it, as well as the protein necessary. You shouldn’t need to do that much supplementing, maybe green beans to bulk it up for a while.
My golden, who is nice and lean at 50 lbs–she is also very petite for her breed–is fed twice a day, one measured cup each time of Fromm’s Duck and Sweet Potato kibble. That’s it. I give her vegetable bits when I’m cooking, sometimes. She gets giblets when they are available, and the occasional tiny meat scrap when I’m cooking. And I do meany tiny and I do mean bits. I’ve always been very conscious of this because I’ve always had breed that were prone to bad hips, and they really need to be lean. My friend’s Lhasa/Tibetan Spaniel mix, who is small, but bigger than a Cav, gets 1/2 cup twice a day. The pug I took care of for 9 mos held his weight at a scant 1/3 cup twice a day. (He was on 1/4X2 for a while but lost weight.) His owner was fanatical about it, and he was practically the only fit pug you’d ever see.
It sounds like people are being pretty rude to you, but at least they have the dog’s welfare in mind. I’d just tell them the weight crept up, and now you are addressing it, thanks.
My younger cavalier is 24 lbs, older is 21. They are a pound or two heavy, but they get around great for old dogs and they do love to eat. They are not grossly fat. We’re always working on it, though. We were on a walk in the neighborhood and my older dog did a sit down strike, she has arthritis and if there aren’t squirrels, she might just want to graze. And older couple walked by and the lady said, “Walking would be a lot easier if you weren’t fat!”
I wasn’t certain if she was talking about the dogs or me…though I’m at a decent weight, but I was too shocked to come up with much besides saying, “Well, she is a very old dog and sometimes it hurts.” Who thinks they can say this stuff to random strangers?
Next person who says that to you - look themin the eye and say, with a straight face, " How thoughtful of you to point that out." Then move away from that person. Let them decide if you meant to show appreciation or snark.
I love a good snark comment…especially with the delivery of a smile. Yes, Consolation she is a Cav. BUT she is, bone structure big. The breeder told us that when she gave us the amount of food she should get. She probably should weigh about…3 or 31/2 pounds less…per the vet. And yes, the vet did mention that to me.
And we do give her low fat/higher in fiber kibble. And cooked chicken breasts. …and the occasional treat. But I will give her kisses and belly rubs from us.
@busdriver11 I have to admit that I would quite likely THINK that but I would never SAY it unless we got into a chatty conversation and you mentioned the arthritis, in which case I might offer that my last dog had bad elbows, and we found that a regimen, recommended by our vet, of fish oil capsules and dasuquin msm helped her a LOT. And after that I might say, in a sympathetic tone, “Have you considered trying to have her take some weight off? Friends have told me it helps with their dog’s arthritis.” Or something equally diplomatic.
I have become very consistent with measuring the food. Be sure to measure for the desired weight not the current weight.
My vet says that once a dog has been spayed it immediately requires less food.
The only treat our dogs get are frozen chopped green beans and bits of carrots.
You cook your dog a very special meal. I wonder if you would cut back to just the kibble with a little broth until the weight is off? Then you could slowly add back in the nicer things until you work out her maintenance weight requirements.
It took time but i was able to get five pounds off my older dog. She is not yet at her goal - her weight at one year old.
My doggie with arthritis is 13 1/2 years old, which is pretty old for a cavalier, and now have her on medication, and dasuquin, which is wonderful. She is only 21 pounds, and we’ve tried lower weights, but she is starving. We call her the honey badger, because she’s always hungry. When I feed her less, it is bad, she eats inedible things inside and outside, including dirt, at a lower weight, so we’re good with her being 21 pounds.
And 26 pounds for a big boned cavalier is not very heavy, bev. We like to call our 24 pounder “full figured”
And then next time we weigh her…we will cut her toe nails and hair…express the anal glands…and the weight will show lighter. (thank you Totie Fields).
And this diet isn’t working. Just weighed her again…27. What really fries my cookies are strangers who make these judgements. And these are the same people who make remarks about humans’ clothing/hair/jewelry…weight.
The phrase “well bless your heart” comes to mind. I love that phrase since I learned about it’s snarky meaning on a previous thread. People just have no filters nowadays, I would never comment on a dog’s weight anymore than I would a person’s.
I work constantly on keeping my whippets in good shape. A healthy fit whippet must show 2 or 3 ribs. Here are several tricks I’ve learnt over the years. Orijen dry kibble is wonderful, although it costs 2-3x more than any other brand. Sometimes I mix Orijen with other high-quality low-carb kibble (Fromm is great) in different proportions to adjust weight up or down. I also add some string beans as needed. 1.5-2 hrs walk every day is a must. And we teach our boys to run on a treadmill from early on, so they still get a good amount of exercise every day if the weather is bad. The most difficult part is to stop the family from giving treats to the dog. I am always on the lookout!
My Cav weighed 21 pounds on last visit and vet told me he should be 20. I’ve cut his food from 1 cup a day to 3/4 cup and told H again to stop giving him doggie treats all the time. Both my pups get a treat of whatever veggie I’m preparing for dinner and that is really all the extras they need.
