My dog needs to lose some weight. Any good diet and exercise ideas?
Hi!
So my dog, Emily is kind of fat. She is a 5 year old(almost 6 yr. old)golden retriever/lab mix.
So anyway, since the weather is getting warmer I would like for her to lose a little weight. I was wondering could anyone give me some ideas for a diet to help her lose a little weight and maybe some exercise tips? We sometimes give her left over meat from dinner. Any tips appreciated.
Thanks!
Brittney
Also she is an outside dog.
September 27th, 2010 at 4:05 pm
Watch her food intake, get her to swim, take long walks with your, or even hikes when you have a chance.
September 27th, 2010 at 4:55 pm
Try to avoid foods which may contain fats, and stick to regulated meals times as to when you feed her. If you have a garden, let her outside when the weather’s nice. If you have a park, take her for a walk or let her go give her the opportunity to run around a bit. If she gets into the habit of eating less and having more exercise, then she’ll soon lose weight!
September 27th, 2010 at 5:51 pm
If she’s a big eater, mix her food with green beans, this will fill her more, but not every meal and just make sure she get LOTs of exercise, just remember the more you exercise her, the more exercise you get too. Golden retrievers/ Labs need lots.
September 27th, 2010 at 6:11 pm
well if u have a dog park near ur house u should take her to that…http://www.dogtrainersearch.com/blog/2009/12/dog-exercise-ideas/ theres a bunch of stuff on that link hope this helps
September 27th, 2010 at 6:54 pm
if your giving her how much it says on the food bag then that’s too much feed her/him 1/4 less of what you are giving her and take 2 mile walks with her and a water bottle and a travel bowl to put the water in and keep her energized
September 27th, 2010 at 7:03 pm
Visit the vet. Ask your veterinarian’s advice on how much weight your dog needs to lose, and if they have any suggestions for dieting strategies.
Increase your dog’s daily exercise (unless it is physically not up to it). Take it for long walks and also runs. Have it play with younger dogs.
Purchase a low calorie dog food. When choosing one, look at the nutritional information on the package and compare it with your current dog food as a reference.
Thats all I can think of.. I hope that helped and good luck 🙂
September 27th, 2010 at 7:46 pm
Well my parents have a lab that I grew up with. And I do know labs LOVE to eat 🙂 If she’s overweight, it’s simply because you’re feeding her too much. Do you feed her three times a day? If so… for dogs her weight (I’m guessing 75-95lbs NOT overweight) it suggests they eat 3-5 cups of dry food a day. I have a 75lb boxer and don’t even give her three cups. Dogs get overweight quickly. Just cut down her food by about a cup a day. Of course she’ll act like she’s starving because she’s a lab, but it’s better that way then to let her stay overweight (as I’m sure you know retrievers are prone to hip dysplasia). What kind of exercise do you do with her? For our lab (when she was younger) she would get daily 2-3 mile walks. It sounds like a drag,, but good for both of you. Do you have any dog parks around you? Labs are typically friendly and LOVE those places and mesh well with dogs. They burn a ton of energy there and that would be helpful. I could tell you to cut out the people food, but they just look so darn cute waiting for you to finish your dinner. So either cut out the dinner scraps and lessen the food by half a cup… or keep the dinner food and lessen what she eats by a cup.
Also… buy a weight maintenance dog food! That’s what our lab is fed.
September 27th, 2010 at 7:58 pm
No table food 1st!! Add a Probotic to her diet. In about a month you should see a difference. This will allow her body to process the good stuff and eliminate the rest. Stools will be less and firmer. Switch to a high quality food such as Blue. If she is on a high quality food, cut back a bit.