Overweight Rottie

[RottieLover]

Ok, so since I've gotten my new 10 month old Rottweiler I've realized that my 5 year old Rottie is REALLY overweight. Our vet has told us in the past that he needs to loose 10 pounds, but I think it's to a point now where he could stand to loose about 15 or 20. I love my baby and I don't know how to go about getting him to drop some of the weight. I've started him on the IAMS weight management food and have began walking him a little longer each day. I don't know if any of you have any experience with this but I would welcome any advise. :o

[kinderwood]

RottieLover, is IAMS the food you have been feeding him? At any rate, I wouldn't switch him to the Weight Management formula. Most (but not all) of these "weight management" formulas are very gimmicky and are often just filled with even more fillers than regular food- you'll notice that most of the time, meat is not the first ingredient in these "weight management" formulas which is not good as protein is actually the catalyst for building muscle & burning fat. So, the best suggestion I can make is just feed him less of his regular food and continue to walk him more/provide him with more exercise. You may even have to continue to cut his portions back a few times. You'll just have to keep an eye on his body condition and adjust according. Also, be patient! You don't put on weight overnight and it certainly doesn't come off overnight- nor would it be healthy to do so!

[my3dogs]

We tried the IAMS weight management for our older Rottweiler, and it did not work. We started feeding her smaller portions and did not let her food sit if she did not eat it (we couldn't due to the new puppy that we got too!). We switched to Canidae for all dogs - the puppy and the senior dog could eat the same food and the kibbles were smaller so she seemed to get more throughout the day.

[siberianhusky101]

Does your dog have a tendency to scarf his food down? this can add to the weight problem. a good way to slow him down is to put his ration in a separate bowl and only feed him a small handful at a time. this will also make sure he gets the most nutrition possible out of his food and that he stays full longer, (this also helps for dogs who eat their own poo).
As for how heavy he is... think of it as 1lb on him is equal to 10lbs on a human, so when you see a dog 10lbs overweight walk through a door, imagine it as a 240lb person.

[RottieLover]

Thank you all so much for the feedback!

Kinderwood...no IAMS was not his original dog food. Before hand we had been feeding him the Beneful brand by Purina. He doesn't appear to crazy about the diet change, and I've often thought maybe we should feed him smaller portions of the same thing he was eating, but I was scared that the current food was very fattening for him. I would like to have something that I can feed both dogs as my3dogs commented.
As far as him scarfing down his food, no he's actually a pretty good boy when it comes to eating. Very polite manners if there is such a thing for dogs. He appears to only like to eat in the evening, and he likes to pick his morsels out of his bowl lay them on the floor and eat them in the room where ever we are.
After reading the responses, I believe my error has been leaving his food down all day. I don't pick it up, and while we only give him 2 cups of food at a time, my kids don't like to see his bowl empty. This was the first thing we began to change! I know it's hard for us to work pounds off, and I know it's going to take some patience for his to come off as well! Thank you guys so much for the feedback! :-)

[suebgone]

RL I guess by now you realize what garbage the Beneful was - as is anything Purina makes but it was a large part of the cause of his weight problem. any food with soft pieces in it is very high in sugar & salt. there is also a lot of corn in it which packs on the weight.

I'm a little confused about what you are actually feeding now but here is Iams adult lg. breed.

Chicken, Corn Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Chicken By-Product Meal, Ground Whole Grain Barley, Fish Meal (source of fish oil), Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E, and Citric Acid), Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed), Dried Egg Product, Natural Chicken Flavor, Brewers Dried Yeast, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Flax Meal, Calcium Carbonate, Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Choline Chloride, Ferrous Sulfate, DL-Methionine, L-Tryptophan, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Zinc Oxide, Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Rosemary Extract, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Potassium Iodide, Folic Acid, Cobalt Carbonate

not much better IMO. corn wheat & soy are known allergens to dogs & corn is not digestable. since the chicken isn't chicken "meal" it is about 70% water. if you remove the water it drops far down the list in weight & corn is the top ingredient.

brewers dried yeast is a waste product of the brewing industry & often causes itchy skin, ear infections, & gas. fish meal, by law is processed with ethoxyquin, why would a decent food need salt?

so - what to do, I would definately be feeding him twice a day. just split what every amount you decide on in half

you can add fresh green beans, apple slices, carrot slices to his food for volume with out calories. they can be used as treats as well. you may have to try several types of apples till you find his favorite tho

[charm38]

the others have given good advice, I would just like to add to it a little. Fed smaller portions, do not free feed (meaning food is always available) and try adding low salt string beans to his meals, my vet taught me this, it helps fill them, and they like it. And just like us people, the weight is not going to come off without exercise!
I am really not one to talk here, because I am way guilty of this, but NO people food!!

[BARC]

Another suggestion I have is to visit www.stopcanineobesity.com where you can take a simple quiz to identify if your dog is at risk for overweight and find vets in your area that can help address this issue. The National Canine Weight Check is an educational campaign happening during the month of February. We’re encouraging everyone to get a free weight check for their dogs at a participating vet’s office. At each free weight check, our vet partners will hand out weight check cards to help you track your dog’s weight, as well as other educational materials and information to get a cool free gift.

[BARC]

Did anyone take the BARC quiz i talked about above? What did you think? An interesting point from the quiz is that dogs that live in multi-dog households are more likely to be overweight because they eat faster than single dogs. To see more interesting questions visit www.stopcanineobesity.com/barc.htm