Portion sizes for older sheltie

[BarbV]

I'd like to hear more about the "seniors" vs. "regular" dog food debate.

I've had both my boys on adult "maintenance" for months now. They are both topping at about 30 lbs....but they are tall boys, about 17 inches.
They are fed Now! Grain Free.

I think they get pretty good exercise - probably a total of about 30-45 minutes of running per day. I include in my estimate their play time in the backyard where they chase each other and chase dogs walking by.

But both boys are still getting a little chunky. I think I need to cut back their portions but I'm already feeding below what the package says.

I'm thinking about cutting the kibble in half and supplementing with carrots/beans to help fill their tummies? Thoughts? Will that work?

 

[ClantyreSheltie]

The whole idea is that dogs are not people, and they utilize fat differently. Foods that cut fat have to replace with other fillers, which keeps the dogs fat and hungry. Cutting fat is good for people, not dogs.

Feeding a medium fat, all life stages kibble should be more than sufficient. Think about it, raw feeders feed the same kind of food for the life of the dog. The only thing that changes is the portion size. I know many breeders who don't go to senior foods, and it works for them.

If I had a fat dog, I would keep them on the same food, and simply reduce the amount of food given. If they still act starving, then add an egg or some veggies.

 

[Calliesmom]

A big part of the problem is I broke my foot in September....and when I have tried walking her in the past few weeks, my foot really pays for it...I probably need surgery the doc said last week. But she loves to fetch sticks, and that doesn't take much movement on my part (sometimes, sometimes not!... she's not consistent with her fetching!!). I also have been attempting to find a permanent place to live, been kinda hopping about looking with place after place falling through....so we have not been able to get into a regular routine for about six months now. Poor Anna...but she is a trooper, and is usually happy as long as she is with me....I have read threads before about what is the best food for her....I have to mail order it? A Taste of the Wild sounds good...where do I get it?

Most Tractor Supply Co stores carry TOTW (thanks Michele- we picked up a bag at my dad's local TSC), Pet Supplies Plus, other pet stores- but not Petsmart or Petco that I have seen.
Go to their website- they should have a store locator type search so you can find it locally

 

[LadyMcBeth]

I called my local feed store and they have the food (Taste of the Wild)....I am going to pick some up tomorrow....I want Anna happy and healthy for the rest of her days....she's a happy dog with a nice coat, so I wonder what improving her quality of food will do.....maybe she'll bring that stick all the way back to me like she used to! LOL!

 

[take4roll10]

I called my local feed store and they have the food (Taste of the Wild)....I am going to pick some up tomorrow....I want Anna happy and healthy for the rest of her days....she's a happy dog with a nice coat, so I wonder what improving her quality of food will do.....maybe she'll bring that stick all the way back to me like she used to! LOL!

make sure you slowly transition her over a few weeks to TOTW.

 

[LadyMcBeth]

Thank you for the tip of slowly transitioning her....I would not have thought of that....and thanks to all for the info. Anna is 4-5 lbs. overweight, but that's 1/5 of her weight (or something like that)..she's 20% overweight, is that right? It's early and my math skills have never been great. Also, thank you for letting me know how much I should be feeding her.

I heard a saying the other day, "There are no overweight dogs, just lazy owners"....

Like I mentioned before, I have always let her eat when she was hungry...I believe that is called "kennel feeding". It's our lack of exercise that is causing the weight problem....

 

[mbfrench]

It really is hard to say if she is overweight or not. My boy weighs about 19 pounds and is always starving. If he had his way (and before we knew any better) he was around 24 pounds.

In fact, this Christmas we spent with family he went around begging and even got into the trash. Everyone gave us a hard time saying that we must not feed him enough, but I know that he is at the perfect weight.

He is now eating 1/3 C twice a day of Taste of the Wild, but when we were trying to slim him down he was getting 1/4 C plus some green beans. The green beans help him to feel more full without the added calories.

I was just chatting with Janet last night about Jasper.He was eating 1/2c morning,1/2 cup at night prior to a couple of weeks ago.
To me,looking & feeling his rib area,he just felt so very thin,lean.Compared to Trapp that was eating the same amount of food.

Visually,they look differant,and Jasper to me was to thin.So we upped his food to 3/4 c morning,3/4 cup at night.

Jasper is never still,the only time he rests is when he is down for the night,other than a cat nap in afternoon. He goes & goes all day chasing whatever catches his attention.(mostly squirrels) they drive him crazy. He acts like he would eat the whole bag of food,bag & all if I let him.

He weighs 20#,has not budged off that weight in quite a few weeks.I do think he is done growing upwards.

 

[mbfrench]

I would just like to point out that unless you know how big a sheltie is that weight alone can not be used to determine how overwieght they are. Ember should be around 15lbs so if she was 25lbs, she would be extremely over weight. Justice should be 22-23 lbs so 25 lbs would not be such a big deal to him.

Excess weight really does have effect on mobility in older dogs. One of the main reasons client state quality of life issues is inability to get around by themselves and arthritis issues both of which can be made worse but being overweight. Heart disease, diabetes ,and other metabolism disease increase as pets become overweight.

That being said, I have found that exercise is the single most important thing needed for weight loss. Ember was really struggling with her weight until I could add back in exercise. No matter how much an animal is eating if the energy burned off in a day activity is less than the amount eaten, no weight loss will happen. Older animal tend to not be very active and then you get into that vicious cycle. overweight-less exercise-more weight-less exercise. Even if you can increase the amount of walking or just moving around each day that will help. Increase the tolerated exercise as Lady gets more in shape and lighter.

As for food a good quality, meat based diet is better than increased fiber diet weight loss in dogs. For kibble a good rule of thumb is 1/2 per 10lbs for a normally active dog. Feed for the weight you want not the weight they are. Inactive dogs need to have the amount decreased and I do that by 25%. If you are approaching 1/2 for a 20 lbs dog, you need to work on adding exercise.

Oh I agree that added weight plays a huge part in dog mobility.Look at our Earnhardt. Back what 9 months ago,we were told to cut his food intake 20%. He was at 92#,very lazy,no motivation and a diagnosis of inopperable hip dysplasia.

With the 20% reduction,and learning to ignore the sad puppy dogs eyes...giving more healthy lifestyle to him,he has surpassed the weight loss that our vet wanted him at. And as of late,Earnhardt has never moved better,or quicker.

Every dog has a metabolism all thier own.We see it here with Trapp & Jasper.Jasper eats a tad more daily than Trapp,but he burns his calories differant,and to some people that see him (me included) he looks to thin.But holds at 20#.He has'nt gained a thing going on 2 months. He had a clean bill of health just recently with his yearly checkup.

 

[mbfrench]

I'd like to hear more about the "seniors" vs. "regular" dog food debate.

I've had both my boys on adult "maintenance" for months now. They are both topping at about 30 lbs....but they are tall boys, about 17 inches.
They are fed Now! Grain Free.

I think they get pretty good exercise - probably a total of about 30-45 minutes of running per day. I include in my estimate their play time in the backyard where they chase each other and chase dogs walking by.

But both boys are still getting a little chunky. I think I need to cut back their portions but I'm already feeding below what the package says.

I'm thinking about cutting the kibble in half and supplementing with carrots/beans to help fill their tummies? Thoughts? Will that work?

I know giving carrots/beans,ice cubes has helped Earnhardt stay on track here.20% reduction in his food intake certainly had a huge impact on him.Our vet tells us..its not so much the quality of the food,but the quantity of the food that affects some dogs.
Metabolisms are all so differant for each dog~

 

[take4roll10]

Thank you for the tip of slowly transitioning her....I would not have thought of that....

Transitioning her is very important. If you switch over without transitioning, she will most likely have diarrhea. I would start with just a few pieces of the new kibble. Then slowly increase the amount of TOTW and decrease the SD.

Good luck! I hope the transition goes well.