How to get a dog to lose weight

[shella677]

My Rottie needs to lose some weight. She used to weigh 104, then she went down to 96 in November, well in August she is back up to 100. I think she should be around the 85-90lb range. I feed her Nutro Max Lamb n Rice. She gets 2 cups a day, 2 glucosamine tablets, and a jerky treat about 3 times a week. I've tried the green bean thing but after awhile she got tired of them and would just pick around them.

She also gets regular exercise. I am lucky enough , where I live, to have my dogs off leash. The only other dog we would possibly see would be a wild one. We take the same walk everyday which is about 30-45 mins, depending on how long we stop to play fetch or let them paly in the water. During the walk I also run them a little bit too.

I need to get a better grip on this, she is 4 yrs old and I'm really starting to be concerned. With Rotties having weaker hips anyway, extra weight will not be of help at all. I will take any suggestions I can get.
Thanks

EDIT-I know most of you wouldnt agree with Nutro, but Wellness, Canidea ,and some others I've looked for are just not available in my area. And I'm not willing to drive 100 miles to get it, or have it shipped in.

[shella677]

I guess I could give her green beans every couple days or so, oh and I've tried carrots, she won't eat them, although Ace loves em.

I've thought about cutting back her food but I feel bad, 2 cups is not a lot. To me that seems border line starving :roll: , espically for a 100 lb dog But if everyone else thinks it would be ok to cut her back to maybe 1 1/2 cups, I can try it and see how she does.
Thanks.

Edit- I just now saw the Overweight Sticky Sorry.

[pocketpit]

Have you had her thyroid tested? If not I would do it just in case she has a bit of an imbalance. Hypothyroid dogs have a harder time losing weight if they are not medicated.
I know 2 cups seems borderine abusive, but some dogs just naturally have slower metabolisms. I had a Brittany mix that was 32lbs at a good weight. In order to maintain that weight I could only feed him a 1/4cup of food a day and a few snacks.

[abman]

what part of virginia are you from?

[pitbulliest]

I guess I could give her green beans every couple days or so, oh and I've tried carrots, she won't eat them, although Ace loves em.

I've thought about cutting back her food but I feel bad, 2 cups is not a lot. To me that seems border line starving :roll: , espically for a 100 lb dog But if everyone else thinks it would be ok to cut her back to maybe 1 1/2 cups, I can try it and see how she does.
Thanks.

Edit- I just now saw the Overweight Sticky Sorry.

Sorry to come into this post a bit late..but is that 2 cups a day or 2 cups per meal (if you feed her twice a day)?... I would say 2 cups a day is wayy too little for a dog over 90 lbs. Messina is 56lbs and she eats two cups a day.

[barbponys]

Cut the carbs up the meat based protein. Go buy a double family pack of chicken wings, or backs or what ever. They are usually really cheap and a few go a long way. Give them to her for one meal instead of dry food. Won't take too long for her to start dropping the weight. Unless of course as Pocketpit pointed out she has a thyroid imbalance. It doesn't take much for them to retain the weight.

[moto1320]

Have you had her thyroid tested? If not I would do it just in case she has a bit of an imbalance. Hypothyroid dogs have a harder time losing weight if they are not medicated.
I know 2 cups seems borderine abusive, but some dogs just naturally have slower metabolisms. I had a Brittany mix that was 32lbs at a good weight. In order to maintain that weight I could only feed him a 1/4cup of food a day and a few snacks.

When I had Riley he was on 4 cups a day of Nutro (when I fed that) at 70 lbs or under. 2 cups for a food like Nutro isn't enough. Hell, at 100 lbs it isn't much even for a quality food. I would see the vet.

[pitbulliest]

I feed Messina two cups a day of Wellness..she weighs 56 lbs..does that sound right?

[Maximus]

What's the green bean thing?

And how many chicken wings do you feed in a meal? And is this safe, as a meal without kibble, for someone who doesn't feed BARF? And give it to them whole, bones and all? (I thought chicken bones were dangerous.)

Thanks!

[Maximus]

Totally selfish bump in hopes that I'll get some answers.

[JaquelineC]

Maximus - I don't know about the green bean thing, but as far as chicken goes...

I give Deegan and Deuce maybe 2 wings along with their kibble, Lunie Toons gets one. I usually feed chicken breasts though, as opposed to wings, as I figure there's more meat to em'. I don't feed just raw, they always get their Canidae with their meat, so I don't know much beyond that.

Any cooked or smoked bone is bad - And any pork bone is bad, as far as I understand. Uncooked chicken and beef bones are safe (don't know about beef ribs though). I usually keep mine in the freezer and just give them to the dogs frozen, they don't mind one bit - The sounds coming from their crates as they crunch up the bones is enough to make me shudder though...



Hope this helps!