Cooper is two years old, and he was always bigger, but I think hes gotten a little too big. I walk him twice a day for alt least twenty minutes each time, and i feed him one cup of food a day.
Does anyone have any tips?
Permalink Reply by Beth on October 13, 2009 at 2:33pm
Jack is oversized and yet only gets 2/3 cup of food a day (1/3 AM, 1/3 PM). You can reduce his food a bit and replace with an equal amount of green beens, canned pumpkin, or lowfat plain yogurt, or crumble in some plain rice cakes.
Also read labels. There is a huge difference in calorie content between different brands. Most give the info on their websites, so you might want to compare between brands, or even recipes within a brand, that suit your needs. I have seen variations anywhere between about 340 up to over 500 cal per cup; that's a big difference.
Also, if you can get him out running somewhere even once or twice a week, that can burn calories in a hurry.
are the green beans, fresh, frozen, canned, or does it matter? humm.. will try the pumpkin and lowfat yogurt also. Vet said Corie needs to lose only 2 pds, but don't want it to get out of hand, and next time be 4 pds.. etc...
Permalink Reply by Beth on October 13, 2009 at 7:06pm
Canned veggies often have salt, so I avoid those. I use the store brand frozen French-cut and microwave them for about five minutes then let them cool. I'll cook about three days worth at a time and keep them in the fridge.
Just read labels with the yogurt; some of the fancier brands are made with whole milk and have a lot of calories.
Our Soffie needed to lose weight and we switched her to Wellness, we alternate between the Core reduced fat and the Simple5mix healthy weight. They are both high quality food and are very low in calories. We feed Soffie !/2 cup a day (1/4 cup in the morning & 1/4 in the evening) and at both meal times we supplement with a big handfull of frozen cut green beans! She lost 2 pounds in 4 weeks! And that was just from cutting the food. She is on restricted activity due to an injury and we were instructed by the vet to have her lose weight. Griffyn gets the same portions. We also use the green beans as treats! They love 'em and eat them like candy!
I check this site a lot. You just have to be aware that just because a food is 6 stars, doesn't mean it's right for any breed and if a dog has certain issues such as allergies you will want to choose a food good for that and most of them will be found in the 4 or 5 star category. I don't think I would go below 3 stars personally.
I find that Izzy does well on 2/3 cup a day and Sparty is good with a cup a day. I feed twice a day with a vegetable (like green beans) at dinner. Their metabolisms will vary from dog to dog just as with people. You just have to decrease food and increase activity in order to lose weight. The best thing to do is feed high quality food (you have received plenty of info on this) and look at your dog. If his shape from the top does not indent before his hips he is overweight. It is healthier to be a little light than it is to be over. Unfortunately most corgis are pretty dramatic about how starving they are whether they are or not! LOL