New Dog Equals New Concerns

My husband and I just adopted a 5 year old Corgi (Archie) from one of the local shelters. He is a really sweet guy and we love him so much!

However, he weighed in at the shelter at just under 50 lbs! I could not believe it! He doesn't look that big but I have never owned a corgi before. He is 12 inches tall and about 30 inches long (he was wiggling when we did the measurements).

How concerned should I be? Also, what is the best course of action to take to help him shed so pounds? I don't want him to get any injures but I am concerned.

We are currently feeding him Nutro Max mini-chunk adult dog food.

Thank you for your Help!

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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on August 13, 2009 at 5:38pm

Hi Elizabeth, thank you for adopting Archie! Since he is a cardigan, he does weight more than pembrokes, here's more details. Weight loss is actually quite simple and there's nothing much to it. Establish a good walk everyday, 45 mins is a good start. split his daily meal into 2, once in the morning, another one at night, that will keep his metabolism active. get your measuring cup out and measure. Half a cup in the morning, half a cup at night, little to no treats. I would look for another brand for now, Nutro's quality control have not been that great lately and you can google about it in the news. Check out the FAQ and read through the food articles, you'll be able to make the best decision for Archie. Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Lou Ann Lemaster on August 13, 2009 at 6:14pm

You can give Archie some green beans if he seems hungry with his food (zero calories!). Or, add a tablespoon of pureed pumpkin to his food, good for fiber, helps with stools and is a belly filler. Other treats could be apples and small carrots. Go light on them, they do have sugar. Good luck with the weight loss.

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Permalink Reply by Janice on August 13, 2009 at 6:32pm

We feed taste of the wild 1/2 cup 2 times a day depending on her weight what kind of snacks she gets some of the things she loves is cooked carrots smashed up in her kong somes times I make it sweet potato or pumpkin freeze it and let her chow down . She love love loves watermelon Im not sure if its good for her but Im thinking 90% water cant hurt much
Her vet told us that it could be very dangerous to her spine to be over weight so we weigh her 2 times a month and if she has gained over a pound those are her treats for a couple weeks . Plus we like the Nutro lamb&rice dog biscuit .

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Permalink Reply by Elizabeth Faye Perrin on August 13, 2009 at 6:54pm

Wow! Thanks for the help guys!

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Permalink Reply by Avyon on August 13, 2009 at 11:12pm

Weight: Males: 30 to 38 lbs
Females: 25 to 34 lbs
Weight is in proportion to size, with over-all balance as prime consideration.

http://www.canadasguidetodogs.com/corgicardigan.htm

so just a little bit overweight LOL :) It's wonderful he has a loving home now and someone who's watching his eating issue for em ;) I know some shelters that don't pay much attention to it (sometimes cant due to working off donations) so all the dogs get the same amount of food and the same type.. which isn't good for different breeds.