My Corgi has a weight problem, I need some advice.

I have other dogs so its hard but need to get my corgi Sam on a plan. He is over weight last I weighed him he was 50 lbs....   I think he is my alpha dog because he pushes around my Great Dane. Lately he has been having a hard time with his back legs. He also had a run in with the 4 wheeler and with the weather getting colder I dont think that helps. I am planning on taking him to the vet to get him check out. But I know the weight is an issues. I am pregnant and I know the weight I have gained puts a strain on me so I just think the extra weight on Sam is stressing his body out. So any help in getting him on a plan would be great. He is sneaky..... So any help is great!

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Can you feed sam seperate? i would start by cutting his food to 3/4ths of what he normally gets and then add green beans till help him feel full:) Pick up any food any dog leaves and then in a week cut down to maybe 1/2. Also exercise will help. does he like to play ball? Good luck...he really needs you to help and we're glad you are:)
I have looked into this and want to try it. I have read the green beans help as a filler. Sam loves the ball, I am just nine months pregnant right now so that has taken a back burner. We live in the country so he runs around with my Dane. Well keeps him in check is more like it lol.
You are a responsible and caring owner to be concerned. Yes, 50 pounds is very overweight for a Pem. You are right that it can cause some problems.

What does he eat now? What type of food, how much, how often, what kind of treats, and does he get into anyone else's food (other dogs, cats, etc). Also, any "uncounted" treats (like a neighbor who gives him snacks or something)?
Yes Sam is sneaky.... He will stop over at my brothers house and my grandpas house. We are moving soon so going to try and get him on a good path. I have been free feeding and I know thats most of my problem. But Sam will also go eat nuts out of the yard. He will basically eat anything, ha even lettuce. Food wise he has been getting ol'roy for the fact that I have 3 dogs and having a great dane you go through quite a bit. He just loves food! He is still an active dog though. I was hoping to keep him at my moms where he would be the only dog but I know he would still get treats... Sam has those kid of eyes!
Changing food is imperative. A higher quality food will be more dense with nutrition and allow you to feed less. My wife's Mother's Corgi Checkers got up to 40 pounds and he is eating a cup of Blue buffalo Healthy weight food a day now. Its still grain heavy but its quality over Ole Roy.
I had to put Sophie on a diet earlier this year - she is still on it. It takes a long time to get weight off of a corgi. I only have one dog - so I don't need to deal with other dogs. Cut down his food (check and see the calorie content of the food you are giving him). I switched to a weight management kibble and cut her down 1/4 C at a time until I got her down to 3/4C of kibble total (split between two meals). I supplement with green beans (buy them frozen and cook them quickly and cut them up) and I also add 1-2TBL canned pumpkin. The green beans and pumpkin add bulk and fiber. I also had to completely stop giving her any kind of human food, and treats are given at a minimum. You have to be kind of ruthless when it comes to treats and smaller meals - because they act like they are starving. Wellness makes a good weight management food. Good Luck!
You need to be absolutely ruthless, evil, with food. No matter what you do, whether he's 20 or 50 lbs. when he dies, after you die, Sam is gonna be waiting beside St. Peter at the Pearly Gates, pointing you out: "Yes, Mr. Peter. That's her. That's the woman who starved me my entire life". So you might as well go over to the Dark Side entirely: tiny nutritious meals, micro-treats (match-head sized). Make him pull the baby stroller. Make sure all food in the house is utterly inaccessible to man, woman, or beast. He's gonna feel hungry and make you feel guilty anyway. Hordes of starveling corgis with staring, vacant, hungry, piercing eyes will haunt your dreams, ruining your sleep, tormenting your conscience, but it's worth it.
You definitely need to stop free feeding if you want him to lose weight. I personally would start by cutting him down to 1/2 cup kibble (or less) twice a day, and fill up his bowl with green beans to help him feel full. Make sure everyone else understands that he is on a diet and should be getting no scraps or treats. That extra weight on him is definitely going to start causing health problems IMO, 50 lbs is just way too big for a pem.
Green beens are a geat filler i buy a big frozen bag or got o a local produce store and buy a big bag of fresh for cheap and freeze it. It deforst quickly if you place some in bowl and run under hot water, let it sit for a minute then repet once more. I would switch to a minium of a corn free kibble. One big thing is to change to a schedual diet instead of free feeding where you can monitor how much he eats. From what you have said it soesn't seem liekt ehre is a lack of exercise. But try adding a little fetch with a soft ball or toy, through it across the lvinging room or down the hall while you are sitting and relaxing or while your doing something that you can multi task at the same time. That is what i do with my two when it is below -30 degress celcius or when it is raining.
Ok, you DEFINITELY want to start measuring! :-)

I can't tell you how much to feed, because Ol Roy doesn't really have any high-quality protein in it. It's mostly filler and therefore you tend to have to feed a lot more than you would of a kibble that has a meat meal (not "meat and bone meal") as the #1 ingredient.

You might want to look at one of the better grocery-store brands, like Purina One or even better, Iam's. Ol Roy is about 50 cents a pound. You can buy a big (40-pound) bag of Iam's for $1 a pound, but you probably only have to feed half as much of it to the big dog to get the same amount of degestible calories. So your out-of-pocket costs would not be any higher and you'd have a food with a named meat or meat meal as the first ingredient, instead of corn as a first ingredient. Just something to consider. :-)

For a food like Iam's or Purina Pro Plan, a Corgi only needs about 1 cup a day, spread over two feedings of half a cup each. Maybe even a little less; my girl probably gets about 2/3 of a cup of food a day, total. For Ol' Roy, not sure but you probably need to feed close to twice that amount.
I only have one thing to add Kayla, whatever new food you choose at Walmart I would pick Iams or purina one. The most important thing when switching is to not just change it in one day! Do it gradually over five days to a week add 1/4 cup to his half a cup of Old Roy ,next day 1/3 cup, next day 1/2 cup, next day 3/4 cup. He may have intestinal upset and have diarhhea if you don't so at least watch him as he does his business once a day to check his progress. Nutrition is one of the most important things for longevity of your Sam! Please let me know how he does!

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