Our Beagle is fat - really fat

[Taverner]

We've been feeding her some Purina Chow and she's just gotten fatter and fatter

She (her name's Betty) needs to go on a diet

Any reccomendations for a dog chow that tastes good to dogs and is healthy for them?

We are trying Diamond DF right now and we will be trying Dynamite when our package arrives

Iams and Eukanuba don't cut it

[MrMickeysMom]

1. Anyone got a treadmill they don't use?

It seems like that, plus something like Science Diet (is Betty an older gal?) might enable her to feel satisfied, but work it, baby.

I get all my dog ideas from the Dog Whisperer, by the way, but at least my advice is free. :-)

[Taverner]

2. We give her 3 walks a day

Its not the exercise
It's the food

[Quantess]

10. Is there a place you can take her off leash?

Dogs generally get more exercise that way.

[kentauros]

3. This is the brand and type I feed my cat:

Solid Gold Health - Indigo Moon

Yes, I know you are asking about healthy dog food. This brand is for both dogs and cats, once you click on the link, you'll see. I mentioned it because my cat's health has markedly improved since his "sick days" a couple of years ago. He lost several pounds (down to 12 from fifteen) and he wasn't really fat before. But this food seemed to help balance his weight to just under 15 now. He has more energy, a better coat than I've ever seen and isn't coughing up furballs as much.

If a food alone can do that much for my cat, I would suspect they would have something for your beagle. I hope you do find something to help her :hi:

[Taverner]

4. There's no corn in it - which is good

Corn is not a good food for any animal, let alone a human

Honestly - corn should be treated more as a fruit than as a vegetable.

[kentauros]

5. Not sure if corn can be considered a fruit, botanically.

But most grains shouldn't be in pet food anyway. When I was searching for a better food for my cat, whenever I'd see barley in the first few ingredients, I'd pass it up, knowing that was one of the problem-ingredients. Corn and wheat, too.

I've considered the raw-meat choice as well, though I discovered my cat isn't a big eater of tuna! :o He loves the smell, but then picks at it, hardly eating anything. So, he doesn't get tuna anymore and just the dry stuff ;)

[Taverner]

7. We looked into the 'BARF' diet too

The cons outweigh the pros

That is parasites, bacteria and virii

[EFerrari]

8. A pox on corn and wheat in dog food.

I can't do expensive packaged pet food so will have to put together a diet for my dog with NO corn and wheat which make her fat AND allergic as in "hot spots".

[EFerrari]

6. My dog got really fat, too. 25 lbs over.

:(

The first thing I tried was not letting her clean up the cats' meal twice a day and she's lost almost 10 lbs in 4 weeks. :blush:

[AngryOldDem]

9. Two words: Portion control.

Both our dog and cat started to get overweight. We started portioning their food. Because they are both small, they each get a quarter cup of food (dog 3x a day, because she usually cleans her bowl right away; the cat, 2x a day, because she eats lighter and rarely cleans up at one sitting). Also, we have designated feeders. We think that we all saw empty bowls and automatically filled them up, which led to grazing. They don't get any more food unless their bowls are entirely clean.

So far, it's working -- especially for the cat, who was really starting to balloon, and has now slimmed down nicely.

[Maine-ah]

16. portion control is the key

our dog gets one cup of dry food in the morning and one at night. Add water to the dry food, about equal portions. It slows the dog down when she's eating so she doesn't inhale it.

Also, to the op... change the food. Most of the commercial stuff like Dog Chow has a lot of crap in it. We switched to California Natural years ago and saw a remarkable improvement in weight, and coat.

[KurtNYC]

11. Evo is grain free and high protein

my dogs were losing weight on it so I switched to Taste of the Wild (also grain free). But I would go back to evo if they needed to trim down a little. Iams seemed to bloat them a little and they had huge poops.

Found a handy site which rates chow fairly objectively:
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/

[Gidney N Cloyd]

12. The low-cal stuff can result in runny stools, if that's a consideration to you.

Portion control and exercise are probably best (this coming from a lab owner and THEY eat like crazy).

[Skittles]

13. YOU WANT I SHOULD KICK SOME FAT BETTY BEAGLE ASS, TAVENER?

LEMME AT HER!

[Taverner]

18. LOL

[Arugula Latte]

14. We stopped feeding our fat cat dry food. Wet food has helped him drop the lbs.

Dry food has a lot of carbs -- it's like bread for animals.

[Brother Buzz]

15. Introduce pumpkin to her diet and let her RUN (walks aren't the same)

Reduce Betty's dog chow by 1/3 and replace with an equal amount of canned pumpkin or baked squash. Make sure it's plain pumpkin and not that pumpkin pie stuff loaded with sugar and other crap.

Dogs love squash and it has far fewer calories than dog food. Betty will feel full and won't even know she's on a diet.

Let her off the leach to run, trot, track, or whatever beagles love to do. She should be panting with a smile when she is done.

[surrealAmerican]

17. I doubt that you need to worry about how the food tastes.

If your dog is hungry, she will eat it. Dogs barely taste their food (although odor does matter).

Don't leave food out for her; just feed her, and when she stops eating, remove the remaining food (if there is any). Also measure the food you give her. It should not be, "about a bowl-full", but more like "1/2 a cup" (use an accurate measuring cup).

Another thing to remember is any change in food needs to be done gradually, even if the stuff she's eating now is clearly not meeting her needs.

[Enthusiast]

19. When I was growing up

two families we knew well had pampered indoor beagles. They both had very nice temperaments. But were they ever fat! I think beagles were bred to chase rabbits. Chasing rabbits is a big time calorie burning activity. Hell, they could lose weight from all the baying alone.

[TorchTheWitch]

20. feed less exercise more

Dogs don't get fat by accident. They're being feed too much for the amount of exercise they get. Dogs often eat not because they're hungry but because they're bored... ever notice the more lazy a dog is the more they want to eat? Make sure the dog is getting a decent amount of exercise and only feed them what amount is recommended for their ideal weight assuming they are generally active. This is something you should probably consult your vet about especially if the dog is a senior or has any immune system issues... and the more senior a dog the more naturally compromised their immune system will be just because of the natural aging process.

Feed your dog only human grade food free of filler (usually corn). Wheat is probably also a good idea to stay away from as an ingredient as many dogs can develop an allergy to wheat. Blue Buffalo, Natural Balance and Newman's Own are all good human grade filler free foods. They are more expensive but because of the lack of filler the dog eats less (and poops less) since what they are eating has nutritional value. Human grade means the meat is actual meat and not meat byproducts (beaks, feet, bones, slaughterhouse floor scrapings, etc.) You'll find that you buy less food so the price ends up being about the same or even less than when you feed them commercial crap food. I've not heard of either Diamond or Dynamite so don't know if they're human grade and filler free. I do recall Diamond had a huge recall of their foods several years ago because of toxic chemicals they use on the crops that are used in the foods. For this reason, I think it's also best to stick with dog foods that are also organic. I know Newman's Own is organic, and though they now have a wheat free formula they still use soy which can be just as much of an allergy problem as wheat. It's not always so easy as it may seem to find just the right best food for your dog.

Any time you switch foods, don't do it immediately as dogs have sensitive stomachs to a sudden change in diet. Gradually introduce the new food while taking away the same portion of the old for a couple of weeks until they are completely off the old food. You can usually safely start with about 1/4 of the new food replaced in each meal. If your dog seems to be stomach sensitive, better to start off with a little less than that and take a little longer to gradually remove the old food from the meals.

Exercise is pretty key. Even senior dogs should be getting some amount of exercise according to their level of ability. The longer a dog can remain decently active for their ability the longer they're likely to live and live well. Food is important, but exercise is really important. Since the dog is overweight you need to be very careful when it comes to their activity concerning their leg joints. Too much weight is a huge culprit in so many different leg injuries. Pivoting movements, jumping and even going up and down stairs are things you really need to be careful of until the dog has gotten closer to a normal weight. You will probably find as the weight comes off the dog will become more active on her own... the extra weight has a hell of a lot to do with how much a dog wants to be inactive.

If only more people had even an interest in doing something about their overweight dogs. Good on you for taking the steps necessary for Betty's health. It'll work out. You may have to experiment a bit, but just be patient and stick with it.

[RedCloud]

21. "Intact" male will chase her like crazy and never catch on. Weight will plummet.

[Polly Hennessey]

22. A Fat Beagle

My two Golden Retrievers were overweight and one had arthritis. Vet told me they had to lose weight. Here is what I did:

1. Gave them 1/4 cup high quality dry food - grain free - twice a day
2. Gave them a large soup spoon of wet food, twice a day, mixed with dry food - again high quality
3. To add nutrients and to give them the feeling of being satisfied, I also added frozen steamed vegetables. Like green beans, carrots, peas and mixed vegetable. It is easy now that we can buy frozen "steam-in-the-bag" veggies. These have no added anything
4. Stay away from Purina or other stuff in the grocery store..make sure the food is grain free.

Murphy, the one with arthritis lost enough weight so that we were able to take him off Rimydal, his arthritis medication. I have been able to maintain their weight and they even get to have some Three Dog Bakery cookies each night.

Polly