When i got my dog, she weighed almost 20 pounds and her ideal weight is 9 pounds. And I have never seen a dog act so hungry, all the time. She thinks about food 24/7.

First, you have to get hard-hearted. When I would stand at the kitchen sink and look down and there would be those big eyes looking up at me, sometimes it made me feel so mean - but she HAD to lose weight - at the time I wanted it for her spine, but then we found heart problems later.

She also has a history of neglect like Shade, so it made it doubly hard.

I fed her 1/2 of what she is getting now, and she lost a little less than a pound a month. I'm sure for different sizes of dogs, it may be different. On days that we exercised alot, I would give her a little more.

And forced exercise - we walk every day except when the weather is horrible. When we go to the dog park, i make her do a lap around even if she wants to go home as soon as we arrive. When we discovered the heart problem, I extremely glad I had been able to get her weight down beforehand.

And I am so, so glad I did - she is 10 pounds now and has maintained that for 4 months. It was worth all the cussings she gave me. I have no delusion that she was begging nicely - she was calling me all the dirty names she could think of when I refused her food.

 

I think that however much you feed him he will feel hungry. I would say you could go down to 1 % ideal body weight and keep it that way for a few days, then give him a normal meal, and do that for a few cycles.

I was amazed how quickly they can loose weight if only fed small meals.

I would opt for feeding the meat on bones that require a lot of effort to strip clean of meat, this way it will take time and stimulate all necessary parts of the brain, (and might not make you feel so bad about the fact that he can finish his dinner in the time it takes for you to cross the kitchen )

Dogs like most animals are really good at surviving on very little food.

 

How active is he?

If he's not doing much, he really doesn't need that much food. Try taking him down a few ounces at a time and see what happens. I'd lean more towards 1.3 lbs per day. 2 % would be 1.6 lbs....but he needs to lose weight, not maintain. I'd start with that and see if you notice any changes.

I'd also increase the exercise a bit. If he's healthy to exercise, get him outside a an extra 10-15 minutes per day on top of your normal routine. Swimming is a great low impact way to get some good exercise.

Cut out any treats you are giving, maybe try some dehydrated meats or fruits & veggies as treats if you need them. But also consider meal size in proportion to how many treats he gets....cut back if needed.

 

figure out his ideal weight.....maybe he should weigh 70 lbs or 65 lbs.....then multiply that number by 16 for 16 oz in a pound, then multiply that number by .02% body weight and you'll come out with less than what he's being fed...

then, put a blindfold on him, so you don't have to look at those sad, sad pathetic, you're starving me eyes : )

 

Right now he's getting right about 2-2.5% of his current body weight. I'd cut him back to at least 1% because that is probably closer to what his maintenance meal amount would be at his ideal weight.

Almost all dogs act starving when fed a raw diet regardless of how much you give him. I just don't pay attention to my dogs when they beg for more food :wink:

 

Thanks everyone! I wasn't sure if 1% would be cutting him back too much but that's what I'll start doing. I have noticed that he is not as active as when we got him so the extra weight is affecting him. He's just going to object strenuously about the cut back in food!!

I gave him a piece of lettuce from my salad last night and it was the first time I've seen him reject any food! He's getting used to all that meat I'm giving him!! Maybe I'll try some baby carrots on him instead of his usual treat and see if he goes for that. We are working really hard on training him so he does get a fair amount of treats every day (dried lamb lung. etc). Luckily he is food motivated so he's learning his manners really fast!! Well, he's either learning of he's just gotten too fat to get in much trouble anymore :smile:

 

something else to consider....are treats...the hidden calories....carrots, for instance, are high glycemic and high in sugar....and maybe you only give a few, but it's a few more than that gorgeous chubby boy needs...lettuce has sugar in it, even though it's mostly water....and negligible calories...

i realise dehydrated lamb lung is lean...but it's still part of his caloric real estate...all the treats are. maybe a good idea to not give treats for a while?

i have no doubt that this guy can make a face that melts....be strong....be brave.....close your eyes....LOL

 

I haven't actually tried any carrots on him yet, I just thought maybe they were low in calories. I"ll skip those if they are high in sugar. We can just 'love on him' more during training instead of stuffing food in his mouth! He absolutely soaks up any attention or loving you give him. He's one of those dogs that gets his nose under your hand and throws it up onto his head so you'll pet him constantly.

He does have a face that will melt you. I don't know what all is in him besides Rottweiler (the only thing the rescue listed) but I swear there's pug or bloodhound in there. He's got these HUGE brown eyes and so many folds of extra skin around his face that you can almost wrap the extra skin completely around his face! And his eyebrows go up and down and wrinkle when he's trying to think! I never imagined I'd have a short haired big dog but here he is.....firmly entrenched in the house.

 

I've heard some raw feeders feed a bit of canned green beans as a "filler" for overweight dogs who are acting starving. They're very low in calories. If you get them canned make sure they're in water and not enhanced in any way.

 

you've got your work cut out for you, with that face.....but i know with my own dogs....i have to keep their weight in line...one is a corgi mix with a long back, so she cannot handle any extra weight...

the other is a pug.....my dances with food dog.....and he is a smushed faced dog who also cannot handle extra weight, plus he's got that curly tail and if they gain a lot of weight....it can damage his back.

so, i'm the cruel mother with the scale and they get no treats at all, except the occasional chicken foot and that gets subtracted from the daily total. or i feed less the next day by that ounce or whatever.

 

Well, I gave Shade his reduced portion tonight and a few minutes later I heard what I thought was Chelsy rattling her pan. When I looked, it was Shade polishing off Chelsy's entire dinner!! He had just pushed her aside and taken it from her and she was sitting there looking miserable!

Then he went over and gave Rocky's pan a few licks but Rocky had already finished. So, I guess the diet will have to start tomorrow and I"ll have to make sure Chelsy is in a separate area. (I did give her another dinner and locked Shade out of the room while she ate)

I"m going to weigh Shade weekly and try and get him down to 65 pounds and Rocky down to about 70 pounds. I'll let you know how he progress's.

I've actually gotten Chelsy slimmed down quite a lot since she's been on raw but she is easier.....you can't see her eyes when she begs at you!! :heh: