I frequently get asked how I keep Gretel and Chester so trim. Really, it is no secret. It’s just like with people: calories in vs. calories out.
Measuring calories can be hard though. Don’t get me wrong – I am not suggesting that you could every calorie your dog eats and expends like a Weight Watchers Program. It’s really difficult to do that anyway. Most dog foods don’t have calories on the label like people food (although I do see it more and more). There is no doggie exercise calculator that I know of ti tell how many they are burning.
However, I do generally estimate how many calories they eat a day (or sometimes actually look it up because I am nerdy like that). I also make sure they get plenty of exercise. Instead of counting calories, I can tell if they are getting tubby and need more exercise or less food by how they look.
The inforgraphic below does a better job of telling you how to tell if your dog is overweight, or highlighting the health complications they may have if they are, than I can. It also tells you approximately how many calories your dog should be eating.
I would stress approximately. According to the infographic, Chester and Gretel only need 180 to 200 calories a day. They would never make it on that! I feed them 1/3 cup food twice a day plus treats. I estimate that their average daily intake is 275 calories. When they visited the vet the other day she said they actually need to gain a half pound each!
You know your own dog’s needs. If they are a puppy, nursing, chubby or just super active you may need to feed them more. If they are senior or don’t get much exercise they may need less. You can use the rules at the bottom of the inforgraphic to tell which your dog needs.
Pet obesity graphic produced by Matt Beswick for Pet365 – a UK stockist of dog coats, collars and accessories. Click here to view the full post.
This is very good info! Disgusting too.
Dachshund Nola
Luckily Eleanor is a good weight too! All that chasing the cat I suppose. She just nibbles throughout the day rather than sit and finish a whole bowl at once. Great Chart!
Hey just moved here with our four rescue doxies. All were fat at one point in their lives. We slimmed them down by easing into exercise and reducing their calorie intake with a simple trick: Green Beans! Cutting their kibble and supplementing with canned green beans (no salt added) or canned pumpkin (not pie filling with the spices) will help them drop the pounds. We do a 1/3 ratio as maintenance. They may balk initially, but hungry dogs will come to love the green beans!
Great tip! A lot of people in our Adventureweiner Club use that trick. Some also feed beans, sweet potato, pumpkin, etc to their dogs because they have them on Raw diets. They make great alternatives to the traditional treat. I feed Chester and Gretel apple and banana.
If by “move here” you mean Seattle you should check out our Adventureweiner Club. We meet at least monthly for a walk or hike. http://youdidwhatwithyourweiner.com/adventureweiner-club/
I’m glad you made the point about not all dogs being the same – the dog food generally tells you how much food you should give your dog, based on what they weight, but that’s only part of the story, especially with dogs as active as your guys.
I get paranoid pretty regularly that Gwynn might secretly be fat under all that fur (he isn’t… it’s just htat he’s getting extra fluffy for winter), but I think a lot of people just assume that a chubby dog is a happy dog.
I read a blog post (and I wish i could remember where) that discussed the fact that a lot of show dogs that are winning the show (and being indicated as ‘the standard for their breed’) are at an unhealthy weight. Labs in particular that are winning are obese or nearly there, creating this false sense of security for people whose Labs are an unhealthy weight – they see the winning show dogs that look just like their own fido, and think “my dog is healthy, it’s just his bone structure”.
That is a shame that people are learning to covet a look that isn’t healthy. It’s kind of like young girls and stick thin models.
Thanks for the tips and the chart!
Very good advice. I felt Thunder this morning and could feel his spine and every rib. Since his bloat surgery, we have been having trouble putting weight on him. We are going to try yogurt with his meals to see if we can fatten him up a bit.
That is how Chester is right now. That is why the vet wants him to gain a little weight. I have been giving them an extra 1/3 cup food and feeding treats freely and I still can’t get them to gain weight. Gretel has always been super skinny. Her metabolism is so fast.
You make great points! We keep our labs very slim and get the same question a lot. We also get people telling us that Labs are *supposed* to be fat. Can you believe that?
KB recently posted…Sunsets: Desert and Home
One of our other commenters mentioned that she has seen the labs being shown at the big dog shows getting a little thicker around the middle….and winning. We were discussing how tragic it was that it sends the wrong message to people – about an unhealthy weight being “normal”. Obviously, that may not be whey these people made the comment to you but it makes you think.
I love this article. The tips are given with those charts. I will surely help us to make our dog more healthier and stronger. I hate how my dogs become sick dogs. I will surely look at this article from time to time for me to know what’s good and what’s not. Thanks a lot!
Jennifer Diaz recently posted…Startseite