Is my boy too overweight?

[MiOzzyBoy]

Everyone keeps telling me that Ozzy is fat and it kinda hurts my feelings. He has eaten nothing but dog food. But when I started working, my mom took over feeding him....and she was feeding him 2 large sized Jack in the Box cups full of Kibbles & Bits daily...if not an extra cup sometimes. I was like woah! I noticed he gained a little, but I hate to think he's obese or anything. He's pretty mellow too.

So I started taking him for walks more than I used to, and I bought him the Eukanuba Boxer formula [ which he LOVES by the way ] and I am feeding him 2 16oz. cups measured out daily. It's the reccomended amount for his weight (100 pounds). I usually split the last cup up into 8oz. servings at different times so he feels like he's not starving until breakfast again. Anyway, the first 4 pics in my gallery are the ones I took with my phone yesterday to show you what he looks like now. Can I get some honest opinions about if my baby is overweight and any advice? It would be greatly appriciated! Thanks in advance everyone!

****MiOzzyBoy****aka Melanie

 

[sandy's mom]

It does kinda hurt your feeling when someone tells you your baby is fat...
My Napoleon is a BIG boy, he is a little overweight, but he is also just big.
He does not have the typical boxer body, he is thicker through the middle and backside. I am constantly being told he is overweight, but my vet says he is fine. He can gain weight fast so I really watch what and how much he eats. Maybe you should talk to your vet just to make sure your baby is okay. We found out, after Napoleon had lost about 10 pounds that he has a thyroid problem.

 

[gmacleod]

Well, I don't want to hurt your feelings... but yes, your dog is fat. I won't be gentle and say cuddly Or use any other words that don't reflect the reality (so you can't be tempted to ignore it, or be lulled into some sense that it's not a serious situation). He is more than a little overweight, and you really need to do something about it. Rather like with humans, a great many health conditions are caused by excess fat - and some are life-threateningly serious.

Some other observations: You should NOT be feeding an overweight dog the amount recommended for a dog of that weight. If you do, he'll just get fatter. Feeding guidelines don't refer to actual weight, they refer to IDEAL weight. I don't know how tall your dog is (how tall is he?), but the ideal weight for most male boxers is in the region of 65-75lb....

Sooo - having cleared out of the way the question of "is he, or isn't he" (he IS), how about some suggestions for what to do about it?

1. As ever, the first step to losing weight - whether you're human or canine - is *exercise*. There aren't too many of us that can effectively lose weight on diet alone. So, you need to sensibly increase his exercise levels. As a guide, a boxer should have at least an hour, preferably two or more, of good hard *running* exercise daily (leash walks don't count). If he's a long way off that currently, then you'd need to work up to it. But long term, that is what he requires.
2. Feed a better food, and one that isn't loaded with junk carbohydrates (as what you're currently feeding is). Dogs can't digest carbs well (not evolved for it) so they tend to be broken down to complex sugars and stored as fat. Don't bother with so-called diet foods - they rarely work, because most are loaded with carbs and cut the good nutrition (protein and fat) instead. And that just compounds the problem. You might consider trying a high protein/med-high fat/LOW CARB food instead - something like Innova EVO, Orijen or NV Instinct.
3. Don't feed a dog that should weigh 75lb an amount appropriate for a dog who should weigh 100lb. Feed him for 75lb, or slightly *less*.
4. If the dog gets too hungry, add some cooked green beans to his diet. He won't get much out of those nutritionally (which is the point) but they will fill him up. If he's hungry enough, he'll eat them (and if he's not, don't worry about him).
5. *Watch the treats*. If you must give treats, reduce the amount of food at dinner time. It's incredible how many calories some dog treats contain (as well as other undesirables...

 

[MiOzzyBoy]

Thankyou

sandy's mom - I'm Glad we can relate It is hard when people say things about your baby, who you love sooo much. I hope he doesn't have a thyroid problem, but I will definently get that checked out. Thanks for the advice!

gmacleod - Thankyou for being straight forward. I appriciate that. I myself am alittle outta shape, so me and Ozzy have been making an effort to excersise daily together, and we do. I go for a 6 mile walk daily and he absolutley can't wait to go! (on-leash) I bring him plently of water and he gets plenty of breaks as needed. But he loves that sooo much. I also have a large grassy area right across the street at a church where he loves to go and play volleyball with me at. He runs off-leash. He will chase his tennis ball...but he kinda tires of that easily and only brings it back 4 or 5 times and thats it.

As for the food....he is eating wayyy less than he was before. but he seems satisfied. The reccomended just says 2 cups for 50 pounds, so I figured 4 cups for 100 pounds. I am probably wrong there, but he is eating way less than what he was. But you dont think Eukanuba boxer is good food? It seems to do his coat and enery really well and he really likes it He really doesnt get too many treats, just rawhide bones. Oh and to answer your question....he is roughly 24 inches I believe. I will take him to the vet and weigh him again, its been a while but he was in the 100 pound range. I will post and let you know his current weight when I take him Thanks again for your reply!

****MiOzzyBoy*****

 

[Austin's Mom]

Geez I though he looked good! I won't post any pics of Austin! But right now his oncologist is taking the blame for his weight gain (since he's the one who put him on pred) so I don't get yelled at by his regular vet!

 

[gmacleod]

At 24" tall, he should weigh around 65lb... So that gives you a bit of an idea of exactly how much excess weight he's carrying. 35lb, or over a third of his body weight is excess fat.

Seriously, it puts him at higher risk of everything from cancer through diabetes, with arthritis and ligament tears along the way. It is a health, not a cosmetic issue (or I would have used platitudes like "cuddly" or "solid" or "he's a big boy" ).

The extra exercise is an excellent start DO keep it up! Alongside reduced/more appropriate food intake, you should start to see results in his weight (and can take comfort that it's also much better for his long term health).

But you dont think Eukanuba boxer is good food? It seems to do his coat and enery really well and he really likes it

Honestly? I think it's junk. Rather the equivalent of a person having McDonalds every day, every meal - with a few toxic chemicals thrown in for good measure. You might find this site rather useful for information about various different dog foods: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com In the reviews section you would find over 1200 foods rated and reviewed (you'll find your Eukanuba in the 1* (lowest) category).

 

[BxrMommieNAZ]

I totally agree with the above poster. I will say it's HARD to get a pet down in weight. My girl was 82 pounds now we found out she was hypothyroid but even after starting meds she didn't lose much, so since she cannot exercise due to a medical condition we had to do all of her weight loss via diet. Doc wanted her at 65 pounds so I started feeding her at a 65 pound weight through the weight guide on the food. I also got a food that was lower in fat (11%) and then dumped 1/3 cup of her food per day and replaced that with 1/3 cups of unsalted canned green beans and cut out treats basically completely (gave her 1 bone or jerky treat once every 2-3 weeks). She went from 82 pounds to 64 pounds in 6 months and looks GREAT and most importantly she has kept it off. I ditched the green beans when she reached 64 pounds and it was a little bit of a balancing act on how many calories a day to feed her, but I watched her and if she started to fill out too much I'd drop it by 1/8 of a cup. Now at 65 pounds she eats 2 1/4 cups of California Natural's Herring and Sweet Potatoes per day which is around 1,000 calories a day and she maintains her 64-65 pound frame, has a waist and looks great.

You want your dog to have a waist, if they look like a sausage (the same size all the way down) then they are overweight.

So if your dog weighs 100 pounds but should weigh 65 pounds you need to be feeding him the recommended food on the bag for a 65 pound dog otherwise you're over feeding him. So you don't want to feed him based on what he IS but based on what he SHOULD be.

And yes Eukanuba is garbage. Upgrading his food should help a bunch in not only losing weight but helping to fill him up with less food as well. And you have to have will power, cut out the treats, don't give the extra cup of dog food, give green beans instead to fill up with less calories. It can be hard but you are doing him a bigger favor in the long run. Also I would get rid of the rawhides they are extremely dangerous and can cause intestinal blockage. I agree with someone else who suggested he also get a thyroid check. It's easy to treat if he has it and that will help you get the pounds off of him if that is part of the problem also.

Good luck!

 

[ELubas]

Poor boy-he is quite handsome! My boy was hypothyroid and that made a difference when we got that under control. But , honesly, I had to cut his food back and control the treats. He has SAS so he is not as active as most boxers, also a challenge. But a high quality food and reduced portions, plus moderate excercise took 10 lbs off! And he is a much happier boy now. I always say I wish someone could just cut my food back and feed me healthy stuff

 

[mastert]

I too was told that Ty was over weight at our last annual vet visit. He is currently at 94 pounds....I know that's fat! He too is very large chested but was starting to show love handles. We're working on it. I have cut down his food intake and limited the amount of treats. I've also been walking and excercising him more than before and that seems to really be helping. He was at the vet today for his lump removal and the vet seemed happy with our new regimen. But I have to keep it up. It's harder on me than him. I tend to give in too much so I've become a little more strict when it comes to food or treats. So far so good, but we still have a long way to go.

 

[MiOzzyBoy]

Thanks for all the replies! Ok, so like I said I am taking him to the vet tomarrow to get his actual weight and height, but I wanna know how you all feel about Nutro Natural Choice Lite? Would this be anything to try? I dont have much selection in my area, so I need a good food that I can get from petsmart. Any suggestions? Cuz I am not seeing anything like Innova EVO, Orijen or NV Instinct. Ok, so I will feed him the amount for what he should be. Now about the green beans, I am alittle confused. I wanna try it, but the measurments are alittle confusing. Do I mix 1/3 cup unsalted green beans with a normal serving of his dog food? Or do I take out 1/3 of his normal serving and replace it with green beans? I wanna get this right Also, like I said...he will only bring me his tennis ball back like 4 or 5 times, then he looks almost tired of it. He's not very active unless we go for walks then he loves it. But is there anything I can do to make him wanna play ball more? Or is it because of his weight maybe?

****MiOzzyBoy*****