Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My Harley is about 12 years old, a rescue from a local shelter. I've had her for about one year...She is a Rottie/Lab Mix and has arthitis and the vet says her heart isn't great. Still I love her to death, she's playful and loving.........and a great companion. Here's my trouble.........she's WAY TOO FAT! She was 75 lbs. when I got her and is now at 112..I'm trying to diet her but nothing is working! I hope I can explain this...she's now on a "weight maintenance for older dogs" food, and I give her one cottage cheese container of dog food daily, and she's STILL gaining. Along with gaining, she's always ALWAYS acting like she's starving! My heart won't let her starve, and my head knows that she needs to lose for her health. ANY IDEAS?? I want to be able to feed her and have her comfortable and FEEL like she's fed...........and I want her ALIVE for as long as I can have her! Can she have veggies instead of dog food? Can she eat more often and have her metabolism boost as we humans do? Thanks in advance for any info. I have had dogs all of my life, most of them rescues, but have NEVER had this weight problem before. Oh and the vet HAS run tests, all normal, so it's not a thyroid thing.........thanks again. Forgive me if this is too long or confusing, I'm new lol.

Hi! I know what you are going through! My Molly, Chihuahua Terrier cross is overweight. She is around 11 and a rescue. When I look at pictures of when we adopted her I ask "who is that stringbean!". At Molly's last checkup in June she was 25 pounds. I asked the Holistic Vet on here and he suggested an all meat diet, an Atkins diet if you will. Stating that protein will fill her up and she will eat until she is full and that at this point in her life, carbohydrates weren't as important as if she was a very young, very active pup. Molly has lost weight. It does take time and no table scraps (not saying you give your dog scraps but molly got some). WEightloss is slow which is okay too from what I understand. I also feed her two times a day to avoid little bouts of hunger. The most important thing I did was take her off dry dog food because it does usually contain alot of fillers (carbohydrates). Now, this is only my opinion and what I have tried. Alot of people on here are very helpful and offer a few different options to try! Good Luck and let us know how it goes for you.

Thanks! I just got that same info from a friend who trains search and rescue dogs! I'll keep you informed and hope Harley the fat old doggie loses some weight! If you think of anything else please let me know. She's gotta last a long time, I have lots of love left to give her.........and will TRY not to show that love with table scraps!!

I feel the same about my Molly! It is hard to cut back or cut out table scraps when they keep looking at you but it helps alot! Good Luck!

Mind if I contact you privately?
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Kadee Sedtal
home of old lady Lucy (boxer/lab/garbage disposal), pretty girl Fancy (beagle), the rats- Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Pachebel, Fillmore, Norbert, and baby Franz, the mice- Vivaldi, Brahms, Schubert, Bartok, Rasputin, Johann, Chaminade, Dorothy, Glenda, and Em, and the *adorable* winter white dwarf hamster- Feather
"I wish I had a dollar for every time I spent a dollar, because then, yahoo! I'd have all my money back." -Jack Handey

To abbey_road3012--
Yes,you can contact me privately. Please send me a PM and I'll send you back my email address or I can send you a PM. Thanks!

My Min Pin Struggles with keeping his weight at a some what safe Range. This is what I tried and it seems to be working, Get a Low Calorie dog food I like Nutro Ultra weight matinace or even Merrick Wilderness Blend. Buster Gets fed at least 3 times Daily, I take his total amount he's to get and divide it up between those feedings and it took the weight off, and has kept it off, Also I would suggest having her thyroid Checked.

I'm sorry, I forgot to add that her thyroid tests were normal. I will definitely look at what you've told me tho. My one question regarding your response is that my vet told me to ignore "what she's supposed to be fed for her size" according to the dog food bags.....so.........how do I know what she SHOULD be fed?? Thanks so much!

Buster's Bag says he can have 3/4 a cup a Day OMG if I did that he'd have no legs to walk on he'd be all Fat. he gets 1/8 cup 3 times a Day. Remember that the BAg is a "suggested" amount. you have to find what works for her. What Kind of dog food are you feeding? Also, Feeding less more often makes the dog feel full and not like they are starving.
Sara