register for free
View our sister sites
Our sister sites
Our sister sites
Our sister sites
pollyluvsalfie
New Member!
pollyluvsalfie is offline  
Location: manchester
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 1
Female 
 
03-07-2011, 07:51 PM

Newbie...please help with diet advice

Hi everyone

I am a total newbie on here. I just wanted a bit advice about my little fellas diet. He's is just 7 years old and for the last year or so I have took him off dog food for a number of reasons...he eat soooo fast and doesnt even chew his food, he was getting a little overweight so I changed him to bland food mainly rice n tuna which he seems to love....trouble is he doesnt seem to be losing any weight...is there any special food i can buy????
Reply With Quote
smokeybear
Dogsey Veteran
smokeybear is offline  
Location: Wiltshire UK
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 14,404
Female 
 
03-07-2011, 07:53 PM
Originally Posted by pollyluvsalfie View Post
Hi everyone

I am a total newbie on here. I just wanted a bit advice about my little fellas diet. He's is just 7 years old and for the last year or so I have took him off dog food for a number of reasons...he eat soooo fast and doesnt even chew his food, he was getting a little overweight so I changed him to bland food mainly rice n tuna which he seems to love....trouble is he doesnt seem to be losing any weight...is there any special food i can buy????
Tuna and rice is not a balanced diet for your dog. Dogs do not chew food and they also tend to eat fast in case some other dog comes and steals it!

The way to lose weight is to feed your dog LESS food and exercise him more, just like us.

I would recommend that you feed your dog proper dog food whiich contains all the vitamins, minerals, essential amino acids it needs.

Tuna and rice will not provide these.
Reply With Quote
krlyr
Dogsey Veteran
krlyr is offline  
Location: Surrey
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 4,420
Female 
 
03-07-2011, 07:57 PM
As above, feeding a balanced diet is the key thing here and what you're feeding won't provide everything. When my doggy gained a couple of kilos, I reduced his food and upped his exercise - not running a marathon or anything, just pushing him a little further than usual on each walk. E.g. I threw the ball an extra two or three times for him, or I'd throw in the odd bit of jogging instead of walking, just little extras here and there.
If he seems to have just started gaining weight on the same amount of food as normal, it might be worth a vet trip to rule out a health issue being the cause - for example, thyroid issues can cause weight problems, either loss or gain.

Btw dogs often don't really chew their food - their teeth aren't designed to! They have big, sharp spikey teeth for ripping meat and gnawing bones, not flat molars for chewing food. Lots of the digestion takes place in the stomach, but if you're worried he's eating too quickly, you could try a few things - a larger sized kibble to encourage him to crunch it a little, a special bowl to slow him down (e.g. the Brake Fast bowl), soaking the food slightly with water (this may help with the diet, too, as it'll increase the volume he eats without actually feeding him more), feeding him in a Kong/activity ball, scattering his food on the floor, and so on.
Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools


© Copyright 2016, Dogsey   Contact Us - Dogsey - Top Contact us | Archive | Privacy | Terms of use | Top