[Partsman41953]

Hi all,

I have a 7 year old female cockapoo who is in good health except for the fact she is at least 10 lbs overweight. Part of her weight problem is the fact that she did not get a lot of exercise until recently when we purchased a bichon puppy who Tootsie (our cockapoo) runs around the yard chasing. My wife and I also have been giving her some table food, which we have recently stopped. She is on Chicken Soup for the Soul Senior food and I feed her a cup of hard food mixed with some soft food twice a day. I need suggestions, before we take her to the vet and he has a fit how overweight she is, what type of diet we can put her on so she can start losing some weight.

Thanks

 

[wellerfeller]

Hi, its a simple problem cut her food down and up her exercise. She will lose weight but no cheating!!! You have to be strict and not give in to any scrounging. Why did she not get any exercise until you getting the puppy, do you not walk your dogs?
All dogs should be walked its unfair on them not to.
Good luck.

 

[DONNA]

I agree with Karen , how about just one meal aday at dinner time most of my friends with adult dogs do this.
Remember if she is over weight then that will be putting extra pressure on her joints so id start off gradually with the exercise.

Im sure there was someone on here who had a rescue poo who was overweight and they mangaged to get her weight down ,hopefully they will responed to your thread ,sorry i cant remember who it was.

 

[wellerfeller]

User name georgiapeach and her dog is Rosie, weight loss success story!!

 

[Laura(L)Izzie]

Hi & welcome! Hope you sort the problem out, do the dogs get walked? :/

 

[lady amanda]

I was going to get you to message Georgiapeach too! she did great with Rosie! Great weightloss! humnh....Maybe i should hire Georgiapeach to give me a food plan too! lol

 

[Partsman41953]

We walk them occasionally but mostly we just let her out in our fenced back yard. Her "sister" is a 14 year old Pomeranian who has some health issues so she does not get much exercise herself. Now that we have the bichon puppy who is very active our cockapoo and bichon run around the back yard like crazy. I will email Georgiapeach to see if she put her dog on a special diet.

Thanks again.

 

[Dylansmum]

Walking, although vital for exercise, also gives dogs a chance to explore and gives them both mental and physical stimulation, opportunities to socialise with other dogs and also people, and gives you a valuable training and bonding opportunity. Whether on a lead or, ideally with plenty of off-lead time as well, every dog should have at least one daily walk. It's one of the joys of dog ownership.

 

[Laura(L)Izzie]

I agree with Helen dogs really love getting out & going for walks, Izzie goes mad when the lead comes out Even though they do play in the garden together racing round we also give them a walk a day, at least for half an hour off lead to get them to have a run round in open space, I would definitely advise that, esoecially if your cockapoo is overweight, exercise should be a priority in helping to bring the weight down again.

 

[ali-s.j.]

I too have an older dog, and since getting my cockapoo she has enjoyed the increase in exercise as their walks involve a lot of chasing about - Phoebe has lost weight (she was a little overweight)
It's the highlight of my day, watching my girls chasing around in the woods and the beach together, they have so many doggy friends they meet regularly too

 

[Rufini]

Vincent loves running around the garden but there is nothing better than letting him really stretch his legs in a park or field.
He's been stuck at home recently because of a chest infection, he's literally going mad indoors - he just doesn't get the same stimulation indoors, or in the garden, as he does on a good walk.

Do you not walk regularily because of your own time schedule? If so you should look into professional dog walkers, or even a neighbour to really make sure your dogs both get out of the house at least once a day.

 

[cleo]

i agree, why are you not walking them? Is it a health reason or just laziness? I think it is a little cruel to only walk them occasionally, they should be walked everyday. Our dog gets walked twice a day most days.

If your other dog is in poor health then perhaps it is because she/he is not getting enough exercise too?and the lastest dog will go the same way. I am not meaning to be rude but perhaps you should think about whether your environment is the best place for a puppy. I agree that if you walked them they would probably loose weight without the diet.

 

[Georgiapeach]

We walk them occasionally but mostly we just let her out in our fenced back yard. Her "sister" is a 14 year old Pomeranian who has some health issues so she does not get much exercise herself. Now that we have the bichon puppy who is very active our cockapoo and bichon run around the back yard like crazy. I will email Georgiapeach to see if she put her dog on a special diet.

Thanks again.

Check your messages.

 

[Spoiledpooch]

Our almost 4 year old cockapoo seems to have put on weight since we've had the new puppy- simply because we feed her twice a day... as the puppy needed. The puppy is now 8 mo. old though and wondering if we can scale back to once a day for both of them? And wondering how to do that?

 

[Georgiapeach]

You can continue to feed twice a day forever if you want to. I feed all of our dogs twice a day - it keeps them happier and keeps their metabolism working harder. However, reduce the portion to avoid putting on weight. For example, I feed Rosie 1/4 c. in the a.m. and 1/3 c. along with 2 baby carrots and 2 heaping TBSP. of no-salt green beans in the p.m. I feed kibble (Taste of the Wild, BB Wilderness, Innova), rotating every few bags to avoid an intolerance to a given food. I prefer grainless kibble, or at the very least, no corn, wheat, or soy in the food.

When Rosie was on her diet, she was getting only 1/4c. both morning and evening, along with the carrots and green beans at the p.m. feeding. We'll occasionally give the dogs one sardine in their eveing meal - good protein and gloucosimine (we use the canned sardines packed in water). She also gets a few apple slices occasionally for treats. We give dog biscuits VERY sparringly (they're like a person eating potato chips, after all) - maybe one or two very small pieces a day (we use Paul Newman's small sized treats - no corn, wheat, or soy).

If your older dog tries to steal the puppy's food, feed them in different rooms or in their crates until the meal is over.

 

[kimmiecheeks]

My cockapoo was overweight last year...she is supposed to be 19 lbs for her frame, and she was pushing 27 lbs! I simply cut her dry food serving in half for the day, walked her for 15 minutes in the morning and 30-35 minutes in the evening and now she is at her ideal weight!

 

[Kel]

A question for everyone who has cut back their dog's food to help them lose weight...How did the dog handle it? Did they act deprived and whine for more? Did they adjust quickly to less food?

I took Chloe for her vaccinations today and just as I suspected, she is overweight. She is 19 pounds and should only be about 16. The weight gain definitely started when we switched to her new food, so we will have to get that all sorted out. I hope getting Chloe to lose weight is easier than losing weight myself!

 

[Greenleys19]

Hiya, I really wouldn't worry. My younger dog who is now 8mths is 10lb 1oz. My vet said just to keep an eye on her, and she has regular vet checks as she is still a pup. Shes still growing and is very active so m sure she'll loose it. Her mum is a show cocker and she is quite stocky, every dog is different after all. Sue

 

[mommadog]

My cockapoo Ripley is a fatty too.. But he was always very fit and super active until we had him neutered the end of last year. He is 8 now. Within weeks of being neutered he blimped out. We do not feed scraps or even treats right now. He used to be 16-18 pounds and now he is 25 pounds last I checked. I can hardly pick him up any more. He eats his normal amount that he did before being neutered.

It is hard to feed him apart from the other dogs, and walking him isn't possible since I am disabled and can't walk much. And no on the dog walker. We have a huge piece of property where he runs and plays. We play fetch with him, and he just can't seem to lose.

Now I was thinking my son (he is 23) might of been feeding him junk and told him not to. Well my son has since moved out, just a week ago so I am hoping to see some weight loss. But my son says he wasn't giving him junk, but he is a liar..lol

 

[marzy]

hi dogs do put a little on after neutering...
see how it goes now son is gone ...
you might have to reduce food down a little and monitrr his exercise too
mar xx