older dog - weight management

[evans36]

So, I have an 8 y/o male lab with arthritis. He was just neutered at age 6, right at the same time we discovered his arthritis, and we’ve been struggling with his weight since then.

Currently he eats 1.5 c of Merrick Grain Free daily, along with 3c green beans cooked in chicken broth (Yes, I make these weekly. He won’t eat vegetables unless they’re cooked in meat juice…). The Merrick bag says he should be getting 3c daily if our goal weight is 80 lbs (we’re currently hovering around 90).

And… we’re gaining weight! He has maintained ok, the vet approved his dining program back in January when we first switched him over to the beans, and we don’t have plans to go back for a couple months. Bloodwork, etc, was normal in January.

It just doesn’t seem to make sense that he’s not losing. Anyone else had this issue? I don’t think he can exercise more because of his joint pain, but I also am not sure how we can possibly feed him less.

[ThistleDewDressage]

Are you positive that no one is feeding any treats? I know a lot of clients that had people in the family that felt sorry for the dog on a diet and were treating behind the back of the main feeder. I would also consider scaling back a little more, I know it seems horrible, but a dog that has very little exercise is burning very few calories and needs little food to maintain weight. Good luck.

[jetsmom]

Is he on anything for his arthritis? If not, talk to your vet about Adequan at a loading dose for a month (1 shot every 3 1/2-4 days for a month). It works great on about 80% of dogs.

Light exercise is good for arthritis. If you can walk him for 20-40 min twice a day on a soft(er) surface, as opposed to concrete, even better. Swimming also works well.

Flax oil can also help.

More exercise should help get the weight off.

I’d probably also have vet do a thyroid blood test. It may have changed since his last one. Even slightly low can make them gain weight.

[csaper58]

Is there any opportunity for him to swim? As mentioned, it is a good form of exercise for arthritic dogs, and burns lots of calories.
And another vote for checking his thyroid.
Also, does Merric make a low calorie/low fat dog food? This grain free may have to much fat, which you dog is storing instead of burning for energy. It might be time to try a low fat + low carb. food.

[RackNRoll]

[QUOTE=ThistleDewDressage;7654490]
Are you positive that no one is feeding any treats? [/QUOTE]

This was the culprit with my senior dogs, who spend quite a bit of time out in the yard. We discovered our retiree neighbors were tossing their stale bread over the fence, half a loaf at a time! Also, our postman was not only treating with the milk bones they have, he was also sharing the remnants of his lunch!

[SquishTheBunny]

Any chance he is hypothyroid?

[Horsegal984]

I left my original post below incase the breakdown of RER and dieting can help somebody else. Just re-read your OP and saw that the 1.5cups of food was per day not per feeding. Based on that I’m suspicious of treats, hypothyroid, or that your “cup” isn’t really an 8oz cup (you’d be surprised how often this is the culprit!). Also, swimming and other controlled exercise to help build muscle, as resting muscle burns calories while fat doesn’t, it will also help him to stay sounder longer with his hip issues.

Original reply-
You need to cut your food back more. For weight loss the recommendation is 1.0xRER (resting energy requirements) based on his ideal weight. If you want him about 80lbs his RER is right at 1000kcal per day. He’s getting over 90kcal in green beans (plus whatever the meat broth adds, I would guesstimate about 110kcal total) and his food is 460kcal per cup. So he’s eating 1490kcal per day, the amount that a 120lb dog should be getting.

Hope this helps!

[evans36]

Thanks, everyone!

I am pretty sure he’s not getting treats beyond the one rawhide daily that we give him. And the “cup” we are using is a 1/4c. measuring cup… so we’re definitely giving the amount we think. He’s on adequan (a monthly shot right now, but it’s been about 6 months since his last loading dose, so it’s about time for that again), as well as gabapentin daily and tramadol as needed.

There’s not a great place for us to take him swimming, although we try to get to the river at least 2x monthly. He goes on a walk daily in the evenings, and about 3x/week he goes to the barn for a few hours where he’s off leash and runs around at his leisure. He’s usually pretty gimpy for a day after we go to the barn.

He’s heading back to the vet in a couple months (as soon as we finish paying for the new beagle rescue’s trip to the emergency vet…) and we’ll pull new bloodwork, but everything was fine in January.

If we’re to cut back food again, I think it’s do-able, but I worry about the nutrients he needs and isn’t getting because he’s not getting the entire amount of a complete feed. Should I be feeding him a vitamin or something if he isn’t getting a complete feed?

[Horsegal984]

Woooooaaahhh… Lets talk rawhides… What kind of rawhide are you talking? A chip, a roll, a knotted end bone? Those are loaded in calories.

Glad to hear you’re using an actual measuring scoop, we had a client we had three different discussions with before we finally got out of her that she was using a cup the size of a 16oz glass and calling it a “cup”. Also, I wouldn’t worry about a “complete” serving based on the bag, their job is to sell feed so they always recommend far more than pup actually needs. However if you’d like to add a vitamin I would look at something like Missing Link Joint formula since it has everything he needs for both vitamins and joint health.

I wouldn’t necessarily recheck all bloodwork but have a full Thyroid panel done, as that’s your number one culprit for metabolic weight gain.

[evans36]

He gets a rawhide roll after dinner… he has us trained so well.
Will have to check the calories in that and re-do the math.

[GraceLikeRain]

How long are you walking each day?

[Horsegal984]

Haha yeah it’s so hard when they have us trained isn’t it! If you have trouble finding the calorie info on them let me know the brand/packaging info and I probably have it on the list at work.

[SquishTheBunny]

Check on the rawhides. They can be lowish in calories, but many of them are soaked in a fatty substance to make them more enjoyable = high calorie!

Freeze some chicken broth, and give him “chicken ice cubes” as treats.