I have a 15 month old Cockapoo called Leo that is slightly over weight due to him being neutered and now having a slow metabolism. We also have a 17 month old Cockapoo called Bella who is also Neutered but her weight is spot on main reason being she has been nick-named Tigger as she bounces & runs everywhere .
With Leo he is on Fish4Dogs Finest adult food with fish oil as an extra, originally he was on 200g a day until I noticed he was very heavy and looked like he needed a diet, booked him into vets to get weight check and he was just over 14kg. Dropped it to 150g a day and he still hasn’t lost any! he obviously plays with Bella and has walks twice a day and two big walks on the weekend, but still the same. we have now adjusted his food to 130g a day and in a slow eating bowl.
I’m hoping I am doing the right thing? as for treats which is very rare it could be half a carrot, fish twist or fish nibbles.
A few years ago I used Fish4Dogs Superior so have some experience of their products. At the time I had two dogs who needed to lose a bit of weight. I looked at the weight control version but the fat is quite low and I didn’t think that their weight justified such a reduction. However, I bought some and mixed it 50/50 with the Superior.
I can’t remember exactly but I did the sums and it brought the fat down to a level that I thought was satisfactory. Unfortunately this also brings the protein down and I was once told that dieting dogs need decent protein intake. I therefore topped up the food with things such as lean chicken, white fish, scrambled egg. I used to give them an amount of kibble that was a little below the bottom RDA. This seemed to keep their weight under control.
My experience is that if you have a dog that is prone to weight gain you need to stick to food that is lower in fat, i.e. below 12% - 13% dry matter. You also have to formulate your own RDA by monitoring the dog’s weight and body condition. My friend fed her Labradors F4D for some years and was only able to give them about half to two thirds of the RDA due to their tendency for weight gain. I find that a suitable RDA for my two spayed bitches is about 1% of their ideal body weight.
Suitable non starchy vegetables can help to satisfy the dog’s appetite but they should be cooked and mashed up to aid digestion.