I’m looking for some advice on how much to feed my slightly overweight Rhodesian Ridgeback. She is 5 and up until being spayed in May, was bang on for weight (she was around 39/40 kilos but she is a tall dog and she had the right covering and a good waist). She is up to 44 kilos and just a bit porky. I have had periods of time when either me or the dog haven’t been able to exercise as much as i’d like and she has been putting on weight.
I’m able to get her back into a better exercise routine now and want to make sure I’m feeding her the right amount. I’m currently feeding Chappie wet and complete together - she won’t eat just kibble so she is currently roughly 3/4 of a can a day plus 300 grams of chappie kibble and measured dry treats (total around 600 grams). I would happily change to another brand and have looked at Wainwrights as an alternative. I fed raw for about 10 months when she was younger and it simply did not suit her at all. Thanks in advance for any advice offered.
Hello and welcome to the forum. Chappie dry review is here and Chappie wet review is here. If you wish to keep your dog on these products then it would probably be helpful to stop treats and to reduce the food amount by 10%. Keep her on that for a week or two and if there is no weight loss, reduce it by another 10%.
You ask about Wainwright’s and it would be a better choice than Chappie. These products are reviewed on the Dog Food Directory and score much higher than Chappie. Two of their products are low fat, weight control versions - IIRC they are turkey and salmon. Once the dog is of normal weight you could then easily change to the normal adult one.
It would be easier to just use dry food and if you use warm water on the kibble your dog might enjoy it better as it brings the aroma out.
My own experience of controlling weight in dogs is that low fat and higher protein helps. However, accurate weighing of food is vital, as is giving the correct amount - this may be a fair bit lower than the recommended daily amount.
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Thank you for your advice. I knew that things would change after her spay but it has crept on gradually - bit like myself! I have started changing her dry food over to Wainwrights and got the “light” option which she already seems to love! I’ve reduced the amount of Chappie wet food to half a can a day and am measuring everything (including treats and how far we are walking) It’s only been a couple of days but I’m already starting to see a bit of a difference. I will nip into the vets tomorrow for a weigh in and see if the scales equal what my eyes are seeing. Really really appreciate your comments - the site has been really useful in working out what I need to do and your help has confirmed that she and I are heading in the right direction. Sally
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You have made a good choice. I hope that you will soon have your dog at a healthy weight. Thank you very much for updating your thread.
Re; Light option - Without checking, I believe the labelling of a food as ‘light’ means it has to contain 10% less calories than the ‘normal’ adult dog food - the calorific content of food is rarely mentioned on packaging but on average I think it is around 440kj per 100g ( so a light varient would be 400kj). In the past, I’ve recommended Arden Grange Light as it comes in at 326kj per 100g - a 25% reduction. Other foods to look at would be the ones with high oats contents as these are seen as slow release - think ‘fuller for longer’. Arcana and Burns as example. Calorific content is a really useful label that rarely appears on EU foods but is common in USA, much more useful than crude analysis.
As to not eating dry kibble alone, try zapping the kibble in the microwave for a few seconds - this heats up the oils and fats in the food and can make it more appealing.
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