Yes I am happy so far as changes made have been very gradual. By that I mean I didn’t just swop her immediately to a different food and less of it. I mixed the two foods (old and new) in different proportions for a while , before getting her on to only the low fat one. Then started reducing the portion size bit by bit to the size recommended by MW which was at the lower end of the guide on the packet for the size she needs to be. I’m using the MW Tracker Mix now (yes it was Farmers before) and now giving her 300g per day split into two meals. This is how MW advised to introduce it in our email exchange. (NB the email from MW came from a different nutrition adviser, not Mark).
Only one person still gives her lots of treats but fortunately she doesn’t see them too regularly! I control the rest which she gets for reward based training. People will give her the odd biscuit but it’s way less often than before.
Not really much increase in retrieving. We tried to increase the time with the ball on our walks but she just lost interest. She’d rather be sniffing and generally bouncing around. She only seems to enjoy the ball when there are other dogs involved in the game. We do play with other dogs a couple of days a week but not every day.
Her kong fillings are healthier now, that’s the other change.
The vet said to expect it to take a long time. He also said that food adjustments are made very gradually so that she hardly notices the difference. She’s not an obese dog, just a bit overweight, which I guess is why both I and the vet don’t feel the need to ‘crash diet’ her, but we do want her to lose this bit of weight sensibly while she’s still young and active.
Apart from what the scales show her waist is looking more defined now so I’m happy it’s going in the right direction.
Do bear in mind that the amount that MWH have suggested will be assuming Zero treats, zero tit bits & a lack of filled Kongs etc. I would either cut out all of those or make a suitable reduction from the bowl if you truly know the amount. Maybe try restricting your treats to kibble taken from daily food weight and maybe given for presented ball retrieves (which will cause dog to burn off more fat than strolling & sniffing.
I would agree that you are heading in the right direction, however, (without wishing to appear negative), I have seen greater weight changes in my lab over much shorther duration.(I got 2kg off over a few weeks… Nothing drastic just more exercise a bit less in the bowl).
Hope I don’t come across badly…genuinely want to support & assist.
