Help with overweight cocker spaniel please!!!!

[ajb123]

Lulu is a speyed 20 month old cocker spaniel. Despite my best efforts she is huge! (weighed today at Vets at 20.5kg!!!!) SHe has access to all areas of the house and garden (weather permitting) & has 1 10 minute walk am and 40mins pm off lead with running etc. SHe has James Wellbeloved light food 80g and 1 sachet J. wellbeloved pouch. Any ideas what else I can do? Cannot up the exercise much due to time restrictions and dont know what to do about food - she is already on half the recommended daily allowance. Please help if you have any brilliant ideas - she is such a good doer!!!

 

[Foxyfilly]

How many treats does she get?

I'd just feed less and exercise more, for a cocker she
doesn't get enough IMO.

 

[Slinkyunicorn]

I have a cocker who would happily feed his fat face if I let him! His 2 scoops of JWB a day don't weigh 80gms and he is walked everyday and hangs out on the yard the rest of the time. They do tend to put on weight more after they have been speyed/castrated. It also depends on how big a frame your spaniel is. Mine is a blue roan and it is not uncommon for them to be very big - he is bigger than a lot of springers! so is at the top end of the weight range for cockers on all the charts but is clearly not overweight (can just feel his ribs). in the meantime until the days stretch out and you can excercise her more I would just cut down her food and make sure she is not getting any treats.

 

[jvoyce]

You could ask your vet about Hills R/D (money back guarantee if it doesn't work in 8 weeks). After coming to the end of other ideas we have been using a drug called Slentrol for our ancient labrador who is too creaky to run it off and in 3 months she has lost 3.5 kg - it binds the fat in the diet so can cause vomiting and diarrohea but our old girl hasn't had the side effects. Again, speak to your vet about it as it's prescription only.

Thinking about getting some for myself now

 

[ajb123]

We tried Hills R/D - no good!!!!

 

[meemzul]

What about a low calorie food, my springer soon gets fat if he is on a high protein diet.

 

[maisie]

I feed my lab (8yo was 9kgs overweight after being spayed - also has arthitic shoulder following injury, has thyroid problem and is epileptic

) on Burns High Oats - since she's been on it (Aug 08) she's lost 7kgs, has got twice as much energy, has a fabulous coat and doesn't itch any more - she also doesn't shed hair all year round anymore- well worth the money IMHO.

 

[Shanny]

Try making him work for his food with one of those balls (sorry, not sure what they are called), when he pushes the ball around the kibble drops out. It will keep him amused too.