[Elisabeth Kazup]

Penny has a weight problem and needs to lose about 10 pounds. We have her on a weight control formula and are feeding her a little less.

A couple of years ago, we got into this biscuit madness that is out of control. But I'm such a softee that I'm looking here for advice and a will of steel.

I bought her fairly large biscuits for have for a treat once in a while. Well, she loves them and very soon we got into the routine (at her insistance) of giving her one first thing in the morning and another one in the evening. We can set the clock by her asking specifically for her biscuit.

We ran out of biscuits today. Not even a crumb left. What should we do? If I give her a small, puppy sized one she holds it in her mouth and continues to stare at me with the WTH look. I don't know if the bicuits are contributing to her weight or not. We generally don't give her people food except for a tidbit once in a while: a 1/2 square inch of toast or a green bean, a bit of cracker or cheese. We could reduce the amount of her kibble but that seems like reducing nutrition to make room for junk food.

So, how often do you give biscuits (treats) in your Golden's daily life? Not in a training situation. Just 'cause?

Should I even worry about 2 biscuits a day approx 3 inches by 1 inch? Should I worry about 10 extra pounds?

 

[Bob Dylan]

I would keep up your kibble routine, but reduce the snacks.

When Dylan was younger we had the same problem with his weight so I bought rice cakes with no salt and broke them into small pieces. At first he wasn't a happy camper with the rice cakes but he is a Golden and now looks forward to his new treats. On special occasions we give him biscuits that I make homemade.
One rice cake = 35 calories, it is a big difference compared to say Milk Bones 1 large biscuit = 125 calories.

 

[fostermom]

We buy Old Mother Hubbard puppy sized biscuits and the dogs each get 3-4 after dinner (after they do an obedience move of some sort). The vet told us to up the treats for Jasmine because she feels that Jasmine is too lean. So Jay doubles the biscuits she gets right now. They don't care what size they are, they just love to get them.

 

[Jackson'sMom]

My dogs each get a biscuit when I leave for work in the morning. If the biscuit is really large, I will give Mila half of it, as she tends to be on the pudgy side. That has been our routine for years. They really look forward to their morning biscuit, but don't expect one any other time of day.

 

[tippykayak]

10 pounds overweight is actually quite a bit on an animal whose ideal weight is something like 60 pounds, and yummy biscuits can have mega calories.

She's a creature of habit, and that's why you're getting the "WTH" look. Still, you probably need to back off to smaller cookies or giving them a lot less often. Why not buy the yummy biscuits and give her 90% of one tonight, 80% tomorrow, 70%, etc., until you're giving her 1/4 of a biscuit in the morning and a quarter at night, at least until she loses the excess weight. You'll be feeding her random assortments of broken bits for a while, but I bet she won't mind. If you taper down slowly enough, she may never really notice.

That Purina study on healthy weight really opened my eyes. A dog at a lean, healthy weight lives, on average, almost two years longer and delays the onset of most chronic old age conditions by almost two years, compared to a dog who is moderately overweight. The idea of getting two extra healthy years is pretty compelling to me.

 

[marieb]

I use "Charlee Bear" cookies. If you google them, you will get to a website. They are small and only have 3 calories, but Maddie loves them. Maybe you could try something smaller and give them to Penny more frequently during the day.

 

[mdoats]

10 pounds is kind of a big deal when the breed standard is 65-75 pounds. That's something like 15% of the dog's weight. Imagine adding 15% of your current weight to your own body.

Regarding biscuits, I don't give treats every day. I don't even buy the big biscuits. I do buy some smaller ones, but I break them down into little pieces. And Rookie only VERY rarely gets treats that aren't training-related. Would you be able to give Penny some other kind of non-food treat at that time? Maybe a game of tug of war?

 

[mm03gn]

She's a creature of habit, and that's why you're getting the "WTH" look. Still, you probably need to back off to smaller cookies or giving them a lot less often. Why not buy the yummy biscuits and give her 90% of one tonight, 80% tomorrow, 70%, etc., until you're giving her 1/4 of a biscuit in the morning and a quarter at night, at least until she loses the excess weight. You'll be feeding her random assortments of broken bits for a while, but I bet she won't mind. If you taper down slowly enough, she may never really notice.

Hehe, I like this "weaning an addict off of drugs" approach I think it will work just fine

 

[Elisabeth Kazup]

Thanks for so many good ideas.

The vet told us about the '2 more years' study last month when she was in for shots. Of course, I want that for her and to be sound during those 2 years as well.

I like the idea of several small biscuits. Lately I've been putting her in a sit/stay in the family room and hiding broken biscuit pieces (we were down to just the nubs) in the living room. Someone on here mentioned that their dog loved that game. Penny loves it too. She enjoyed the game so much she didn't seem to notice that she wasn't getting a whole, unbroken biscuit.

I think I can wean her down with a smaller version of her favorites. I don't even know what they are called. I get them at the feed mill. She loves them so much, I actually took a bite of one to make sure it wasn't full of salt or sugar. Nope. Tasted like oatmeal without sugar.

 

[jwemt81]

Our dogs just get one cookie a day after coming inside from running around. We use the Iams large biscuits because they are lower in calories and are great at cleaning the teeth. We usually get a huge box of them at PetCo. We sometimes substitute the biscuits with marrow bones, which the dogs LOVE and immediately start drooling when they see them.

 

[NuttinButGoldens]

I've started using Kibble.

I can put about 1/4 cup of kibble in my shirt pocket in the morning, and dolly it out a bit at a time over the day. G-Man gets 25 little treats a day instead of one big one.

He seems happy

 

[fostermom]

I use "Charlee Bear" cookies. If you google them, you will get to a website. They are small and only have 3 calories, but Maddie loves them. Maybe you could try something smaller and give them to Penny more frequently during the day.

I use them as training treats and my dogs love them. They act like I am giving them a piece of steak!

 

[Griffyn'sMom]

I buy one box of Triumph Peanut Butter flavor Biscuits.. once a year - on Griff's Birthday! It usually last him 4-6 months. He only gets them after I cut his nails or give him a bath - something special.

Give her Veggies as treats - Biscuits are like crackers.. useless!

 

[GoldenJoyx'stwo]

I'm not big on treats. DH is alway sharing something with my two! What type of biscuits are they. Find out how many calories they contain and cut back that many calories on the food you feed her for per day.

 

[FeatherRiverSam]

How about a bit more exercise - burn those calories off - there's nothing quite like a tired, happy, healthy dog - particularly a golden.


My nephew and Woody...

Pete

 

[hgatesy]

So, how often do you give biscuits (treats) in your Golden's daily life? Not in a training situation. Just 'cause?

Very rarely do my dogs get biscuits or treats "just because". When we visit people they get them, but not very often in our house. I'm a big meanie, I know! :bowl:

When the boys do get a treat here it's usually not a dog treat, it's an animal cracker. I refuse to spend money on actual dog treats, so instead I get something cheap that I can enjoy too. :

Should I worry about 10 extra pounds?

Yes... like others have said 10lbs is a lot on a dog. It's so much better for your dogs health to keep them on the lean side.

 

[Karen2]

Sierra was 10 lbs overweight when she came to "her forever home" with us last Oct.
I cut back her kibble to 1 cup in the morning and 1 cup in the evening.
We started with no treats at all, but with beginner training classes, we needed treats.
Sierra is a "treat hound" but she usually gets a bite size piece of dried liver as her treat which she loves about anything!
She lost the weight in about the first month and half! (1/2 to 1 hour walks both morning and evening did it).
Now if I could do the same for myself!
Karen

 

[Jackson'sMom]

How about baby carrots as treats? When I get the bag of baby carrots out of the refrigerator, my girls come running! They love them -- they are sweet and crunchy, and very low in calories. Jack used to have to have eye drops every morning, after which he would get a baby carrot. He would fly onto the bed and get in position for his eye drops -- all because he got a baby carrot after the drops.

 

[LuckyPup]

My dog is overweight as well. We just got him 5 weeks ago today (he is 9 months old) and he weighs 85 lbs. He has already lost 1.5 in the weeks that we have had him. We do not give Lucky any biscuits. We do training treats though. We just started click training so he is getting tons!

I like the idea of hiding the treats! That seems like a lot of fun for the dog as well as us to watch!

Good Luck!

 

[Griffyn'sMom]

How about baby carrots as treats? When I get the bag of baby carrots out of the refrigerator, my girls come running! They love them -- they are sweet and crunchy, and very low in calories. Jack used to have to have eye drops every morning, after which he would get a baby carrot. He would fly onto the bed and get in position for his eye drops -- all because he got a baby carrot after the drops.

AWWWW! That's GREAT!

A treat CAN be something healthy! They don't know and let's face it - the way they gulp a treat down it could be almost anything. Fruit is a good option too - so long as it's not too much!

Griff LOVES watermelon, cantaloupe, apples and pears.
Veggies: Carrot, Broccoli (he loves pieces of the stalks), pepper, green beans.