Fat beagle

how much exercise is she getting?

I do recall that Kimm has the formula but unfortunately I don't remember it either. I do know that substituting some of the kibble with unsalted green beans has done wonders for many here on the forum. Unless there is some underlying medical condition dogs really do well with a reduction in caloric intake and and increase in exercise. Good luck to you.

10 calories per pound you want your dog to weigh. So if you want him to weigh 20 pounds, that would be 200 calories.

Wow, now that I'm thinking about it, that doesn't seem like a whole lot. That's like less than a cup a day of most premium reduced calorie kibbles.

Not sure how this works then with smaller dogs

I would just give her 1/3 of a cup twice a day and see how that works for her, if she's not loosing enough, then 1/4 cup twice a day. Toss in a handful of green beans (the frozen ones are good too, easier to deal with in smaller amounts) and done!

Lana

She does not get much exercise, which with working 10 hour days with a 45 minute commute 4 days a week and getting home at 9 pm, that isn't likely to change, especially now that it is dark when I get home.
200 calories does sound like a little too little. I'll try the 1/3 cup twice a day.

just to clarify, i work 6 days a week, its just 4 days I commute, the other 2 it's about 5 minutes

Taz Monkey said:

She does not get much exercise, which with working 10 hour days with a 45 minute commute 4 days a week and getting home at 9 pm, that isn't likely to change, especially now that it is dark when I get home.
200 calories does sound like a little too little. I'll try the 1/3 cup twice a day.

Click to expand...

Speaking from experience, the waistline of a beagle can be a challenge even with lots of exercise. I don't generally subscribe to the blanket theory of 10 calories per pound because the nutritional breakdowns in different foods can greatly vary and should be taken into account. However, given the higher protein and fat levels in the grain free formula, you probably indeed do need to feed very little for a beagle who doesn't get much exercise (the fat is not being utilized/thus stored and excess protein turns to fat as well). I usually find the gram of digestable protein per every pound of body weight to be a reliable starting point in gaging feeding amounts. I'm generally not for the more grainy foods, but in this case, if there is a reputable non-diet food with lower protein and fat contents that your beagle can tolerate, it might be a better fit for him at least until the weight is reduced.

I don't agree with formulas either, everyone's different and so are their dogs. Personally I've done the 1200 - 1500 calorie diets and 'should' have lost weight, nope! I'm finding that for ME, I have to go much lower - 800-900 calories a day average - to loose. It might not be the healthiest according to the experts, and I'm sure if I ate whatever I wanted afterwards I'd gain. But I'm pretty sure that even if I lost it very slowly (1/4 to 1/2 a pound a week) and then ate whatever I wanted I'd gain it back...:bowl:

If the 1/3 meals don't work, then you can go 1/4 for one or both meals.

Lana

Cut calories. Period. If the food is good and the weight loss is slow, she's not at risk for malnutrition. Unless there's an underlying health condition, a fat dog is one that's eating more food than necessary. Cut the food back. Add the green beans if it makes you feel better or appears to appease her, but the thing that's really going to help is restricting her calories.

Beagles seem to have chronic weight problems. My Mila is beagle/Lab, and she has always been a pudgy dog. Her thyroid was a bit low, so she has lost a little bit of weight and now has an actual waist since starting on thyroid meds. She walks a mile/day and is a real chow hound, as most beagles are. I have her on a reduced calorie food by Natural Balance, and she eats 1/2 cup twice/day. She is bigger than a typical beagle at 40-45 pounds, due to her Lab heritage.