MY DOGS WEIGHT

Question
QUESTION: I have a 4 year old male fawn that recently had a visit with the vet.  He is 86 pounds and she said he is fat.  I feed him about 4 cups of food per day broken up into two meals, two cups per meal.  I was told to cut it down to one cup per meal.  He is very active, walks about 3 miles per day and runs like a boxer typically does.  Although he is so active, and feed very well he still looks for food.  I was told that health problems are coming down the pipe line if I don't change his life.  Can you give me some good, quality insight on this matter.  Thank you in advance for your time and have a great holiday.

ANSWER: Hi Robert,

86 lbs. is very heavy for a Boxer.  I can give you better advice if you tell me what you are currently feeding him.

BTW-your vet is absolutely correct in telling you that health problems are imminent if he doesn't lose weight.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you Nicole.  I feed him Purina Naturals chicken and oatmeal, with about 1/8 cup of boiled chicken.  Since Thursday we have cut him down to one cup of food with the same boiled chicken.

Answer
Hi Robert,

Ok.  That helps, thanks.  :)

A good indicator that you are over-feeding is that your dog is walking 3 miles a day and still overweight (possibly obese).  An average male Boxer should weigh between 60 and 65 pounds.  Mind you, this is average, there are obviously smaller dogs and larger ones.  

For the food you're feeding the daily allowance, we'll go with the middle for his appropriate weight, is 3 cups.  You're feeding the amount at the high end for the weight he currently is.  It's actually the recommended amount for a 100 lb. dog.  ;)

Assuming he's built on the average size frame, he's got about 15 lbs. to lose and then maybe a few more.  This would make him obese.  A healthy Boxer has a nice waist, almost an hour glass shape when looked at from the top.  You should be able to see the shadow of his last two ribs and feel the rest w/out having to press your hands down with force.

Weigh him today..the easiest way is to weigh yourself, hoist him up, weigh the both of you, and then subtract the original weight.  Assuming you can pick up an 86 lb. dog.  If you can't, go with 86 lbs and see if your vet will let you use her scale in 2 weeks.  

I do not agree with your vet in cutting him back to 2 cups a day at this point.  That is the caloric intake for a 35 lb. dog.  I would go with 3 cups and weigh him in 2 weeks.  If he's lost 2-3 lbs. you're on the right track.  If he's not, reduce the amount by a 1/3 cup each meal for another 2 weeks.  

Once you find the amount of food that he's eating and losing weight on, you're good.  Once he's lost all his weight, you will then need to adjust to a maintenance amount.

You may also want to adjust his exercise.  A 3 mile wandering/sniffing walk is different than a 3 mile power walk.  Because he's heavy, there is extra stress on his joints and over-exercise could be dangerous.  If he's currently on a wandering/sniffing routine, power-walk him for a mile instead.  Or rollerblade, bike, run, etc.  

If I can help you with anything else, let me know.  I, too, created a fatty and it took about a year to get her back into shape.  :)