weight

Question
My 1 year old female is overweight.  We feed her Iams weight control.  But how much food do we feed her a day?  She really likes to eat.  Should we feed her once a day or twice a day?

Thank you.  

Answer
Hi Shelly:

Ok, fat 1 yr old?  That is a surprise to me!

Any dog will gorge if given the opportunity to.  Both of my shelties are under 24 lbs and 4/5 years old and are fine because of how we feed them.  You can do it too: ONCE PER DAY, NO MORE THAN 1 MEASURING CUP OF HIGH QUALITY FOOD-THAT'S IT!  Just like the old Dr.Seuss book about the fish.
"He will beg, but don't feed him more than that!"

While I am NOT a veternarian, and you do really need a vet to look at this problem, I would say that you should still buy an Iames/Ekunuba/ProPlan puppy formula until your dog is at least 2 years old.  I would mix it half/half with the diet forumla you already have until it is gone, then go to just the puppy formula.  Here's my take: weight formulas are not usually what a puppy needs, he needs the extra fats and vitamins while his body is growing and "diets" are not good for that.

The old school idea of food always availble isn't good for the dog.  Control over total mealtime is beneficial because you see what the dog is eating and you keep it fresh for him.  And there is the whole spare tire thing too.

What he needs is daily play time with excessive running-teach him to fetch.  Get him on a schedule and you won't have the weight problem in just a few short weeks.  Quit spoiling him so much and you will have a happier dog in the long run.

Hope that helps!
'sneezes
Dave