puggles

Question
QUESTION: I have a 3 1/2 yr. old male puggle.  His 2 issues are his weight...All he wants to do is eat, constantly.  He weighs about 45lbs. and we are really trying to watch what he eats, but he is not losing. I also walk him daily as well. How much should he be eating and what? And is this the cause of having to have is anal glands expressed almost weekly.
Thank you.

ANSWER: No, Jane, his weight doesn't have anything to do with having his anal glands expressed. However, his diet could be the cause of both issues.

What are you currently feeding him, how much are you feeding him, and how often? With a dog like yours, who just wants to eat, eat, eat, I recommend putting him on a feeding schedule. Feed him either once or twice a day. If you feed him twice a day, split the amount of food that he should be eating each day in half and feed half of it in the morning and half in the evening. Since puggles are a mixed breed, it's difficult to say exactly what he *should* weigh, but, according to the breed standards, beagles should weigh around 20-24 pounds & pugs vary from 13 to 20 pounds. That means that your dog should probably weigh somewhere around 20 pounds, I'd guess. If he weighs 45 pounds, he is severely obese, and obesity in dogs is no one's fault but the owners. You are feeding him way too much, and way too often.

He should be eating no more than 1 cup of kibble per day, at his ideal weight of 20 pounds. However, just like with humans, you don't want him to lose weight too quickly, so I would recommend that you start feeding him 1 1/2 to 1 2/3 cups of food each day, then, after 3 weeks, cut back to 1 cup per day. Table scraps are off limits. Treats are also off limits. If you just can't make it through the day without giving him a treat, then measure out the amount of his evening meal and whenever you want to give him a treat, give him a piece of kibble out of that pre-measured amount. If you want to give him something like a Jumbone or Dentastix, then cut one of his meals for that day in half.


Feeding a dog too much food can cause the stools to become soft, which prevents the anal glands from expressing themselves. Hopefully, as your dog gets down to his ideal weight, his stools will firm up and you will no longer have to take him to have his anal glands expressed once a week.

Good luck and please let me know if there is anything else I can do to help. Also, I'd like to share this page about dog foods with you: http://dogfoods.angelfire.com

Kristen

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

QUESTION: Thanks for your answer, but he really is a really large puggle, not just overweight.  I am feeding him Purina one DIET, 2cups a day. Should I drop down to 1 cup gradually? He also has allergies and sometimes scratches uncontrollably. We did the Venison for a while, but it really did not make a difference. I also tried the diet Hills canned as well. So what should I be feeding him and how much?  What is your take on not feeding him dogfood and going to ppl. food.
Thank you so much for your help.

Answer
If you haven't yet, I'd encourage you to take a look at the page I gave the link to in my last reply:

http://dogfoods.angelfire.com

It addresses your questions about allergies and how to pick a better food. I would still drop him down to no more than 1 1/2 cups of food a day, to get him to lose some weight. Even if both of his parents were on the large end of the scale as far as size and weight, your dog still should not be more than 25 pounds or so.

I do not recommend feeding 'diet' dog foods, because they are often made with mostly grains and other fillers. You can often get your dog's weight under control simply by decreasing the amount of his regular food, unless there is an underlying health issue that's causing the obesity (like a thyroid problem, for example). If he still acts hungry, you can mix some plain, unsalted green beans in with his kibble. That will make him *think* he's getting more, but because green beans are very low in calories, they will not cause him to gain weight. If you choose to do this, I would suggest putting 1/4 cup of green beans in his food if you're feeding him 1 1/2 cups of kibble. ;^)


I am not opposed to feeding a dog 'real' food instead of kibble, but it's important to balance things so that the dog does not begin to suffer from nutritional deficiencies. I actually prefer feeding raw vs. cooking since cooking destoys most of the nutrients and vitamins that dogs need. If you're interested in feeding raw, there are a couple of links on the dogfood page. If you're interested in cooking your dog's meals, there is plenty of information on that online and in bookstores as well, or you can consult the help of a canine nutritionist.