weight control for my golden retriever

Question
Hi Charlotte B.,
My golden retriever is about 3-4 yrs. old and grossly overweight (113#).  Her thyroid tests came back within normal range.  We have had her on Science diet that we purchase at Farm & Fleet.  We are giving her about 2 cups twice a day for a total of 4-5 cups.  Initially she lost 3# within 2 wks. but for the last month has actually gained 1/2 lb.  She is an outside dog so she is somewhat active, although not as active as our other golden who does not have a weight problem.  We have horses that we feed grain and she will eat the stool so we have no control over that.  Our vet tells us this is normal.  We are very concerned and would like your advice regarding a good dog food that is not going to break the bank.  Is the Science diet food a good choice?  Maybe we should cut it back some but we are concerned she will be hungry.  The Science diet is $30.00/bag.  Is there one you would recommend that would cost less?
Thank-you for any help,
Cheryl Carlile

Answer
Hi Cheryl;
Science diet is an excellent choice, horse poop is not.LOl
I know, dogs do have some gross eating habits.LOl
I don't know what her normal weight should be for her breed and frame, but that does sound a little porky.
5 cups sounds like a lot of food. what does the chart on the bag say she should have for a total daily feeding?
You also have to consider that she is getting calories from the horse lot snacks. THAT is what is making her so fat.
What does your vet say about adjusting her dog food intake to allow for the binge eating in the barnyard.
I'm sorry to be making light of that, but it IS funny.
With animals, as with raising children, you HAVE to laugh at it, even if you DO have to take steps to correct it.
We try to be civilized, then we start to raise children and animals, and all that goes out the window. The challenges they do put us through!
I can balance my dogs' diet with occasionally letting them have people food, and allowing for that in their daily intake of food, but you have a unique challenge. I have NO idea how much to allow for her eating the horse droppings, or if there is nutrition in that or if it is just empty calories.
Your Vet should really give you more help in that area.
Is there any possib;e way you can keep her out of the horse lot?
She really does need to stop eating that.
Obviously you are aware of the problems and dangers of her being so overweight.
Her weight is why she is not as active as the other Golden. Does the other dog eat the droppings?
Really, that is sort of normal, but it is also an indication of some emotional oproblems.
Dogs have them too. They have anxiety disoorders just like people do.
I had communication from a gentleman a couple of years ago whose Labrador had a compulsive disorder, and the dog would get in the pool and swim and could not be gotten out.. He would swim until he collapsed from exhaustion, and if they were not there to get him out, he would drown.
they left him with a friend, while they went out of town and the dog swam for 18 hours.
We feed Nature's Choice, the lamb and rice formula.
We feed the senior formula because our dogs are in that age range and need fewer calories etc.
It might be advisable for you to put her on a senior formula. There would be fewer calories and it is for less active dogs that need their liver and kidneys watched closer, but i am thinking there would be in the horse droppings, too much of all these nutrients.
That is a real problem, not knowing just what it is she is ingesting.
She could be eating nutrients in too high an amount and setting herself up for real health problems.
Speak to your Vet about these concerns, because it would be terrible if she is getting minerals etc that could cause kidney or liver malfunction.
The Nature's choice is a little less costly than Science Diet, and has the same nutritional content.
The lamb and rice formula can help trim her weight down some, and cutting back to a smaller amount of food per feeding so some of the calories she is getting is cut down.
I HATE putting a dog is too restricted an area, especially if there is a larg area they can run free in, but I would find a way to keep her from eating the horst droppings, if i had to put a muzzle on her and just take it off when she wats her food, or put her in a kennel run or another fenced off area so she could not have access to the horse yard.
Maybe if you muzzled her every time you cought her eating that, she would finally get the picture that it is in her best intereast NOt to eat it.
I'm sorry i couldn't help yopu more.
Charlotte