Advice for dog that needs to lose weight

PinkPiano

We adopted our miniature poodle in Dec. and he had a really rough health history and was a little on the skinny side when we adopted him.  In Feb., he pinched a nerve in his neck and went on bed rest for two weeks and got a little too plump.  I really want to get his weight down since he has so many health problems.  I'm feeding him Solid Gold Sundancer and I'm giving him the recommended amount but he still acts hungry.  We're not big treat feeders so I can't cut down on those.  I usually take him on a few shorter walks during the week and a really long walk on the weekend.  If it's warm out he gets tired pretty fast on the walks.  I should also mention he's a senior, somewhere between 8-10 years.  What else can/should I do?  He probably only needs to lose 1 or 2 lbs but his middle is just kind of thick.  I think he weighs about 18 lbs now, he was 15 lbs when we adopted him.  I can feel one or two ribs but no more. 

Thanks for any advice!

 

 

 

dexteroni

Dexter was too skinny when we got him too and we let him get a little too un-skinny. lol.  We switched him to a lower-fat food - not a low-fat food because those have too many fillers, just something a few percentage points lower in fat than what he had been eating.  We also started replacing some of each meal with canned green beans.  You want him to lose weight slowly, not too quickly, so I would probably start with a half of a small can of beans per day and see if that helps. 

DandelionMom

My little chihuahua has had to be on crate rest a few times so I know how that can plump them up.  When he needs to lose weight we just cut back his food by a tiny bit.  Try feeding him with a kong so he has to work for his food, this works especially well if you mix in a little canned pumpkin and freeze the whole thing.  Use baby carrots instead of treats.  Consider feeding a high quality, grain-free food (if you're not already, I have no idea about that kind of food).