Please help my fat dog!? 10 points to best answer!?
Posted on Nov 16, 2011 under Best Dog Water Bowl | 7 CommentsSo, I have a female beagle who’s four years old. She’s about 15-20 pounds OVER weight. I also have an old english sheep dog who’s fourteen years old. He doesn’t need to lose weight at all. Our dogs are outside and inside dogs. Their beds, food and water are in our garage. We let them inside our house all the time. They both eat and drink out of the same food container. It’s one of those where you put the food in and it keeps filtering into the bowl until it’s all gone. This makes it so we don’t have to feed them every meal, they can get food whenever they want. I want the beagle to lose weight but not my other dog. I want the old english sheep dog to still have food whenever he wants but not the beagle. I was thinking of putting the sheep dog’s food in a place where my beagle couldn’t get it (like past our electric fence-he won’t run away.) And then having the beagles food in a separate bowl(that doesn’t filter) and leaving it inside our house. I would fill her bowl every morning and night and let her in to eat it. Do you think this is a good idea? Any suggestions?
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And how many 8 ounce cups would I give my beagle of food every meal? Should I just feed her in the morning and night or morning, night and dinner? 10 points to the best answer! Thanks so much!
Your dogs are going through a very unhealthy lifestyle because they can get access to food any time. I also feel that your dogs are not getting proper exercise, especially the beagle. There should be proper timings for food, like once in the morning, then at noon, and finally at night. Feed them in separate bowls. The Beagle should know that the other bowl belongs to the other dog and she is not allowed to eat from it.
Remember that the best exercise that a dog can get is by walking. But there is a proper way of doing so. You can learn that from Cesar Milan’s show "Dog Whisperer" on National Geographic Channel. Your dog should get 45 minutes of walk everyday. If that is a bit difficult for you, tren try at least 30 mins.
I hope you follow the techniques taught in the show and your dogs become healthy again.
November 17th, 2011 at 2:32 am
In my opinion free freeding is not a good idea and you need to go to structured mealtimes with each dog. When you separate the food this could change the eating habits of the sheepdog now that she has the dispenser to herself and lead to unhealthy changes in HER eating habits.
The beagle needs structured, rhytmic exercise under YOUR supervision and structured meal times. In fact both dogs need it.
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November 17th, 2011 at 3:14 am
Get rid of the automatic feeder and feed them in separate rooms twice a day. For the beagle feed it about three fourths of a cup each meal, one in the morn, one in the evening. If he eats too fast and gets bloated get a four compartment bowl to slow down his eating. Try walking him at least twice a day to get more exercise.Hope it helps!!
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me
November 17th, 2011 at 3:31 am
yes, you will need to find a way to feed them separately. as for the amount, it varies for each dog. as a starting point i would feed 1/2 to 3/4 cup twice a day. if she is gaining weight, reduce it. if she is loosing weight too quickly add a bit.
make sure you exercise her as well! beagles are a hunting breed and have very high exercise requirements. roaming around the backyard will not always suffice.
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kennel worker
November 17th, 2011 at 4:04 am
Very very few dogs will self regulate their food when free fed and it really isn’t any good for their digestive system either.
Start feeding set meal times and keep the dogs separate to do so.
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November 17th, 2011 at 4:40 am
I believe at that age one good meal every day is enough. I wouldn’t allow her to just eat whenever she wants. I have a young boxer who is almost two and we feed her 1/2 cup dry mixed with 1/2 cup wet twice a day, but it is because she is so energetic. When she slows down we will cut her to 1 cup a day. Beagles tend to get heavy if you don’t stay on top of it, and even then she may not drop that many pounds, it is in her genes. I found this sight for you on beagles and feeding. It even lists several veggies that are safe to feed your dog. Good luck with your mission, and good luck to your beagle.
References :
http://www.beaglepro.com/Feeding.html
November 17th, 2011 at 5:24 am
Stop free feeding both of them. That’s why she’s overweight.
Feed them BOTH twice at day, morning and evening, at the same times. Use the chart on the back of the food bag for an estimate of how much to feed them depending on what their ideal weight is (not how much they weigh now) – but remember that it’s just as estimate. How much to feed also depends on how active they are. 1/2 cup of food per day (1/4 cup in the morning and 1/4 cup in the evening) is a very rough estimate that may work.
Replace half of your overweight dog’s food with plain cooked green beans too. That will reduce the number of calories she’s getting.
Most importantly, she needs EXERCISE. Walk her for at least two hours every day – an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening. (Make sure you build up to that gradually though if she’s not used to that much exercise.)
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November 17th, 2011 at 5:33 am
Your dogs are going through a very unhealthy lifestyle because they can get access to food any time. I also feel that your dogs are not getting proper exercise, especially the beagle. There should be proper timings for food, like once in the morning, then at noon, and finally at night. Feed them in separate bowls. The Beagle should know that the other bowl belongs to the other dog and she is not allowed to eat from it.
Remember that the best exercise that a dog can get is by walking. But there is a proper way of doing so. You can learn that from Cesar Milan’s show "Dog Whisperer" on National Geographic Channel. Your dog should get 45 minutes of walk everyday. If that is a bit difficult for you, tren try at least 30 mins.
I hope you follow the techniques taught in the show and your dogs become healthy again.
References :