How do I get my great dane to loose weight?
Thursday, July 29th, 2010 at
5:27 pm
My Great dane is a 3 yr old female. She is way overwieght. I only feed her the recomended amount of food for an adult great dane. She is eating high quality pet food. (Eagle pack) I walk her but its not working. I know to much exercise with her being this big could cause health problems but walking isn’t working. Does anyone that knows the breed have any sugestions? P.S. She does have a vet appointment next week.
Tagged with: great dane • health problems • high quality • quality pet food • sugestions • vet appointment
Filed under: QA
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mojos… Did you miss the part where this dog is a GREAT DANE!?!?!?!! Or do you think it’s OK for the dog to die and suffer horribly after it bloats???? Feedign a dog like that ONCE a day is prob the WORST advice I’ve heard all day!!!!!
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I volunteer with a great dane rescue, adn I’ve seen a few chubbers out there lol
First things first, next week talk to you vet about it and have them do all the blood work. Rule out any medical condition causing the excess weight. If she’s health cleared here are some tips:
She needs way more excercise! With her being so large you definately need to keep joint health in mind. I highly suggest swimming. It’s great and has almost no joint stress! If you don’t have a local pond or lake available, Talk to you vet about any animal physical therapy clincs in your area. I Hvae one about 45 minutes away from me, I often use it during winter months for my older arthritic dog. It has regular pools. and even underwater treadmills. Maybe ask you vet about other joint safe excercises you can do – she may be cleared for some light jogging.
As another poster already asked – Which eagle pack is she on? The original eagle pack isn’t that great IMHO but if you like their foods you may want to consider switching to their holistic line.
I’d feed her 3-4 times a day. (Ask you vet about her caloric requirments and divide this by amounts of feedings – she’ll be getting small meals) If you don’t already use one I suggest a raised food dish (decreases risk of bloat and is more comfy for the large dogs to use) If she needs more "bulk" to her diet, you can add some low sodium canned green beans to her food (Increase volume with very few calories)
You may also want to try feeding her out of "smart toys" like kongs or buster cubes. This will make her work for her food, make her meal times last longer (really slows her pace) plus the oral fixation of chewing keeps hunger pains away
Of course watch her treat intake. Don’t feed any milkbone like cookies – they have a lot of calories and carbs. Stick with raw veggies (Baby carrots are usually a fav) and lean cuts of meal (Chicken breast)
Another tip is keep track of her progress!!! Weigh her weekly and jot it down. If there’s a petsmart near you that has a banfield clinc you can often go their to use their scale (if the petsmart is closer to you than your vet that is) It’s really important to keep track of how she’s doing so you can adjust your plan based on how her body is reacting.
Good luck!
Try walking her longer or more often during the day..
How many treats does she get during the day?
try playing with her- and make sure it is very very interactive. also, if you have children, bring your whole family outside and have a nice long game in the yard.
feed her lless
walk her more.
Take her to the dog park for an hour or two a day. She needs to be able to run and socialize with other dogs.
~ First are you feeding her regular Eagle Pack or the Eagle Pack Holistic. There is a big difference and the regular one is not very good.
Second, are you feeding only 2 times a day? Do you feed her based on the calories for the weight she is currently at or for the weight she needs to be?
Example if your Dane is 140lbs and she should be 120lbs you need to feed a measured amount of food for the 120lbs weight. Take the total amount and split it over two meals. By cutting down the food to the weight she needs to be it will start to come off. Avoid table food and extra treats, it isn’t necessary.
ADD: I’m guessing former vet tech is no longer a tech because she gave bad advice. A dog to free eat for 20 minutes is a horrible idea. That is to much food for any dog let alone a Great Dane all at one time. Some dogs inhale there food, they could eat a lot in 20 minutes, some dogs would not eat enough and you would not have a clue because you are not measuring it and paying attention. Please avoid that advice. Seeing a vet and reducing the food if overfeed is the first step to resolve your dogs weight!
Give her at least a walk EVERY day! Maybe, if there is a dog park, run, near where you live, take her there often. Try giveing her less people food and treats. Play with her ALOT, even just throwing a sock, and letting her rip it up,
also , jsut keeping her occupied might help
Good luck!
I have a dane and we cant keep fat on her, shes so active. Take her out to a park or your yard and throw around some toys she would like. Start doing longer walks, take her on runs if you are able. Just make sure to start slow and work up since she is out of shape. Buy light dog food. Do not feed her scraps or too many treats.
Do you feed her more than once a day ?
Please ignore the recommended feeding amount on the package and simply feed her once a day…As much as she’ll eat in 20 minutes…This is all she needs, I promise..
When you go to your veterinarian appointment next week, talk to them about what you can do to help her. The veterinarian can recommend a different OTC or prescription food, or my suggest running some diagnostics to see if there’s a medical problem keeping her from losing weight. You can also ask your veterinarian if they might recommend the drug Slentrol for your dog, but this is only appropriate if all other weight loss methods have been tried.
It is very abnormal for a Great Dane to be overweight. I am glad you have a vet appointment. Most likely, she has diabetes, hypothyroid or another disorder that is causing the extra weight.
Walks every day.
Decrease the dog food.
Cut out the treats.
Just like people
First, cut back on her food and NO treats, people food or anything between meals. Feed her twice a day and if you are feeding her what is recommended for her ideal weight and she is not losing weight then cut it back. If she is still acting hungry then you can feed her green beans (unsalted, canned). This will fill her up so she is not starving. You may want to put her on a food that is not as calorie dense as what you are feeding.
Second, when you go to the vet have them run a FULL thyroid panel. Not just a T4. She may need thyroid medication. It usually takes about a week to get this back from the lab.
Lastly, she needs exercise to go along with her reduction in food. Take her for a brisk walk two to three times a day if she won’t go out and run and play in the yard. Many danes get in the habit of going out into the yard and taking care of business and then coming back in to their couch.
Good luck and remember that you should be able to see her last rib if she is in correct weight and she should have a waist.
walk her more