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Originally Posted by Dame  I would really try to not get stuck in the connotation of what we generally take obese to mean. What we as layman's consider obese and what the medical community considers obese tends to be pretty different. Being obese is simply tied to the fact of being 20% bigger than what would be considered normal weight - as a starting point. For someone who's normal weight should be 7 lbs (just for example) weighting 8.4 lbs would put them in the obese category (although at the lowest end). Its not really about the literal weight, its about the percentages. This is most likely why you and your vet disagree on how large your Coco is.
Vets always aim to keep your pets as trim as possible.. because it can add up to an extra 5-7 years on their life (or shorten their lives.)
If you're moving down from free feeding your dogs aren't going to ate all their food in one sitting right away - they aren't that hungry yet! Give them 24-48 hours, they get hungry and start eating regularly at their scheduled times. Free feeding can be tough on a lot of dogs since they can eat when they aren't really hungry or don't need to eat - some dogs can balance it really well and some just can't. If you're really worried about them not eating enough you can really break down the feedings as much as you want. Twice a day tends to become the "golden standard" since its easiest for most - but if you want to feed 3-4+ times a day there isn't anything wrong with that! (Just split the decided daily servings by X feedings.) |
Glad you pointed this out. If a Yorkie should weigh 5 pounds and it weighs 7, this would be "obese".
Joey gained an extra pound during a trick training class, and vet recommended we reduce his food by 1/3 and add a few green beans to help fill him up. He lost the weight slowly, but it's stayed off, and I agree with the others who suggest feeding the dogs out of separate bowls. Free feeding is an excellent choice for many dogs, but there are some dogs that will overeat, and free feeding doesn't work for them. Once a day feeding works for many breeds, but I think smaller breeds do better on at least twice a day feeding. Remember, extra weight is very hard on the joints.