My ten year old Golden Retriever bitch is a little on the stocky side and I'm wondering whether anyone can provide any tips on helping me to get her weight down, please.

For a few years we'd been feeding her Baker's, but a few months ago we switched to Arden Grange.

I'd never heard of this before, but I am told it's one of the best available. It was a bit more expensive but she likes it and (if you'll excuse the details) her poo is now a more normal colour!

We're using the Arden Grange Light dog food one, rather than the cheaper Lamb and Rice one. She's lost a noticeable amount of weight over the past few months and seems more active, but I still feel she's a tad on the porky side.

She's walked about a mile twice a day.

Does she get treats of any kind as these often add up?

Thanks for your speedy reply. No treats, but my small children sometimes drop the odd item of food on the kitchen floor, and that can disappear quickly! As far as I know, she doesn't eat a lot of scraps.

Is she spayed ? has she any significant hair loss anywhere ?

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Yes, she was spayed about eight or nine years ago. No hair loss, though. She seems fairly healthy, just a bit lethargic - my parents had two Goldens and theirs were of similar levels of energy.

Do you know how overweight she actually is, unfortunately goldens that are spayed do tend to go, shall we say, slightly matronly

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I do think if she is still loosing weight, then you are on the right track. Weight loss will slow as she gets nearer her ideal weight.
The only other things that I can suggest is to reduce the food slightly and replace with vegetables and maybe increase exercise a little if she can cope with it

I think I would be porky if I only walked 2 miles a day, as it's likely very unfit build up gradually but build up to more like 5 miles a day. Dogs are designed to travell long distance in the search for food and if they don't get enough exercise are likely to get lots of health problems.

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"Great is the power of steady misrepresentation, but the history of science shows that this power does not long endure" Charles Darwin, Origin of Species 6th edition

Erm, this dog is 10, it may not be capable of long walks

There’s lurchers out there working at 10, gentle but still working, build up gradually perhaps after a lifetime of inactivity it can't cope or if there is underlying health issues that you didn't mention, but hopefully it get fitter and cope and so have a fitter healthier old age because of it. Go to your local running club and watch the 80 yr olds training then go and look at a couple of coach potatoes and see whose doing best.:

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"Great is the power of steady misrepresentation, but the history of science shows that this power does not long endure" Charles Darwin, Origin of Species 6th edition