Hi All

My bitch needs to lose some weight. Let me explain - she had her first season in mid september which sort of knocked her for six but she was ok. Her excercise was cut down as I was worried about attracting male dogs to her and also in case her need to find a man would take over. We have a large garden and my husband would take her out in the evening as he is more capable of warding off any potential boyfriends, anyway...that finally finished and she was back to her usual walks. Then she went into a phantom, really moody and sulky, her teets swelled up and this I just can't be bothered with attitude. The vet said to just leave it but if It gets any worse they would maybe have to give her something...well now she is fine, managed to get her mind off babies taking her out loads but now she is over weight. The vet thinks she looks very well but must not get any bigger, but when I took her to a show and we where with other dogs of her breed she is much larger and when we run her, her back now rolls.

I have cut back her food - Royal Canin Junior 32 with some cooked veg or sardines, and now upped her excercise, but with her only being 1 tomorrow I can't have her out for hours, so Is there something else I should or could be doing to help her shed the pounds - its not a lot but she does need to lose a bit.

Sorry for the long post

Puppy Love x

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And they called it.......Puppy Love xxx

Irish Setter bitch - Tilly 4 yrs
Irish Setter bitch - Eva 15 mths

If she only needs to lose a bit of weight and you have already cut down her food, think where else she may be getting extras. It's easy to forget that training treats can be quite high in calories. So I'd suggest that you look at how many she has during a usual day and either cut down on them or substitute something very low calorie such as cucumber. Similarly, if she has chews, count them as part of the daily food. You are right not to over-exercise her while she is still so young.

Sgurr

Its not that she is eating too much as her weight has always been good, since she had her first season then the phantom her weight has risen - I was just wondering if any of you had experienced this with your bitches and whether they carry water which potentially will make then look heavy I just wasn't sure as Ive never had a dog before and wondered as to the best way to help her.

Puppy Love x

__________________
And they called it.......Puppy Love xxx

Irish Setter bitch - Tilly 4 yrs
Irish Setter bitch - Eva 15 mths

we used to feed royal canin it is quite callorific , our vet advised that food was cut by a third till her desired weight was met , guidelined on the bag always edges towards the maximum to feed so i would say its more a ratio of food to exercise , you may have cut her food already but if she is taking in more callories than she is using then she will still put on weight . She should now be on an adult food not a pup or junior food she has matured as she has already had first season and any further growth is minimal . junior food is higher in protien and so she may not need it change her to adult food gradually . Also as Royal canin is complete if you give sardines etc you should remove the dry food for that feed not add to it .

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Thanks andrea I had planned to move her onto adult over the next few months as the Junior is up to 15 months and she will be 12 months tomorrow. I only add 1 sardine with a bit of sunflower oil to take the blandness away from boring dried food - or she gets a little cooked veg instead. I have always given a bit less than the recommended amount advised on the guidelines as I was adding a little something else. Her weight has been great up until she went into season and started to have a phantom.

Has any of your bitches put weight on very quickly after a season??

Puppy Love

__________________
And they called it.......Puppy Love xxx

Irish Setter bitch - Tilly 4 yrs
Irish Setter bitch - Eva 15 mths

Your thread title is what my hubby says about me to his mates lol

lol!!

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Nice one mrsdusty..lol !!!

Puppy Love

__________________
And they called it.......Puppy Love xxx

Irish Setter bitch - Tilly 4 yrs
Irish Setter bitch - Eva 15 mths

My bitch did tend to gain weight after a season but this I think was down to lack of exercise whilst inseason.
We used to cut her food back and up her exercise,you say your bitch is 12 months so I would gradually up the exercise now.
Since been spayed we have managed to keep her at a good weight which I thought would be difficult.
We have kept a close eye on her diet and exercise

Cut the calorie in take and increase excersise is the only way to slim your bitch down
We use a boomer ball if you can get her interested in one we recommend it
two of our Bitches love the boomer ball the others are not keen
Armani & Lilly are very fit and have good musles
we limit the time they spend with the ball as we just cant keep any fat on them