My Golden is overweight and hungry. What food & exercise options?

People food can cause GI upset and pancreatitis. It is also extra wasted calories that lead to weight gain. It would be best to stop the table food to start. If he wants to give her something special, make it plain green beans or cheerios. Those are healthy with little calories to add up. You can increase her activity level to something more active than just a walk to help. IF this does not help then change to a prescription diet such as science diet metabolic formula to loss the weight.

Unfortunately fleas only hop on the body of your pet when they want to feed, then they hop off again and stay in your pet's environment. So it could be that he only picked up one flea at the groomer or several, even if you do not find any more on your dog. So you need to treat all pets in the household as well as the environment (which contains the fleas, their eggs and larvae). Here is a selection of effective flea preventatives: Spot-ons and/or chews Advantage, Advantix Advantage Multi (Advocate in the UK) Frontline (ticks as well) Bravecto spot on (ticks as well) - for cats, in tablet form for dogs Simparica, Nexgard Revolution (stronghold in the UK) Tablets: comfortis (will only kill fleas once) Collar: Seresto (ticks as well) As for being overweight: You should take your dog to the vet for an exam, as he may have a thyroid condition very common to Golden Retrievers. This can be ruled out by a blood test. Your vet can then also advise you on which food would be best for your dog and how much exercise he would need in order to lose weight.

Hello, the calorie per cup measurement in any dog food means that if your dog needs to eat 500 calories per day then you'll be giving overall less amount of food to meet his caloric demand with the food that has more calories per cup. With either food, you will have to meet his daily caloric demand. What this means for you, is that you'll likely go through the dog food with less calories per-cup much quicker than the dog food that is more dense in calories per cup. Hope this helps and best of luck.

Shadow is a cutie!!! to answer your questions: 1) Boiled chicken has lots of protein but lacks many other important nutrients. It is not complete or balanced. He needs 90% of his total daily food intake to be a complete and balance dog food. You may have difficulty getting him use to eating a dog food. Start by gradually decreasing the amount of chicken you add and resist all temptation to give him anything else. During this time, avoid treats or anything else that may fill his belly, this will help him take to the food. Ideally you find a food that he likes. Royal Canin and Purina Pro Plan both tend to be foods that most dogs like. Technically he should eat a large breed puppy formula until he is at least a year old. He may pick up weight by just eating a better diet. Also make sure he is up to date on his deworming. Being thin at his age is not unusual as most dogs fill out after 1 year old. 2) I would not be worried that the flooring will lead to arthritis but it can certainly lead to soft tissue pulls. Make sure to lay down plenty of carpets and rugs with the non-skid padding so he has safe spaces to sit, walk and rest. Feeding him a large breed dog food will help to protect his joints as they contain additives to promote joint help. I hope this helps to point you in the right direction. Please feel free to post any further questions!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Weight loss is something I discuss multiple times a day. While excercise is helpful, I find diet to be by far the most effective tool. First, if he is free-fed, you’ll want to switch to two measured meals per day. And I do mean use an actual measuring cup every time. For a 100lb dog, start with about 3 cups twice daily. If he is already getting a set amount, decrease that amount by about 25% (ie, go from 6 cups a day to about 4.5 cups per day). Try that for a month. If no weight loss, it’s time to look into a medical reason like hypothyroid or Cushings disease so see your vet for that. Finally, I try a prescription diet like Hills Metabolic diet which actually upregulates genes responsible for metabolism. It is very effective when other diets have failed. Of course, watch out for people food and treats of course. Choose green beans, carrots, or celery. Hope this helps and best of luck to you and Dudley!

I would consider putting them both on a prescription diet food if you can afford it. Science diet makes two that are really good - Science diet metabolic and R/D. Your vet can write you a written prescription for this. If you cannot afford this food, then I would look for a LIGHT diet NOT weight management. "Weight management" and "healthy weight" food usually just keep them at their current weight. Science diet also has an OTC light diet you could look into. I would feed less than what the bag recommends and if they seem hungry, you can give them some canned green beans to help fill them up. I would also make sure no one is giving them ANY human food besides the green beans and NO dog treats. If you want to give them treats, give them raw carrots, raw broccoli, or canned green beans. As far as increasing their exercise, this can be difficult in your situation. You can try to feeding balls that they push around to make the kibbles fall out. I have some clients that feed at least one full meal with one of these balls which helps them to stay more active. You can also purchase an indoor treadmill and train them to use that if you wanted to go all out. Finally, if you are staying on a strict diet and increasing their activity a little, but they are still not losing weight, I would have your vet check their thyroid. If their thyroid is low, it will be almost impossible for them to lose weight without thyroid supplements. I hope this helps! Feeding Ball suggestion: https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/petsafe-busy-buddy-treat-dispensing-kibble-nibble-dog-toy-1586980?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&adpos=1o1&scid=scplp1586980&sc_intid=1586980&cm_mmc=PLA-GG-_-PTC_P_BND_PLA-GG_FY17_SCShopping-TM-_-Non+VIP+-+TM-_-92700027187667220&kwid=p27187667220&device=c&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6J-3ipDJ2AIVWbnACh2YTQ_bEAQYASABEgKg9fD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Bravo sounds like a typical Golden Retriever! They can be very food motivated. I would ask your vet about the proper amounts to feed him based on his weight, and they'll be able to tell you if he's growing aappropriately as well. We don't want large breed dogs growing too fast as it can predispose them to joint problems. Best of luck!