Is my Basenji overweight and Suggestions for feeding him?

[Basenji_Congo]

Hi to all any insight you can provide would be greatly appreciated

I currently have a 6 yr old male Basenji who weighs 35 lbs. This was my girlfriends dog before we got together and she has informed me that he is overweight. The reason I am posting on this forum is because my girlfriend believes that if we feed him a half cup of food with 2 TBSPs of cottage cheese in the morning and a half cup with a carrot at night this should help to change that issue. I personally believe that it was probably the food we were feeding him at the time.

I have just recently switched to Akana and am wondering what others might suggest as far as feeding goes and what amounts to feed him ? Do people have a specific brand in mind? Money is not an issue and I am willing to buy him anything to get him to where he needs to be. I really do not like the idea of feeding him human food and it seems to be a constant argument between us. Any insight into this issue would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks to all in advance

[Alessandra131]

How much were you feeding him before? I haven't weighed mine in awhile but he looks like he has gotten bigger since i bought him 3 months ago and I feed him two cups a day!

[eeeefarm]

If he's fat on the amount he's getting, feed him less. I would reduce the amount gradually. Also, make sure you account for any other food he is getting, e.g. treats or training incentives. If you are feeding a lot of titbits, you need to cut back on his regular food.

[agilebasenji]

I feed a heaping 1/4 cup twice a day of Taste of the Wild to my 20 pound female. but that does not include training treats and we often train (almost everyday). My male gets more, but he's 16 years and retired from training (but does get some treats). BUT I'd get your dog's thyroid checked in the near future. When my girl gained about 2 extra pounds, it was due to her thyroid being out of wack.

[tanza]

Use good grain free food… and fillers like green beens.... get the thyroid check for sure (full check, just not your Vet's blood work)... and note that Basenjis that are low normal are TOO LOW.... and need medication. With gain free food do not need to fed as much.. and you can also add rice cakes for a filler.

[stash]

If money is not an issue read up on raw feeding and check in your area if you can access raw meats/bone/green tripe. Our boy Kaiser started as a pup on Orijen and got fat and lost his appetite and as I was switching the cats to raw I also switched him and he has never looked better. He loves his food and I love watching him eat, it just seems so natural. You can really learn by looking at body condition how much to feed, being able to feel the ribs but not see them is a good indicator. Only BUT is it costs and you need to feed variety and there are rules to how to feed raw correctly, lot's of info on the internet. One of the best bonuses of raw feeding is clean teeth and breath/ good body weight and a keen appetite for my boy. Agree with watching what treats and how much he gets as it should be counted as part of their daily meals, I have found treats can really put extra weight on my boy. Good luck.

Jolanda and Kaiser

[Alessandra131]

I guess Im overfeeding my boy.i feed him a cup of food in the morning and a cup at night!

[stash]

Oh also forgot one important thing, exercise. The more active your dog the bigger the meal the less active the smaller the meal. If we have a big exercise day I make sure Kaiser has extra and if we are stuck inside on a rainy day I will give him less. Try putting his meal(kibble) in a treat ball and make him work for it and he is occupied longer, or use his meal as rewards for training during the day. Does sound like he is getting a bit too much, doesn't the food have daily feeding amounts per size/weight/age of dog and adjust from there. Funny as I have always worried about my kids and how they are eating and now I do it with the dog and cat, so I weigh them regularly just to keep me happy they are not starving.

Jolanda and Kaiser

[Alessandra131]

What brand treat ball do you have?

[stash]

Trixie, but there are many more brands and if your dog is a chewer a Kong treat ball may be better I think they are tougher, Kaiser doesn't chew his he just rolls and throws it, funny because now he checks every ball to see if it has treats in it, I see him rolling dog balls at the dog park just in case.

Jolanda and Kaiser

[Alessandra131]

Thank you so much for helping us. I can't wait to go and get one tomorrow

[agilebasenji]

i have several treat balls. for xmas, the girls each got the new kong treat dispenser, we also have the one shaped like a bowling pin and the one like a plastic bottle (2cd generation for that one, about ready for the 3rd one) and i have a ball shaped one some where. i did not like the ones shaped like flying saucers as it took too long to fill them and i usually do that right before going to work.

[Alessandra131]

What kind of treats did you put in them? My boy is very picky

[agilebasenji]

@Alessandra131:

What kind of treats did you put in them? My boy is very picky

i put their morning kibble in them.

[kjdonkers]

We feed this to our 2 sisters (and they are fine):

• dry food: 1% of their body weight per day (Dog Lovers Gold)
• after 3 days of dry food, 1 day of organic fresh meat for dogs (about 2% of their body weight distributed over 2 meals)
• in between: extra fibers (broccoli, carrot, cabbage, cucumber) - also good for minerals!
  A little more or less food can make a visible difference!

[funnybunny]

mine is 5yrs 30lbs- hes wide chest boy so.

but when he starts to go a bit over i feed him

-1/2 cup of dry in the morning
-a treat at noon ( trainning treat)
-1/2 dry food cup mixed with 1/2steam vegetables (brocoly/carrots/coliflower= no corn!) mixed with water in the evening before 6pm = loves the stuff!

[kjdonkers]

Dry food about 1% of body weight per day.
We feed raw now, about 2% of body weight per day. We feel meat is better for dogs.

[lisastewart]

Puppies need more food than adults. On a grain free diet, fromm, tast of wild etc, dog eat less as its more nutritional. I have all mine on a diet now as they were gaining too much wt over the winter on their normal 3/4 cup at night, at 1/2 I am seeing a wt loss in my biggest boy. My old boy is losing too much weight, so I had to adjust him back up. Mixing vegetables in is a great way to get them to loose wt if they will eat it, mine pick out the kibble arount the veggie and opt to go hungry vs eating those nasty green things.

If you feel cush vs ribs when you grip thier sides, the dog is too fat. You should feel sleek muscle and ribs down thier sides. Mine are only too thin when their hips show.

[DebraDownSouth]

@kjdonkers:

Dry food about 1% of body weight per day.
We feed raw now, about 2% of body weight per day. We feel meat is better for dogs.

Wow, no. It depends entirely on the dog food nutrition/calories etc and the dog activity. I agree raw is great and dogs need meat, not grains. but the best indication of amt is if the dog is losing, gaining, or maintaining a good weight. I had 2 Rotties who were 78 and 82 pounds… the lighter one required almost 30 percent more food than the heavier one. Same food.

[kjdonkers]

@DebraDownSouth:

Wow, no. It depends entirely on the dog food nutrition/calories etc and the dog activity. I agree raw is great and dogs need meat, not grains. but the best indication of amt is if the dog is losing, gaining, or maintaining a good weight. I had 2 Rotties who were 78 and 82 pounds… the lighter one required almost 30 percent more food than the heavier one. Same food.

Well, you have to figure that out as you go along. The 1% and 2% are accepted (that is, where I live) starting points.