Obesity in My Dog

by Derrick
(Walthamstow)

i have a 3 year old shipperke he is 8 3/4kgs
and seems over weight i feed him on chicken thighs/what times and how much should i give him,
thank you regards derrick

My Comment:

Hi Derrick

Sorry for my late response, but I have been wondering how to give you the best advice.

I don't know the exact amount of overweight he has. A standard Shipperker is often divided into weight classes. One class is from 3-5kg and the other is from 5-8kg.

I hope your dogs belongs to the 5-8kg class. So lets assume the normal weight is about 7-8kg. I am really guessing - of cause I don't know for sure, be aware of this.

The standard energy needed for at 7.5kg dog moderate active is about 600 kcal/day. This a theoretical value but can be used as a starting point.

I have found a chicken thigh standard having about 100 Cal in them (55g and without the skin) . This means about 6 chicken thighs should energy wise be sufficient.

Only to give chicken thighs - well, I really would prefer that you would add some some extra as well and add some exercise as well.

I would use cottage cheese, eggs and some vegetables (primary green leafs) to make the food more complete in its nutritional profile.

If you have given the same amount food every day I would give about 10% less and see after a couple of weeks if the weight has decreased. The main target is a weight loss of about 1-2% weight loss a week. Otherwise it may be too fast.

You adjust the amount of food until you reach this goal weight loss rate.

All the best

Per Schonbeck