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Weight gain on a young dog

957 views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  cmelik10 
#1 ·
My youngest Toller (2yrs - spad female) has started to gain weight now that the season is over. Background is that we train hard come spring through to fall and then let off once daylight starts to run out so no training after work for about 4 months. She is on Nutro regular and I have cut back from 1 1/2 cups a day to slightly under 1 cup and made the difference up with green beans as filler. I have read about cutting food in half and using canned pumkin as filler.
Daylight levels are now just coming back to being able to get 1 hour in after work - so maybe she might start wearing some of this excess off but it does look like I will have to watch her more than the male.
The 2 1/2 yr male dog is still in good shape with same food volume.
Anyone had experience with this?
 
#2 ·
i have. they are just like us in the aspect of exercise, etc. typically you can find a "maintenance" formula with most dog food manufacturers that contains less fat/protein levels. stay within manufacturers and you have a better chance of not upsetting the dog's diet too much. i don't use fillers personally but you need to monitor the fat content (if any). hth!
 
#3 ·
I have never had a problem with ace gaining or losing weight. He just turned 3. I wish i could get him to gain a little bit.

We to are just now able to put in a little extra work in the evenings and a good couple hrs each weekend day.

I feel like i have to get him back in shape from the season. I think he loses a little stamina during the season. Most days in the blind, he is just sitting around. He will get his 4 to seven birds a day, with a few of them taking some extra effort. A few hunts this year, he was the only dog and had 20 retrieves, those are good days for him. But the other days, he doesn't put out as much physical energy as much as mental, playing the waiting game with me. The wether does zap the energy out of him, but we do not have the harsh conditions that many of you fellas do.

once the season came to an end, and we got back to the training field, or just the park tossin the tennis ball around. I noticed that he did not have the speed or the stamina that we had built up before the season started. I am just now getting him back into shape. I don't mean that he was fat and lazy. He has weighed 73lbs since he was 8 months, he hasn't lost or gained a pound since. He was able to perform great on all 44 hunts we went on this season.

I guess your gal is just gettin a little comfortable around her man and doesn't need to keep her girlish figure anymore tollers.

josh
 
#4 ·
Good one Ace. I noticed the same thing she has lost some speed after the season was over. Sitting in a blind is not the same as running pattern blinds or marks every night.
As we are now starting to get out again I may watch this for a month but I do want her girlish figure back.
Funny with the male he still is the same weight and energy level is still high.

Hugh
 
#5 ·
Okay, this might seem like a smart-alecky answer, but I noticed that my weight seems to fluctuate with my dog's, and it is directly attributed to exercise (calories spent). Put a leash on the dog and take off.

I have a wildlife area (my unofficial off-leash area) near my house with trails. I run there, turn the dog(s) loose, and we run together for about 30 minutes. The run to and from, combined with the trail running takes about 50 minutes.

When I do this three times a week, I noticed that none of us gain weight. Imagine that! :thumbsup:
 
#6 ·
I have had this problem with my spade female as well, just like the vet told me that I would. What I had to do was drop down to the lowest fat/protien food that I could find. Right now I am feeding a 22/12 which is the lowest that i can find in my area, but during the season I have to feed a 28/16 to a 30/18( i think that is what it is) because we hunt 5-6 days a week between pheasant hunting and duck hunting.

During few month of the off season I have also found that I have to cut the food by at least half and then feed twice a day so that the dog is not sitting with a belly full of a food at one time. By feeding twice they have a chance to use the first portion of food up and then then they get the second portion.
 
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