Adult Feeding - Weight Concern
Submitted by jayvee21 on June 24, 2010 - 4:45pmHi. I have a male English Bulldog, Vito, who is a year-and-a-half old. I've noticed Vito's weight hasn't really leveled off since we got him as a puppy. Last month, he was right at 70 lbs; last night, he was at 74.5 lbs. His weight is getting to the point where I'm beginning to grow a bit concerned, considering the breed standard and a lot of the comments I've seen regarding the weight of other people's bullies.
We're getting into the summer weather here, so his walks and outside time have been limited over the last several weeks (we were getting about 1.5 miles in with him every day in the spring). I'm wondering if the dropoff in exercise has anything to do with the increase in weight.
The other thing I'm wondering is if I might be overfeeding him. He's currently on Purina One's Sensitive Systems food, and we give him 1.5 cups twice a day, which is within the feeding guidelines on the bag.
A couple things to know about Vito: 1.) he's a little long-legged and slightly tall for the breed; 2.) he really shows no signs of being obese and is actually a very muscular dog.
I have a vet appointment set for next week and intend to discuss my concern with the doctor, but I also wanted to try and get some input from fellow bully owners. I'm curious how much/how often you guys feed your adult bullies and whether you think I have a legitimate cause for concern here.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
can you feel his ribs....
you should be able to run your hands over his ribs and feel them....they should have a nice covering...if you have to stick your finger in the fat folds to feel them he is to fat....bullies are not active dogs and gain weight easy....as long as i can feel the ribs i dont worry....
what do you mean i am to fat.....i fit on the stairs.....in this picture he is 57 lbs....i brought him back to 52lbs
kibby use to be fat!
my kibby use to be 65 pounds when we first got her from spca, then we had to put her on special vet perscribed diet food.... in about 6-9 months she dropped all the weight- she was pooing like crazy on that stuff!- i think it was royal canin calorie control. she couldn't even walk down the street without taking a break and resting - people use to stare at us, like i was the one who made her fat on purpose! now she is a healthy 53lbs...she has massive energy like a puppy again! i will try to post before and after pics so you can see, but i am not sure how...
anyways, kibby eats half a cup dry w/tables spoon wet x 4 a day... natures variety salmon/brown rice dry, wellness 95% wet. .. she has been doing well and maintaining a good weight! she is a smaller female bully tough, so maybe your big guy is meant to be a bigger guy. good luck!
before- jan-2009
sincerely, christine
ok.. here are the fat and fit pictures! she use to be soo juicy!
Before
After:
sincerely, christine
Wow, what a difference! She
Wow, what a difference! She looks so much healthier in that second picture! Thanks for posting. I really don't think my guy is fat. He's more muscular than anything - I can feel his ribs no problem - but like I posted on another thread, at 74 lbs. and climbing, I can't help but be a little concerned, regardless of where the weight is coming from (fat, muscle, height, etc.). If you're interested, there's a few semi-recent pictures on the other thread: bulldogsworld.com/f/general-bulldog-forum/adult-feeding-weight-concern#comment-1639308.
Regardless, thanks for the feedback.
we have girls
--which are always smaller, but we feed them about 2 cups/day spread over two main meals and a couple of very light snacks. We also give them a lot of lamb lung treats which I understand tend to be less caloric than cookie-type treats. One of ours is about 36 pounds and the other is 40 pounds and they look great weight-wise! I think it really depends on your dog; no two are alike. Luckily with dogs (unlike us), it's easy to control what they eat. You might want to spread the meals out as you cut down. It might help him not feel too frantic about getting fed.