Weight issues and feel Im doing everything right? So what is wrong

Have a thyroid panel run on her. Constant hunger and inability to lose weight can indicate hypothyroid, but you'll need a full panel run to know for sure and if she does have an issue, they can give her some meds to help regulate it.

Good luck.

I would definatly have her checked out by the vet, just in case.

BUT, assuming she's ok, could you try splitting her meals into more portions? Pirate is on a steriod right now, which makes him RAVENOUS, but he seems less hungry if I split the traditional breakfast and dinner into an early breakfast (about 7AM, with his meds) , a midmorning snack (about 10AM) , a late lunch (2PM) , and a dinner (7PM).

Snack and lunch are also packed into either a kong or a buster cube for a bit of a workout.

It sounds like you're feeding her the right number of medallions for her size and activity level, BUT her metabolism might be a little slow... maybe you could replace one of the medallions with a cup of unsalted green beans. And instead of cubes of ham as a bedtime snack, maybe a low calorie dog biscuit? Does she get any other treats throughout the day?

Edited to add- I agree that it's definitely better to split feeding into 2 meals a day and I would definitely get a thyroid check to rule out hypothyroidism.

I think the previous poster might be on to something.  I'd try dividing that dinner portion into an earlier and later meal.  So, she's getting the same amount of food just spread out longer so she's not full all at once and then hungry later.  Do you know how many calories in one medallion? 

Okay IM laughing cause when I was doing exactly what you posted to do she was fine.... I just was trying to get away from the craziness of having a kitchen open 24/7 for the dogs....LOL I had been doing Breakfast 7 then 2 then 6:30 and all were happy :) But I was trying to get down to 2 meals a day. My Scottie boy Max has an alarm in his tummy that tells him he is to eat at 7 and 3 no matter what and the Westies don't care to eat that early in the mornings....  It gets nuts trying to feed at different times....

 Zoeys thyroid was checked 6 months ago and everything was fine :)

 Okay off to hike the dogs and I will check back later......

Feed less?

If , the bloodwork comes back okay, no thyroid., no pancrease, no strange blood sugar issues....Seems to be the best option. Sometimes you just need to put your foot down.

willowchow

  Do you know how many calories in one medallion? 

One medallion = 65 k/cal.

How much should Zoey weigh? Seven medallions a day is 455 k/cals a day plus whatever extras you are feeding her.

tzu_mom

willowchow

  Do you know how many calories in one medallion? 

 

One medallion = 65 k/cal.

How much should Zoey weigh? Seven medallions a day is 455 k/cals a day plus whatever extras you are feeding her.

My dogs are not treat eaters... They simply get nothing but their meals. The Westies NEVER beg ever.... It seems they show being hungry much later in the day and  are ready to eat. It seemed that when I was feeding kibble with cooked toppings it stuck with them. But the medallions just don't seem too. Makes since If I eat a few salty pretzels when IM feeing hungry It fills me right up.... Ever seen kibble when it gets wet? It swells and is very filling just like a pretzel... But then again Protein should be filling in a different way. Maybe they just aren't getting that FULL feeling?

Zoey is about 23 pds... From my experience of dealing with Dogs that were used in puppymills for breeding they all have a bit of a weight issue after spaying and getting up in their later years. If I could just get 3 pds off her I think she would be perfect for her size. She is very active not a couch potato by any means and does great for her age.

 It seems the Westies are much more ready to really eat in the evenings than any other time and I was thinking that wasn't such a good thing??? They will eat with GUSTO in the evenings but the morning meals its like... do I have too :(

 I'll take suggestions on feeding..... I just wish they were as easy as Max... he will just gobble down his food with no problem on time :) I was lerk on a Westie board and see a lot of  Westies are like this.......Im not trying to make excuses but there is something there with these guys....

OK, yeah, I'd say if there are no other issues then divide up those meals and that way you have the second half of the meal instead of giving a snack later.  Because 455 calories plus the extras is a lot.  Sometimes Willow doesn't eat much more than 500 or 600 calories and she's what about twice their size??  Plus, if it was working before it might again.

Ham?  That could be the culprit.  Ham has all kinds of nasty stuff in it and is really high in sodium.   Just a little bit of sodium in a little dog can make a huge weight difference if some of this is fluid retention.  When Tyler came home from his "home" he'd been eating a food I really hate and it's high in sodium.  He looked like he was a real porker, but after a week back on the good food, we realized it was just "water weight" from the crappy food.  My point in sharing this is that I could not tell that it was fluid retention....I thought it was overweight.

Maybe try a different meat at night and see if that doesn't help?

Okay, I just posted a long answer and lost it--ugh! 

Anyway,  my guy is not a morning eater, at all.  He eats his first meal around 4 or 5 p.m.--his next meal around 7 p.m.  This works well for us----so, if the Westies are not morning eaters, so be it. 

Also, when I started my little one on all raw medallions, he, too, always seemed ravenous (did not gain weight, though).  What seemed to work was to add some freeze-dried raw into the mix---maybe, it also had that "expansion" effect, who knows?!  So, if you are feeding, say, 6 medallions a day, why not serve 4 raw and crumble two freeze-dried in with them.  I still feed freeze-dried in with Oscar's raw, for whatever reason, it seems to keep him more satisfied. (I cannot feed the NV freeze-dried due to the pumpkin seeds, but I do use Steve's Real Food freeze-dried and Stella and Chewy's freeze-dried).

Maybe this will work for you (or not) but it's worth a try.  Good luck.

glenmar

Ham?  That could be the culprit.  Ham has all kinds of nasty stuff in it and is really high in sodium.

 Geese Glenda thanks for making me feel like crap for feeding my dogs ham Im going to stop it as of today... No more... I just figured ham is Low fat and when Louie was having eating issues awhile back nobody ever said a thing to me in a post about me putting Ham on his food as a topper to get him to eat.... IM STOPPING this Ham... I think that could very well be what is going on.... It makes since. I was just talking to my husband and with all the activity she shouldn't be having weight issues.....

Heck look what a salty pretzel and mexican food can do to a person.... It really made since....

tzu_mom

  He eats his first meal around 4 or 5 p.m.--his next meal around 7 p.m. 

Okay Iv done this a lot lately with my dogs.... Let me tell you what confuses me so maybe this can be cleared up as well. Why if I feed them at 4 or 5 are they ready to eat again at 7?? So quickly ?? Im glad you posted that feeding time cause that is what Iv been doing with the westies and I think... Good grief why are they ready to eat again when they just ate a couple hours ago... That is why I felt they weren't getting satisfied!

 So this is more about what is going on that Zoey acting Starved cause shes not doing that... She is doing just what I wrote... They are ready within 3 hours to eat again and that again makes me think?? What am I doing wrong?? Not feeding enough or they aren't getting satisfied???

Tzu-mom thanks for posting that schedule cause I thought it was just me doing that. Is it okay for dogs to get all those calories before bed? Or doesn' t that matter?

ignore the "please feed me" behaviors. Try feeding her only five medallions a day mixed with some green beans or canned pumpkin (without the extras you've been adding), and try ramming them into a kong and freezing it to make the meals more satisfying for her.  Dogs who have to spend 30 minutes eating seem much more satisfied than dogs who hoover up the exact same amount of food in ten seconds.