Any advice please on the best light dog food for a dog piling on the pounds (although having less than recommended amounts per day and no treats). Vet suggests putting her on a light food. At the moment she is only 2kg over her correct weight but she has put those 2kg on over 3 weeks. My pocket will not go to very high prices but would like to get the best that I can afford. Ideally no more than £30-£35 per 12-15kg sack.

I havent a clue on weight loss feed, but I feed to the way they look.
If they look thin, I up their food, if they look podgy I cut back.
Although with my Rottie that I got in November very overweight at the age of 3, I fed one food for 4 months she lost the weight and stayed a good weight, then swapped to another (my dogs are used to swapping and changing) the new food that my other 2 dogs have been fine on, my Rottie Tara blew her weight within 2 weeks, within that time she looked like a crulty case before my eyes, we doubled her food for a week and no change, so went back to her old food and fed more and within 2 weeks she was back to a good weight (and I do keep my Rotties slim, not fat like the norm!!)
The other food just wouldnt keep the weight on, and I am not talking premium food here!!!
So maybe worth changing food :)
Lea :)

why has she suddenly put weight on? if Nothing has changed then a weight gain of over a pound a week is not normal and I would have thought investigation was needed.

I found my dogs lost weight on Burns - but I think it is the same with dogs as it is with people, if the dog is healthy then the best way to loose weight is to eat less.

has she been spayed could a male have got at her?

She has been spayed and is a 4 year old rescue.
She was abandoned and living rough so was very skinny when I got her a few months ago. At first I let her eat more or less what she needed, as she downed a complete bowl full without it touching the sides. As she began to get nearer to her correct weight I began weighing her food intake to much less than recommend amounts on packaging. She ( a Beagle so a tendency to weight gain ) has carried on putting on weight even with less food.
She is under the vet for unrelated problems ( when I took her on she had a bad case of lungworm with some lung damage and also nasty throat and nasal infections ) this is still ongoing and she may need to be referred in the next couple of days as her throat area is still red raw inside, so a bacteria has not responded to treatment. My vet has thoroughly checked her all over, so there is no medical reason for the weight gain, for this reason she felt I should try a Light food to see if it would help her.
My other dogs are on Arden Grange and I know they do a Light version of the chicken, but wondered if anyone can recommend a better food for around the same price. Someone mentioned Autarky or JWB. I obviously want the best ingredients that I can afford and would be grateful for info if any of you have used Light food.
I want to make sure she doesn't feel hungry after her meal ( which may be the case if I give her even less to eat ) as she also has a tendency to eat poo, and am concerned that if hungry she might be more tempted.

She is a hound and will give the impression that she is hungry whatever amount she has just eaten. Running to fat is usual if you are not careful and even worse if they are spayed. I would not worry what food you give just give less and if she is pestering give her a carrot to chew on or a marrow bone that will keep her mouth busy but her stomach less so.

AG is fine but give less or try Burns, don't bother with light food but watch the titbits.

Personally I would not use a light food.  I have found that the dogs condition and coat suffer.  It is full of filler in the shape of cellulose.

I have had far better results using a good quality decent protein and fat level food but half the quality (not half the quantity advised on packaging which is often nearly double the maintenance amount for my dogs) but half the amount I know the average dog of my breed needs.

So for my 20kg breed I would give only 100g of dry food a day (of something around 26% protein, with  a formula containing at least 25% meat meal).  If the dog becomes very hungry and scavenges etc then I would add green beans, or other low calorie veg to it's dinner.

Arden Grange is one of my favourite foods (we prefer the Lamb).

I'd certainly have a beagle on 100g or less for weight loss.

Very many thanks for the advice re light food.
She is on AG lamb and her usual weighed food is 105g per meal. Today I cut that down to 90, so I will see how much or rather how little I can feed and still keep her happy. Maybe the weight gain is the continuation of my originally allowing her to eat as much as she wanted. which is my fault entirely, I just felt sorry for the fact she had nearly starved and tried to let her know that she would always have food available.
In hindsight I should have just fed a normal quantity from the start, so maybe eventually her weight gain will stop on a reduced amount of food. She is not madly overweight, but I wanted to stop the gain before it became a major job.
Just shows that feeling sorry for a rescue can come back to bite you, whether you let them get away with bad behaviour or allow them to over eat, you should always treat them from day one as you intend to continue. Lesson learnt !!!

if she is pestering give her a carrot to chew on

I was talking weight to my vet regarding my GSD she commented that it was nice to see a 'lean GSD'  I said he had just been weighed at 43½kg and I was going to get him back down to about 40kg as 43/44 was too much. Mentioned that he adores carrots as a snack/treat but she said  carrots are high sugar and to limit how many he had if I wanted weight loss !

I just lower the normal kibble and add frozen sliced green beans so they feel full on less calories, used this a few times on my elderly cocker and saw a difference in 2 weeks, he lived to 16.5yrs.

she said  carrots are high sugar and to limit how many he had if I wanted weight loss eek !

Yes they are but I only meant one!!!!!! Best if the dog has to crunch so a frozen one may be best, hounds are apt to throw mouthfuls of kibbles straight down.

My dog really like cabbage stalks as well and they is little sugar in them.

Today I cut that down to 90

For a Beagle I would think 70 or even less would be fine. The dogs Brainless and I have range in weight from 20 to 24kg are 20" and do fine on 100kg less as they get older - so the Beagle is max 16" and although I do not know the advised weight I would be surprised if the healthy weight was more than 14 to 15kg probably less because many are smaller than 16" most about 14"

Comparing the above I reckon that in order to loose weight you may need to aim for about 60 Kg of AG and perhaps some veg to make up the bulk but steer clear of root veg except as a treat.

My beagle weighs 10.5kgs and to keep her there she gets about 100g of food a day which she supplements by scrounging and scavenging.  She does also get training treats and the scavenging and scrouging occurs no matter how much she eats or how fat she is so on the basis she stays the same weight and looks good we are sticking with that!

Ideal weight is 14kg and she is 16kg, ( according to chart on wall in vets ) so it needs to be nipped in the bud.
Rhodach, when you mentioned frozen beans, do you put them in the bowl still frozen ? I had wondered about dropping her right down to 60-70g per meal and topping up with veg, but I was thinking about cooked veg, frozen would be far easier to dish up straight from the freezer ( if this what you meant ) She does have half a Bonio after her lunchtime run, maybe I could replace this with a carrot.
She also has a splodge of pro biotic yoghurt once a day to help her as she has been on so many meds, and I really would like to keep going with this. I doubt if this would cause much weight gain

My other two ( Patt and c. spaniel) both have around 65g twice a day each and are  slim and healthy with no excess weight at all. My CS is elderly and just plods around but my Patt is a nutter and runs like the wind non stop, yet neither puts weight on with AG. Maybe it really is a Beagle thing.
I appreciate the advice and comments and will over the next few days drop her gradually down 10g a day to around 60-65g each meal and top up with veg, fingers crossed she will start to lose weight

Roxylola, do you mean that your Beagle gets 50g per meal twice a day - if so then I really am over feeding my dog. I just thought that she would need a little more than my Patt as she is a larger dog than a terrier. Well we all know what thought did, don't we !!!!

Lol!  Pretty much.  It may be 60g but definitely not 100g per feed.  You can easily feel her ribs but not see them.  She is pretty active with that and does not drop weight.  I will admit she is a lean leggy version of a beagle (irish possibly Kerry beagle) but basically a beagle.

Also, none of my dogs have ever matched up to what it says on the vet charts for any sort of weight - they would all be obese if they did.  I would aim to be feeding about the same as you are feeding the cocker or possibly a little less

Goodness Sillysue, if you are feeding your Beagle 100g twice a day that is more than I feed my Elkhounds.

If your giving her 210 grams of AG 'A DAY' that is as much as my young playing all day elkhounds get, so definitely too much for a mature Beagle.  The older ones get less, more like 150g.

Give her half that, so 75g. 

Thanks all for showing the error of my ways, she had 70g tonight and will have 65g tomorrow, 60g the next and down to about 50g by next week.
I read the bag where for her weight they suggest for weight 15-20kg should be fed 237-283g per day. So I felt that 200g per day was well under the recommended, that s why I couldn't understand how she was gaining. Just goes to show it doesn't always do as it says on the tin ( bag )

mine tend to get what is says for 10 - 15kg when they actually weigh between 18 and 21kg.

My terrier put on weight following steroids for his skin and later a couple of leg injuries. He also has arthritis so 15 months ago his weight was up to 15.5kg, far too heavy. Vet recommended tinned Chappie which is low fat and he has that mixed with a few bits of dry food. Now Butchers have brought out a low fat tinned food as well so he's really happy. I know lots of people look down on cheaper tinned food but he's never been fitter, happier and in such great condition. Even his skin has improved and the weight loss meant his arthritis is less painful so he exercises more. He's now down to 12.8kg and we've just had to make yet another hole in his collar to make it smaller !. Vet says he's now perfect weight for his size so I'm really pleased.

Wont catch me looking down on tinned Chappie, though have to say it is actually very expensive to feed on a daily basis, even compared to the likes of Acana and the super high protein feeds :O However, if it's what suits then it's what suits. I've got a girly who is doing very well on it, for different reasons :D

Well originally he was put on it due to being very ill with pancreatitis (which personally I feel was due to being on such a high steroid dose for a while, far higher than normal because he was frantically sore and itchy and we weren't able to see our normal vet so accepted what his cover recommended). Anyway, we'll never know for sure but Chappie suited him after that.

Yes I give them still frozen, gives an extra crunch to the meal

Hi I've used pooch and mutt slimming tonic which worked on my dog and lasted a month for £15 it's granules and you just put it in there feed