My poor Beagle is still adding the pounds even though I have cut her food down to less than my terrier, and added frozen beans etc. She has developed a limp which under Xray shows a 'frayed cruciate" She doesn't need an op at the moment, however it is essential the weight goes. My vet has put her on the Royal Canin Obesity diet food ( need a mortgage)
I wondered if anyone has used this and if it was any good for weight loss, it needs to be for the price !!! She is on cage rest so lack of exercise does not help the weight loss.
I really would love to hear if you have used this food

Has she been spayed !
Spayed girls often need a great deal less dry food than the instructions advise.        I bet Royal Canin is sold in your vets surgery.
You as her feeder are or should be  in total controll of what goes into her mouth, if she continues to put on weight then you must feed her less, even if this means less than your terrier
Try soaking one of her feeds for a few hours and see just how much food you are actually giving her. Remember these dry foods are dehydrated and swell up with moisture to be a very large and substantial meal  !
Try a food that has no grains or rice for fillers. "Millies Wolfheart" is fantastic, such a good quality food that less is needed.
Better still I would suggest a varied raw diet that, if you need you can add your own suppliments. I am sure 8oz meat per day with little or no activity should be absolutely  plenty!

I have always found, apart from the expense, that any diet version food reduces the dogs condition.

I have always found best results for keeping condition whilst getting the weight off, was to halve the correct amount of food.

Now the packaging often has you thinking you need to feed double the food the dog needs so in fact you might need to feed only a third or even a quarter of the amount advised on the packaging.

When cutting my 20kg 20 inch at the shoulder girls I give them just 4 ounces of dry food a day.  Yours might just need a large handful/2 small handfuls of a good quality kibble.

All mine are a good weight even the 15 year old, though at the moment I am cutting her back a bit as she is getting a bit heavier than ideal due to getting extra treats fr5om some household members for being extra old ;)

She was a rescue and yes she has been spayed. I give her only a fraction of the the amount advised on the packet, probably about a quarter. ( Arden Grange Lamb ) She doesn't have any treats except half a Bonio that is shared with one of the other dogs. We have 7 dogs and she is the only one with weight problems, all the rest are perfect size so I am tearing my hair out.
I just feel that I can't ignore what my vet has advised as if my dogs  limp gets worse then she will blame me for not following her advice. Rock and a hard place comes to mind.

Lamb is more fattening then say the chicken food from AG, maybe try their chicken or fish food?

Just wondering if she has been checked for Hypothyroidism as this can pile the weight on, my rescue Dobe has this and was 72kg when I got her, she is now 34kg. Also my 2 pugs have lost around 2 kg this year on Applaws lite which is quite a good quality food.

I have put one of mine on the Arden grange light and she has lost quite a few pounds over the past 8 weeks.she had gained weight after she was speyed.

I was going to mention hypothyroidism as well as it is the one thing that just won't shift the weight no matter what.

Yes that was my next thought, have a full thyroid panel done.  Does she have any of the other signs, often a  thinning coat on flanks in short coated breeds, a tendency to feel cold, and the guard hair brittle and dry?

I asked my vet if it could be thyroid but she feels that there are no other symptoms apart from the hunger, so she felt the tests were not necessary.
She started the Royal Canin Obesity Diet 2 days ago so we will see. I have to go back in 4 weeks so I will ask if it is necessary to have the wet tins as well as the dry food. The tins are around £2 each and she has one a day. The dry food I have found almost £30 cheaper than my vet online but still £52.99 for 14kg ( vet just on £80 for the same)
I have spoken to AG and I would like to try their light, however as mentioned before I feel obligated to follow my vets advice for a while at least, otherwise if she doesn't lose the weight and the cruciate get worse I will get the blame.

A tin of food sounds a huge amount for a dog that size. 

On normal tinned mien would get fat if they had more than 3/4 tin with nothing else. 

The calories in the diet food are not going to be that much less than the normal I have found comparing diet foods to nor5mal in the past.

I've always found Burns Chicken and Oats was the only food that I could guarantee would get the weight off my boy.

Brainless
I have always found best results for keeping condition whilst getting the weight off, was to halve the correct amount of food.

I agree-In the absence of any identifiable veterinary condition overweight dogs are being 'overfed'....vets make an extra small fortune out of selling dog foods at sky high prices....'wise up'....'cotton on'...

I've also found Burns Chicken and Oats (also called Weight Control) very effective at reducing weight, without leaving the dog hungry.  (When one of mine needed to lose weight, we first tried reduced quantities of existing diet, and adding plenty of green beans and brassicas, but he was always hungry.)

I also had a full thyroid test done for him, and he was found to be slightly hypothyroid:  once started on medication he was able to lose weight in conjunction with the Burns diet food.  (He is what used to be called "a good do-er" and can gain weight without trying.)

I have to go back in 4 weeks so I will ask if it is necessary to have the wet tins as well as the dry food. The tins are around £2 each and she has one a day

I am confused (very), your first post said your vet put your dog on the Hills dry food diet - you made no mention that vet also wanted you use tinned food as well......has she/he, if not then what do you think she/he wants you to feed your dog on without any additions?
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Sorry, I don't think I have mentioned Hills at all, it has been Royal Canin all along. My Vet wants me to feed 85g dry food PLUS 1 tin of wet, divided over 2 meals in 24 hours - all in Royal Canin Obesity Diet

My Vet wants me to feed 85g dry food PLUS 1 tin of wet, divided over 2 meals in 24 hours - all in Royal Canin Obesity Diet

OK, I understand that now, thanks.
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Just an update.
My dog was on this food for almost 4 days and became so ill. She was being sick day and night and had severe water diarrhea for 2 days and nights. I stopped this food and put her back onto the AG lamb with tinned Chappie and Pro Kolin to try to settle her.
This week she has seen the vet twice, the last time this evening after hours, when she started passing very red blood. She was even refusing  hand fed chicken today. I have to starve her for another 24 hours and then to try the normal chicken/ white fish with rice etc.
I am not ever going to feed this food again ever ever ever. My vet has said that she will back me and make sure I get my money back  for this food.

My dog is on Metronidazole, Gaviscon plus and Pro kaolin, has an ulcerated and bleeding colon, bleeding stomach and is very poorly all because of this damned food 

Take care anyone thinking of feeding this

Poor wee pooch, hopes she's feeling better soon. Rather than reducing food even further you could try upping exercise.  I found that hydrotherapy really shifted the weight on my dog and the water is very supportive for joints and any damaged areas.

Hope she's beginning to improve, never been a fan of Royal Canin (sweeping comment) as their foods have given our hounds loose bowels. Know most dogs enjoy their food but hounds can appear to live for meal times & anything else they can cadge, so as mentioned in another thread when one of ours had to loose around 7 kilos, it was tough going. Both are raw fed & just had to cut back his food by 2/3, with his vet checking monthly to see if all was OK. He did it, not an easy time, always looking for food & especially with problems that means exercise can vary from day to day, as I imagine with a problem cruciate. Hydrotherapy would be a great way to exercise, does she like swimming, hope all is well.

> She was a rescue and yes she has been spayed. I give her only a fraction of the the amount advised on the packet

It's very simple, if she's overweight then it's too much food. I never use guidelines on the packet but do as brainless does, if they are a little podgy rations are halved, if they're not back to peak condition within a few days rations are halved again.

As an example the silken girl in my profile pic, spayed 6 year (16kg) gets a half a handful of kibble (top quality grain free) twice a day, more during the racing season. It looks a ridiculously small amount in her bowl, not even covering half the bottom but any more and she does start to put weight on. If eating raw one chicken wing is a meal for her or ONE heaped spoonful of tripe. It really is amazing just how little food she needs.

My 21month entire silken boy only weighs 2kg more than her but needs 4 times as much food to maintain condition.

> if they're not back to peak condition within a few days rations are halved again.<br />

I think you meant to see a FEW WEEKS ;)

Wish I could find a diet that would get me to peak condition in days!!!

Just wondering if she has been checked for Hypothyroidism as this can pile the weight on, my rescue Dobe has this and was 72kg when I got her,

Good grief, what form does the weight come in, I mean is it just pure fat??

she is now 34kg.

His it simply reduced by itself or have you been treating her with something? I think you rescue folks taking on dogs which can cause a lot of emotional downs do a great job.
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>I think you meant to see a FEW WEEKS ;)

No I actually did mean a few days, my dogs are never allowed to get too overweight, if they feel a little too well covered rations are halved and in a few days they are lean again Obviously in the case of an obese dog the change may take weeks or even months.

Unfortunately my Beagle will find 'other' food if she is hungry. She was abandoned and survived living rough for goodness knows how long before she was found. When I first got her she was a prolific poo eater, I think this may have been how she survived before. Gradually as she has learnt that food is offered twice daily at a regular time, the poo eating has nearly stopped, however if I cut her food down too much she reverts back to her old ways. With 7 dogs and 2 large fields and woods as part of our house then there will always be a poo somewhere she can find and relish ! So trying to find the middle ground is a hard task, and it is not just a matter of cutting her food right down as there are other problems that crop up by doing this.

All the other 6 dogs are perfect weight with no problems, it is just her.

BTW my vet has said that apart from weight she has no other symptoms of thyroid problems

I'd keep her confined while on a diet and muzzled on walks to prevent scavenging

> Unfortunately my Beagle will find 'other' food if she is hungry

Oh I sympathise! Milly too will eat poo if she thinks she is starving, it's a constant battle to get to them before her. For her health though I really would cut your beagle down drastically and keep her on a flexi lead when out, then she can still have some freedom but you can pull her away from eating disgusting things.

My friends ESS used to eat poo...gross. He was fed a good quality high meat content food,wormed regularly and was advised by her vet to have some tests done to make sure all his levels were OK,all came bk normal. Vet said it was common for young puppies to do but most grow out of it,some don't. But did find it unusual for an adult dog just to start doing it for no reason,he said it may have been a learnt behaviour from seeing other dogs do it or due to seeing owners constantly picking up after their dogs it regards poo as a prized possession!! At her wits end she chose to muzzle her dog whilst still being able to let him off lead in appropiate areas,she said the looks of disgust/concern from other people thinking her dog was muzzled due to it being vicious really got to her though.

> He was fed a good quality high meat content food

It drives me crazy, I spend a fortune buying Applaws complete and fresh raw meat for mine. Milly does lovely small, hard poos and she eats other dogs orange bulky poo that probably has all sorted of e numbers and fillers in it - I really should just feed her on bakers and let her eat junk 1st hand

NO NO Chaumsong  dont do it  !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Milly does lovely small, hard poos and she eats other dogs orange bulky poo that probably has all sorted of e numbers and fillers in it -

Absolutely, I can relate to that. It seems to be the poos from dogs that have been fed the cheapest food available that she finds tasty. I think sometimes a mix of poos picked up on our walks mixed with horse manure and rabbit balls, with any really mature and ripe road kill would suit her better than any of the good food I buy.

> It seems to be the poos from dogs that have been fed the cheapest food available that she finds tasty. I think sometimes a mix of poos picked up on our walks mixed with horse manure and rabbit balls, with any really mature and ripe road kill would suit her better than any of the good food I buy.

Good reason for that.  Those cheap foods are poorly digested so a high proportion of nutrients is still in the waste, ditto manure from herbivores, contains a lot of undigested matter as well as digestive enzymes that dogs often lack in their diets.

So they are worth eating, where her own little doing's with nothing left in them are not.

Give her a raw carrot if she needs to have something in her mouth. I don't feed kibble to any dog that needs to watch or lose weight--they get fresh or cooked meat with broth (skimmed), steamed or shredded vegetables and raw meaty bones. Lungs make a very good low calorie food.

Give her a raw carrot if she needs to have something in her mouth

but remember that carrots are fairly high sugar!

Thats fine if she will eat raw carrot or veg. She thinks the carrot is to play with, knocks it about with her nose and then leaves it. I have tried, whole, chunked, sliced and even grated over her food - Hell will freeze over before she will treat this as food. Perhaps if a dog has been introduced to veg raw or cooked from a young age it will work, but not with a dog that has never seen it before.

Then she isn't feeling that hungry LOL