How to lose weight?

[chibi]

Hi, here is my story:
three years ago I bought a pomeranian puppy. She was very tiny, she still is. However, I moved out this spring in May, and since then, Pocky has gained a lot of weight because she has not been getting walks since our separation. She is living with my parents, and they do not have the time to walk her daily. She is currently eating Nutro Max weight control food, 1/3 cup a day as directed on the bag. However she is still quite round, and she has the condition many poms have called collapsed trachea, where she coughs a lot when she is tired or excited, so the obesity makes it worse. I am very worried about her. I am living with my parents again, but only may be for two weeks or so, so I am walking her and playing with her toys... but I need to know if there is any better way to have her lose some weight when I am here. I try to take her for long walks, but how long? I am moving again soon and I HOPE the owner of the new place will allow me to keep her, but already we will have my friends cat and my pet ferrets with us so he may not want a dog, too. :( so I want to help pocky while I am here.
Any suggestions?

[Soleil]

Generally an animals level of excersise is not important in a weight loss program (we've all seen the 'roly-poly' dogs that, "gee, get lots of excersise!")
What is important is the amount of food that yoou give them.
If your Pom is still packing on the pounds at 1/3 c, break it down farther to 1/2. The instructions on the box are a guideline only, so if your dog is too skinny, increase to amount- too fat, decrease. Feed her twice a day- 1/4 in the morn, 1/4 in the eve.
The other big ingrediant in a successful weight loss program is the extras. Things like biscuits, treats, pieces of fruit... If you decide to give your dog a treat- give her things like a carrot piece, or a small slice of apple (but watch the fruit- too much sugar is not good). If you do give her an extra- be sure to reduce her amount of food at mealtime accordingly!!
Also if you feed some wet food with her kibble, or at any other point in her day, you will need to further reduce her kibble amount.
I know that it doesn't look like alot, but it is (the kibble in the bowl, that is)

S.

[chibi]

Theres another thing I forgot to mention!
She is so CUTE and piggy, mom sometimes cant resist and she feeds her treats. my dad has a big gross obnoxious hyper german shepherd and he feeds it treats literally every couple minutes, so they feel bad for Pocky and give her treats too (small milkbone type treats) and mom feeds her popcorn as well. I plead with her to not do this, but it is definately a problem and I think the treats are what lead to her being overweight in the first place. Ive threatened to put her in a friends home instead if she couldnt stop the treats, but mom is so attached to her... its just a tough situation. She has cut down on the treats but I think they should be eliminated until she loses weight. Argh!

[Kayl]

I agree--treats should be cut out for the most part. Or, if she'll eat them, tell your parents to treat her with carrots. No fat, nice and crispy--both my dogs love them.

And Soleil--1/2 c is more than 1/3 c ^_^

You may want to cut it down to 1/4 c, but I'm not sure that's enough even for a small Pom. See if they'll switch the treats to carrots--my dogs like the baby carrots--instead of the usual milkbones or whatever they're giving her. And one thing I will say is no pig ears. Very high in fat. My dog spent a year at a friend's house while I was in college and that was how she got fat I think since she never made it a habit of overeating before.

Good luck.

[Soleil]

And Soleil--1/2 c is more than 1/3 c ^_^.

Brainfreeze! :faint: I meant to 1/4 c (1/8 in morn, 1/8 at night)

You should let your parents know that while 5 extra pounds on us isn't a big deal, 5-10lbs on a pom is pretty much a death/discomfort sentence! Also, dogs DON"T equate food with love. I have the same problem with our Yorkie. Other family members are constantly giving her extra treats and meals, or ovrefeeding her at meal times. It is aggravating- I have threatened removal of the dog, as well. Until she gets her weight down. (or my family goes!!)
When I leave her with my parents, she gets whatever they are eating- be it steak, potatoes, gravy, bacon and eggs, it drives me nuts. :o There is no excuse for it, and they know it!

S.

[brandy pup]

What I would do is get her on a better dog food and a non weight control formual as those have fillers in it. Just a regular maintance food.

Feed more smaller feedings, say 3-4 feedings a day of small portions. Add a digestive enzyme to help her body digest the food and absorb the nutrients.

SELECTING A PET FOOD
http://www.api4animals.org/doc.asp?ID=689

Dog Feeding Info (with food website links)
http://www.bowchow.com/index.html

[chibi]

Thank you for all the information =)