Our almost 1 year old field lab just got his hormon chip yesterday which will most likely end in castration. Vet already warned us that he will get most likely get heavier due to slowed metabolism. I am going jogging with him when the temperature allows and don’t want to hurt him or his joints, in case he would get too big. How can I prevent him from getting too heavy? At the moment he’s in perfect shape (and I mean PERFECT, tons of compliments and just looking at him he has beautiful curves where they’re supposed to be) and I’d prefer to keep it that way.
We’re currently switching from puppy food to tails.com food, where I applied the filter for castrated dog along with his current weight and breed. Anything else I should watch out for/keep in mind? Thx!
Use the normal food and reduce the amount. If it is not enough to cover their calorie needs switch to weight management option.
The basic calorie need of neutert an unneutered dogs is similar but many neutered dogs get a bit more chill.
The measurements on dog food bags are based of intact animals, which have higher caloric needs. The reason animals gain weight after being fixed is they are still being fed the same amount, but they’re burning less calories naturally.
Use a dog calorie calculator to determine how much food (the calories are on the bag) your dog should be getting daily.
The weights on the bags are super inaccurate for castrated dogs. I think it recommends 3.75 cups for my 78 lbs dog. He actually gets between 2.5-3 cups a day to maintain weight (I adjust based on his activity level). If I did what the bag said he’d be overweight. I basically just cut back until I found him maintaining weight with ideal body condition.
Did you know? The prevalence of obese dogs is more than twice as large among overweight/obese dog owners than owners who are slim or of a normal weight.