Week 18 Diet Tip
Count EVERYTHING your dog consumes
When dieting it is easy to think you are on the road to diet success once you master meal portioning. However this only applies if you have control over everything your dog consumes.
All your hard work can easily be undone if your dog has a secret food source or if certain food items have not been accounted for.
As you progress on your dog’s weight loss journey remember to account for the following:
- Bones and Dental Chews
- Supplements
- Food rewards- e.g. from dog trainers, pet sitters, walkers.
- Treats and tidbits from neighbours, visitors, children.
- Foraged items- fallen fruit from trees, compost bins
- Access to another pet’s food
Treats, Chews and Supplements
Chews and supplements need to be accounted for within your dog’s daily calorie allowance.
Set aside up to 10% of your dog’s daily calorie intake towards treats, chews and supplements. To do this select ‘yes’ to feeding treats in your dog food portion calculator.Then use the treat calculator to figure out treat or chew portions. (You need to have selected ‘yes’ to feeding treats in your dog food portion calculator for the treat calculator to work.)
When dieting, only feed foods with calories that can be accurately counted. This will prevent your dog’s daily calorie allowance from unknowingly being exceeded.
Bones are the undoing of many weight loss diets. The calorie content of bones is very difficult to assess and varies widely according to bone size and marrow, sinew, meat and fat content.
Consider swapping bones for precisely counted low-calorie dental treats or provide calorie-free alternatives such as nylabones and chew toys.
Multi-pet Households
Prevent your dog eating extra by feeding pets separately. Get in the habit of removing unfinished meals and place cat food bowls out of reach of your dog.
Have you discovered a secret food source? We’d love to know! Share your “busted!” stories to the coaching group 🙂
Your WAGSTA team.