[Dailydrool] Losing weight, basset style

[dpmcquade at verizon.net]

Getting a basset to lose weight is such a challenge. [Insert sigh here.] I have a probably bizarre theory (it's just a theory) that seems to help me.
 
I have found that a dog who is about 14" tall should usually eat less than a taller hound. I can't explain it any other way, because that's how it has fallen in our household. Width just doesn't seem to have as much to do with it as height does--or maybe it's just that the smaller dogs we've had have tended to be overfed. Jane and Bel, at 16" and 15" tall, respectively, have been able to eat a cup of food twice a day. Jane has always been in the 50s, weightwise. She's always been slim. Bel, I think, never got to be more than 60-65 pounds, a good weight for him. Holly and Dex, who are 14", need about 3/4 cup, as did our little Abner, who was the same height. Adjust this depending on how active the hound is and how active its metabolism is. Since Dex is very lively and much younger, he actually gets a generous 3/4 cup. Alexis, too, got more, because she was too thin on 3/4 cup, the amount her original humans gave her.

Also take into account how much your hound weighs now and should weigh. Holly is 14" tall and should be about 55 pounds. At 3/4 cup of food twice a day, along with a handful and a half of green beans, she still hasn't quite hit that weight. So I can't up it at all. Once she gets to her ideal weight, we'll see. I swear that girl looks at food and gains weight!

If a hound is not losing weight, it's because it's eating too much, assuming all other health issues are fine. Yes, a dieting hound will beg. But eventually it will pretty much get used to the new level of food and the begging should tail off a bit. I wouldn't rush to go below 3/4 of a cup with a basset, but maybe some other things need to go. And make sure no one in the household is slipping treats or people food to the "starving" hound.

Also be sure you are not feeding a food with a lot of fat in it. If you have a senior, you may not have to feed senior food (which may be high in weight-producing carbs); instead compare fat levels in the information on the back labels of food. Some foods that might be fine for a young, active dog will put pounds on the older, slower one. Go to your store and read all the labels you can find for foods you could reasonably feed your dog. You'll start to realize some things about dog food as you do this. Some of them are designed for younger dogs, who will run off the fat. Others have ingredients your dog doesn't really need. If your hound has allergies, you may do better with a basic food that has fewer ingredients.

Weight should be lost slowly, or it can have an adverse affect on the organs. Don't rush it. A nice, slow, but consistent weight loss is your goal. It's taken us nearly a year to get Holly within shouting distance of her perfect weight. She's lost about 10 pounds. We might have been able to go a little faster, but it's worked for us. She only needs to lose some weight in her shoulders now.
 
Every basset is different, of course, just as every human is. You want to be able to feel the ribs under a comfortable amount of skin and fat. The dog should be sleek, not pudgy or bony.

Do I feel bad about feeding Holly less than a cup, when she could easily keep eating all day without complaint? Yes. I'd love to make her happy. But I won't do that at the risk of her health. Our Abner had back surgery because he was too heavy. I had a very hard time getting him to lose weight before his surgery. But believe me, you don't want surgery as a weight-loss plan! So now I am insistent upon everyone getting down to a good weight.

The best hounds in the world have begged from me. Abner gives me the strength to say no to them all. I will never lose the guilt that I did not get him down in weight earlier, because it might have saved his back. I can't change that, but I can keep other bassets from following in his overweight pawprints.
 
I think I'll get off my soapbox now. I hope this little speech didn't irritate anyone too much and helped a few folks balance their hounds' diets.
Pam, food slave to the Dashing Bassets