# Helping my dog feel full!



## Sophie45 (Jan 3, 2011)

Hi Everyone-
I am new to this forum, and would love some feedback on what I feed my 95 lb GSD/Boxer mix, Sophie. She is 4 1/2, and very recently has been showing some signs of hip problems (going in for x-rays next week) and because of her size and being half German Shepherd, I'm very concerned it's hip dysplasia and am sort of getting prepared for that diagnosis.

Since the cold weather has hit, I have VERY SLOWLY cut back her food from four cups a day to three cups because she hasn't been getting as much exercise (still daily but not as long since it's like 10 degrees here) and was starting to gain a bit of weight. Now especially since she might have hip dysplasia, I know it's extremely important to keep dogs weight down. Sophie has very lean, muscular hips and 'a nice taper' as my vet puts it, but still could afford to lose a few more lbs. 

My problem is that I have fed Sophie 4 cups a day for a very long time, which always satisfied her, but now on 3 cups, for the first time in her life, she always seems HUNGRY and it's very difficult to watch her like this, and I feel terrible, even though I know I have to cut her food back. 

I've been giving her canned pumpkin and green beans as 'fillers' to make her feel more full, but I'm also thinking of cooking up some veggies in a bit of chicken broth for flavor, and giving her a cup or two of that a day, too, just to satisfy her hunger but not add too many more calories. Also, I was thinking about beans, since they are low in calories.

So my question is: does anyone else give their dogs 'fillers', and if so, what do you give them? Are there some veggies that are not good to use (make them gassy, etc.)? 

Thank you!


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## BoxerMommie (Jun 26, 2008)

Well I will say cutting back an entire cup all at once is quite a bit. Have you thought about feeding 3 1/2 cups a day instead? That way it may help fill her up but still be cutting some calories? Also you can give whole meats (chicken, beef, etc). When my girl needed to lose weight we cut out 1/3 cup food daily and replaced that with 1/3 cup green beans and she lost a good amount of weight in 6 months with zero exercise.

Also I'd skip the chicken broth it's loaded with sodium.

Good luck.


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## Sophie45 (Jan 3, 2011)

Thanks for the input!
I did cut her food very slowly to three cups over a period of several weeks, and also before putting her on a diet I've always sort of 'adjusted' her food often depending on her activity level that day (so if she was super active, I gave her 4.25-4.5 cups and on super lazy days I was giving her 3.5-3.75 cups) so she wasn't always getting precisely 4 cups a day and even now I will give her a little more on high activity days.

I would love to give her some raw food, but every time in the past I've tried giving her chicken thighs or legs, she got horrific diarrhea, even if I gave her a very small amount, so I've kind of given up on that...

Any other suggestions are greatly appreciated!


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## BoxerMommie (Jun 26, 2008)

Personally I didn't mean raw, but you could try her on some boiled chicken breast or cooked ground beef, eggs, etc.

Also I meant as a whole I think 3 cups of food for a dog that size just isn't enough (even if not active). Maybe go with 3 1/2 and see if she loses weight over 8 weeks or so, if she loses weight then you're still accomplishing what you're trying to accomplish and she wouldn't be so hungry.

My 67 pound Boxer gets 2 3/4 cups of food a day and my GSD gets 3 and he's 80 pounds so for a 95 pounder to be getting 3 just doesn't seem enough.

Also what kibble do you feed? Switching to a better kibble or higher protein/grain free may help too if she's not already on that.


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## buddy97 (Mar 29, 2010)

the question is, what would be her ideal weight if she was as lean as she should be?

i have an 84 lb male gsd who is pretty active and gets along great with 3 cups a day.

does he always act like he would love to eat more? sure he does, and so do my other two dogs. however, since they are lean and healthy, they are eating the right amount, no matter how much they "act" like they are starving.

i think this is harder for you than for your dog. if she is carrying to much weight, then getting her to a proper weight is the biggest favor you can do for her. i dont think you should worry unless you start seeing ribs sticking out or something of that nature, then you know she is not getting enough.

i got in the habit long ago of dumping half their meal into the bowl, then dumping the rest after they finished that (somehow i think they feel like they are getting an extra helping even though they are not)....i feed 2x/day so do this each time.


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