I am in the same boat as you. My yellow lab weighed in at 101 lbs yesterday and was told for her to lose 5-8 lbs. Do you give Dusty any treats during the day? I don't know much about steroids but they cause weight gain, I think. If so, is there an alternative to steroids? I think feeding Dusty the amount that you do, 1/2 cup daily is just enough. They do have to have their nutrition. If you feed any less, you'd be cutting out the important stuff. I would say any treats or table scraps would have to go. That's what I have to do now and my dog just isn't understanding this at all. We also walk 3 miles daily and plenty of exercise playing fetch a couple of hours a day.

Prednisone (steroids) sure does increase appetites. You may have to get a special diet food from the vet for Dusty. When we had our dog on a diet she was always stealing the cats food and our neighbours were also feeding her. We stopped the neighbour treats and fed the cat on the counter where the dog couldn't reach the food.

i was going to sugggest what heather did..check with vet about diet kibble...does dusty get enough water? know when i was on steriods, i really kept hydrated and to combat the munchies...you're sure a good mommy!

is your yard fenced so they have playtime without you?

My American Eskimo gains weight easily - and it doesn't help that he was considered the runt of the litter and was pushed away from his mother. We used to have a Beagle, followed by 5 mini Dachshunds and who would have thought the Eskie would be harder? Difference, even though all dogs were strays, except for the BYB Eskie is tht the Beagle and Dachshunds never thought for a minute they wouldn't get their fair share. Just after my Eskie's 2nd birthday he gained 6 lbs. - his ideal weight is 22 lbs. (actually I like 20 lbs. to give him wiggle room) - so at 28 lbs. he was considered obese - and Eskies have long legs and that extra weight was dangerous. Of course my husband felt that he was a "growing" dog. Stupid! So the diet began - but was not going well until I cut my husband off of bread - that fixed it - round one. To our Eskie, it is the principle, not the amount. of getting something to eat. So a crumb the size of a flea is as welcome as half a bun. My husband tried to tell me he wasn't giving him his dinner plate to lick - well my Eskie is very white, except when he has red pasta sauce on his face! Finally got the weight down. Round 2 - another 5 lbs. - we have just now got him back down to 22.7 lbs. to be precise - he had his 6th physical on his birthday - April Fool's Day. Turns out that my husband who feeds him his kibble couldn't find the 1/3 cup scoop so was filling the 1/2 cup scoop - for several months. So vet gave me a cup with lines clearly drawn and we are back to 1/3 cup of Fromms Four Star at breakfast and dinner. He has wheat free, egg free low fat cookies - which are VERY important to him. He doesn't really notice the decline in kibble but he sure as heck would notice if he didn't get his mid morning and mid afternoon and bedtime snacks - so this worked out. Eskies are hard because of the hairy fur - the vet has to feel the rib cage - so at first you don't notice the weight gain - but when picking up you sure do. I was in a lighting store the other day and a woman was there with her Poodle who had also just lost 5 lbs. and she did what I did - reduced the kibble. Her dog, like mine, is a Cookie Monster - and the weight came off with little resistance. My guy also loves arugula of all things and is happy to get that - or a few pieces of cooked green beans. We did try the Hill's prescription diet food but basically it just had a lot of fibre in it and my guy didn't do well on it. He has been on the Fromms since 9 months and is in great shape - touch wood. (I know way too much about Dachshund back problems and surgeries.) Fromms is a rich food - if we fed him the suggested amount he would be morbidly obese. I checked on the Eskimo specific forum and most people with a dog my guy's size and feeding a similar food also do the 1/3 cup in the a.m. and p.m. with healthy treats in between. Problem with Eskies is that they can flatten their fur to make themselves look really thin - and then fluff it out again once they get what they want. Just like a chicken. Hope you have success with your dog's diet - I hate putting a dog on a diet - it is too hard on me. The looks.

I don't have any suggestions for you but just wanted to pass on some information I saw on Animal Planet the other day.A woman had a cat that was enormous,like around 40 pounds and 3 ft.long! I have never seen a cat that big!LOL.She said the cat has always been big but has gotten really fat in the last couple of years.She said she has always fed him the amount suggested on the bag of food and doesn't over feed.She said the vet told her that the amounts on the bag are too much food for any dog or cat and that it should be cut down to about half the suggested amount.So I guess maybe one should feed less to start out and see what happens.
I have always free fed my cats and dogs too and never had a problem with any of them being overweight.Maybe I was just lucky.

I have been struggling to get weight off of my five year old golden retriever. I stopped little bites of human food and I stopped the dog treats. I have found that Tanner just likes the idea of being given a treat and doesn't really care what it is, just as long as it's edible. Now, I keep fresh carrots, green beans, peas and apples for him in a container in the fridge. When he comes in, he heads for the fridge and loves the new treats that await him. The weight is coming off and I think we both feel better about that!

Lilliepad, my vet also said that the bags of dog food usually suggest twice the amount your dog should be eating. They want to sell more dog food of course! He had suggested 3 cups a day for my 60lb chocolate lab. He ends up getting a little more than three cups and has gained a little bit of weight but has managed to keep his svelte figure with exercise, lol. Right when I first adopted him, my vet said, "don't let anyone tell you this dog is too skinny, almost all labs are way too fat!". He was right, people were always saying he was too skinny!

Izzi is on a diet of green beans, carrots, celery, and boiled white meat chicken. The vet says she can have all the green beans she wants to eat. She has some dry kibble she has once in awhile and the vet showed me how much she is to get. The whole day's worth was in a little dixie cup and it was about 1/3 of the cup for her 11 pounds. So when she would get that, it is divided up into thirds. My guess it was about 1/4 cup of food for the whole day. She would get no other food on those days. She is a Pomeranian. With steroids, they hold a lot of water, so the sooner you could get him off of those the better. I sure hope your puppy improves.

Sue and Izzi too

Wow, thanks for all the good advice. Dusty is in the kitchen pushing the (empty) food bowl around, telling me to fill it!! He is such a little pig. My vet told me to feed him the half cup of food a day, so I'll go with what he says. That was back when Dusty was a svelte 11 lbs, guess I should have listened to him then. He did say he feeds his adult dog puppy food because it is less fillers and the dog eats less. I didn't feel comfortable with that, but I do mix iams puppy with regular iams. I put two cups of regular to one cup of puppy, mix it all up and take Dusty's half cup out of that.

No chance of getting him off the steroids, I've tried and he really coughs a lot. He always has water available, and does drink (and pee) a lot more now that he's on the steroids. I really did think he was hefty in my arms from water weight gain, lol. It's pretty easy to trick yourself.

No treats anymore, or rarely, and luckily he will eat ANYTHING, so he's satisfied with baby carrots. I think I will try the green beans, great idea. He never really did table scraps, unless something fell on the floor.

Thanks, everyone for the great ideas. I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who has to deal with this issue, makes me feel like less of a bad mom!

Sleeperblues, I am sure you know no onion in your green beans for your baby. You can either cook fresh or frozen or salt free in the can. Good luck and hope it works for you.

Sue and Izzi too

No, Sue, I don't know that. Why not? (I won't anyway, he has bad enough breath!)

Onions, chocolate, cocoa, avacado, macadamia nuts, grapes, and raisins can all be toxic for dogs.....can cause kidney failure and result in death. Georgy ate 3 1/2 dozen raw oatmeal raisin cookies at Christmas time. It cost $60.00 just to talk to the animal poison control hot line for advice on treatment. On top of that was vet bill for office visit and blood work. There were a lot of people in and out of the office while I was there and I was surprised that none of them were aware that raisins were dangerous to a dog.

Be careful with steroids, one of our kitties had frequent steroid shots for asthma for years, and came down with diabetes. A new vet switched her to tablets called "aminophylline". I give her a quarter tab when she starts coughing and she is doing very well, sometimes goes a week or more without requiring meds. I wish I had known about this before the steroid shots, but I was told there was no alternative.

Georgysmom, thanks so much for that info--I knew about chocolate but none of the others. Geesh, poor Georgy. Hope he's doing ok. A year ago last January my oldest dog, a standard poodle named Star, ate a rock when we were out walking and had to have emergency surgery to remove. There went a quick thousand bucks, but he survived the surgery at almost 11 years old and I still have him so worth it to me.

Petra, I should know about aminophylline as I used to take it for my asthma. I had no idea dogs could take it. I do know steroids can really increase your glucose levels in your blood (I think that's the reason you are so thirsty on them) and they are not to be messed with. I will definitely talk to my vet about that. Thanks for the info.

I asked on here a few weeks ago,I have a fat Jack.My vet said give them all the veggies theyll eat,shes looking good I think once her winter coat comes out she'll be ok.
They really like them even brussell sprouts.

Sleeperblues, Is it in the poodle genes? Georgy is a six month old goldendoodle (half golden retriever half poodle). She scares me because she'll eat or drink anything and everything. I spend half my day retrieving something from her mouth. Today I was washing down the kitchen chairs that got covered in pollen (DH left the porch door open) and she started to drink the soapy water! I'm trying to prevent a surgery but I swear she finds things on the floor or ground that I don't even see. I'm hoping she will outgrow this. We were lucky on the raisin episode. I think she pretty much regurgitated all of the cookie dough and the blood work showed her kidney levels to be normal.

I don't know if it's a poodle thing but I know that I am always wrestling things out of all of their mouths. We just got back from a walk where I pulled something out of my girl poodles mouth (I have three-2 standards and the girl is a rescue with "issues" and the mini). It was some kind of decayed dead roadkill. I should bring sanitizing hand wipes with me. Georgy sounds adorable! I love the goldendoodle mixes. They are so playful and happy. Good luck with her!

When my mother was dying, I brought her very much-loved and very over-fed dog to live with me. She is a senior with no health issues, but my vet reported her weight as "atrocious"! Of course I agreed, and had tried for years to steer my mother away from the regular cookie and four tortilla supplements. She was pretty much fed every time her bowl was empty. My mother did not weigh 100 pounds...her "little" dog was at a hefty 37 lb.

Poor baby...she lost her Mama, and her cafeteria suddenly closed! She has adjusted quite well. She hated having doggie siblings, and she turned up her nose at trim-down food for the firt few days. She did get lots of love and attention. She has not had a cookie or a tortilla or a left-over for a year, as of Good Friday. She has lost almost all the weight she needs to. She has energy and her coat is glossy. To look at her, you would not guess that she is thirteen! She asks for and receives her "dental chew" every evening.

Good doggie weight loss story...but we both wish we still had our Mama!