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Need Weight Loss Tips For My 76 Pound Female Australian Shepherd

by Justin
(Alabama)

My female black tri Annie will be 2 years old in February. She currently weighs 76 pounds. I know that sounds insanely high, and my next comment will sound stereotypical but please keep reading and offer advice.

Annie truly is larger than any other female Aussie I have seen. She is still overweight don’t get me wrong, but she is taller than most males I’ve seen and slightly longer. So I really do believe she should weigh a little more than the “40 pounds” I keep hearing from other female Aussie owners.

Annie is an inside dog and I’m a college student who spends a lot of time sitting down studying or doing homework. I’m planning on getting up earlier to start going for walks and taking her again before bed. I also plan to cut her food back.

My questions are:

1.) how much food should I really be giving her (Victors Multi-Pro)? I don’t want to starve her but I probably over feed (two solo cups a day)

2.) are there any exercises for dogs that are better than others?

3.) what’s a good exercise starting point? I’ve let her be a couch potato besides when she goes outside and plays with my roommates dog. I don’t want to give her a heat stroke or push her too hard too soon. I’ll be honest, I don’t have 2 hours at a time to give to take her out to exercise but I do have multiple shorter periods where I can take her out between classes and work.

Also, please keep in mind I am a college student so buying a treadmill and paying dog walkers aren’t an option.

Thank you in advance for any suggestions. I’ve posted here before and received great suggestions and advice on various topics!

Comments for Need Weight Loss Tips For My 76 Pound Female Australian Shepherd

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Feeding/weight loss
by: 3 Aussies

I believe you are feeding her twice as much as you should. I have 3 Aussies - 1 standard about 45lbs and 2 mini that are 30 & 35 lbs. They each get 1 cup of food in the morning and 1 cup at dinner time. This is actually a cup of food not a solo cup. You can ask your vet for a measuring cup for her food or pick one up at the pet store. As for exercise start out with shorter walks when you can and build her up to longer ones. We usually take our out back and throw the tennis ball for them until the get tired and they love it. Walks for us are a little harder where we live we don’t have sidewalks and there a dogs that wonder the neighborhood and mine get a little protective so we make up for walks with playing ball in the fenced in yard where they will be safe.

Best of luck to you two! Oh, all 3 of mine are couch potatoes too.

Aussies need a lot of exercise.
by: Anonymous

Sadly these dogs are high energy dogs that NEED to be exercised hard. They are meant to be worked. They will far surpass any level of exercise a human can endure so they need large spaces to just run. You need to talk to your vet about an appropriate diet and you need to take her to a large field to play fetch. 76 lbs is really heavy for her and she will start to have hip issues so go easy on exercise til you get her losing weight (diet first).

Feed your Aussie less
by: Anonymous

My female Aussie also gained a lot of weight. She was 70-75 lbs. Took her feedings down to two cups per day. With some treats occasionally also. She lost the weight fast... Hope this helps.

Also trying to shed some weight...
by: Wild Iris

I am struggling with my sweet wild Iris and weight. She is very active, but she loves food... recently we took in my mother-in-law's dog, who doesn't eat a lot and often Iris will sneak over for second helpings. She gained 10 pounds in a month! Over the last weeks, she has slowed down a lot and had trouble jumping into the truck after a work out! She is only 4, so this is troubling and we began to get really worried.

Because we are very active - we Nordic ski or run for at least an hour everyday, and go to the doggy park most days - we are opting for a calorie reduction approach. We are now feeding her 1/2 cup three times per day, with a little wet food in the mornings and at dinner, and a couple of cookies. This seems extreme, but the vet urged us to get her to lose weight so that her joints are protected. We just started this, and she is being a real jerk about it. So we are playing with her using toys more to distract her from her hungry belly until she gets used to the new food regime. Hope this helps!

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