Tubby Border Collie + Question About Bum Fur

[jaybeece]

Just a quick couple of questions....anyone know how much I should be feeding a tubby border collie? She's around 22kg right now and should apparently be around 18kg. I haven't confirmed either of these yet, her old owner gave me the weights. From what I've read though female border collies can be between 12-19kg and I would imagine she's on the smaller end of the scale for a border so maybe 18kg is too much still? She doesn't have a defined waist anyway and is very unfit.

Currently she gets 1 1/2 cups of Artemis dry food (1/2 in the morning, 1 at night) as well as a raw bone most days and an egg once a week. I don't think it's too little as she's still full of beans, but I worry that it's still too much.

Also, I've been told by a couple of people that you really need to keep their bum fur trimmed as they get bum nuggets Is this really the case, or would a decent diet help er...firm things up...so it doesn't stick so easily? She's had a trim already and I don't mind keeping it up, but apart from the first day she hasn't had any hitchhikers so I'm thinking maybe the change in diet will mean it's not necessary?

Thanks

EDIT: one more....I know cutting back a coat like hers will change how the coat grows back, but she's had it done at least the last couple of years, maybe more. I probably won't have her clipped again over summer as I know when she's in better shape she'll deal with the heat fine, but will her coat be ok or will it be a bit strange when it grows back fully? Is there anything that can be done to encourage it to grow back right?

Edited March 1, 2009 by jaybeece

[Vickie]

My BC's range from 14-18 kgs. They get premium dried food some days, bones some days & leftovers other days.

A cup of dried food per day seems to maintain their weight at a level I am happy with. I will take it up or down depending on what I feel when I run my hands over them.

not sure about the coat but mine don't have "bum nuggets". I just brush the boys one a week or so to keep everything tidy, the girls have very little coat.

[jaybeece]

Thanks Vickie, might try her on one cup + bones then.

I'm hoping that her coat will improve with the better diet and regular brushing so hopefully she won't need bum trims. She has a pretty thick coat on her now, but it could be caused by being clipped every year.

[dancinbcs]

If she is not really active a meaty bone or raw chicken pieces weighing about 200 grams plus half to 1 cup of dry food should be more than adequate. All dogs have different metabolism but my bitches have always needed very little food once they have finished raising a litter or been desexed. Prior to this they eat huge amounts without gaining weight. When she slims down and becomes more active she may need more food if you start doing something like agility with her. My active males would have been fat on more than one cup of dry a day with raw added.

Try not to trim the coat, just make sure it is well brushed and combed with a wide tooth comb or use a slicker to remove any dead coat. If she is desexed you may need a Mars coat king as well as her coat will be more woolly than a bitch that is entire. Buy some potato flour and brush it through her pants to remove any poo she gets stuck there which usually only happens if they are loose. Potato flour is also good for removing wet mud.

14-19 kgs is about the normal weight range for mature bitches depending on size and bone.

[piper]

Piper who puts on weight by lookin at food and is best at around 16.5kg gets either a chicken carcass trimmed of fat or other bone (she gets the smallest least fatty out of a bag of bones) or if hving dry food around 2/3 - 3/4 a cup per day.

My undrstanding is Artemis is a super premium so IMO 1.5 cups per day is too much for a dog losing weight. Jazz is who is super active and like a bean pole gets between that and 2 cups per day or a large untrimmed chicken carcass or other decent size bone.

My 2 boys when they were alive used to get about 1 level cup of dry per day.

As for "bum nuggets" - never heard of that being a problem. They can know up back there is ungroomed though. In 14 years I have never trimmed 1 of my dogs coats at all, just a semi regular brush out, less often with the girls than my old boys due to less coat and different coat texture.

[JulesP]

Never had bum nuggets, lol. But do trim the bum hair sometimes. Poppy has the thickest, weirdest bum hair! It is very coarse and wirey and grey (prior to clipping).

You might be better feeding a weight loss food until she is thinner.

[Cala]

Bum nuggets No never had that problem! :rolleyes:

[Tassie]

If she's a "good doer", I'd be feeding quite a lot less, especially of a super premium food. My 7 year old agility girl is a light framed 490 dog, and is usually about 15 kg or a little lighter. She gets around 2/3 cup of Supercoat Junior is 2 meals and about 1 biscuit - very occasional bones or chicken wings - and abouit 1/3 cup of training treats - usually low-fat cheese and cabana or similar.

[wuffles]

I'd probably suggest a bit less food too, some dogs just need less than others. My dog needs way less than the average for his size. He is about 38kg, and to maintain his weight he gets 1.5 cups RC a day plus either 2 chicken wings, tin of sardines, a few tbsp pet mince. Also a small amount of frozen Nature's Gift tinned in his Kong when we are at work.

He also has a fluffy bum As long as we give him a brush every few days we don't seem to have any issues.

Edited March 2, 2009 by wuffles

[puggy_puggy]

I would be only giving a bone a day to get her weight down. Maybe alternating with the dry food which probably would only be a cup. There are some diet dry food on the market with much less calories then the normal stuff. If she is hungry add veggies to her meals.

[jaybeece]

Thanks for all the awesome info Thanks!

I'll back off on the dry and see what kind of veggies she's interested in, the large brown one isn't interested in veggies so I'd forgotten about the concept ;)

Also good to know she shouldn't get bum nuggets, I'll keep her brushed and see how it goes. Worst case scenario I'll just have to run the clippers over her backside occasionally and she'll look a bit silly. She DID get a nugget the day after I got her (which was OH SO FUN to remove), but since then nothing so fingers crossed that's it.