My friend is way to stubborn even though facts are there

[FBTgirl]

So I have a friend, my best friend, who is also a vegetarian. Anyway, she has 2 dogs. Loves them both to death. One Rat Terrier mix, and one beagle. They get fed the same amount of food.
I did some research, for The beagles size, he should be 22-25 pounds. This dog, is 56 pounds! That is over half the size of her!!!
It makes me sad because he is really nice and lovable. I don't understand why he is so overweight though. I need my friend to see that this poses a problem for her dog. He is 5 years old, I imagine he does not have much longer to live either. He gets a walk roughly twice to 3 times a week. Considering no one is home until about 7-8 PM...
I insist she talk to a vet...She said the vet recommended this special kibble and daily walks. OF COURSE she being stubborn insists that dog diets don't work and he is just fat because he was the biggest puppy in the litter.
Is his overweight due to not enough exercise? He gets a Cup of food twice a day maybe just a bit more. I also want her to see that he will not live much longer if he stays this way...? Can anyone recommend me to these sites that have facts about dogs being over weight and stuff. I don't know what to do...I can't really force her to give him 2 walks a day and feed him special food.
I would gladly go over there a walk him every day FOR her...Sadly I already have enough pet problems...no time.
Help please? I would like to understand more of why he is overweight?

[NeptuneGD]

Is his overweight due to not enough exercise? He gets a Cup of food twice a day maybe just a bit more.

Although there are many factors that can play into an overweight dog, it seems with your friend the two biggest concerns might be not enough exercise and too much food. The type of food makes a difference but our lab and lab X get right at a cup of food twice a day and they are both about 60 pounds. Another thing they might want to consider is hypothyroidism, the vet can test him for it. You can do a quick search on google and it will provide you with a ton of sites on obesity in dogs and thyroid diseases. Good luck with your friend, your right to be concerned.

[Moo]

Kirby is about beagle sized and eats around 1/5 cup twice a day.

[fairlight]

You really can't make your friend do anything when it comes to her dogs. One of my dogs is close to 16 years of age. I cannot exercise her the way that I used to. She started getting a bit "fluffy" two years ago. I switched her food to Canidae Platinum formula for senior and over weight dogs. It took close to a year but we managed to get 16 pounds off of her and have maintained her weight. You may want to suggest a food that is low in protein.

[EmmaGirl]

A cup of food TWICE a day is waayyyyy tooo much food for the Beagle. Katie (my housemate's Beagle) gets under 1/2 cup twice a day.

Yes, there may be other explanations for the dog's obesity but the first 2 things to consider are his diet and the amount of exercise he gets. Like Fair said, you can't really do much to change the way she handles her own dogs.

I know how frustrating it can be when you see something that can be 'fixed' if only the owner would cooperate.

[AtomicSkies]

being the owner of a former overweight beagle that is WAY WAY too much food...she dosent need to put him on a special diet she needs to cut way back on food faye gets 1/2 and a bit cup twice a day...when we were first cutting her back we supplemented with frozen carrots so she felt fuller but we eventually cut those out too...she is a good weight and gets hardly any exercise since she has lung and heart issues and cant over exert herself

thats prolly too much for the rat terrier too depending on what its mixed with

[RoughCollies]

Dakota is 90lbs and gets a cup of food twice a day. Dixie, who is somewhere in the 60's and is on a diet gets 1/2 a cup twice a day. She's supposed to be about 55lbs and gets HALF of what the beagle is getting.

[AtomicSkies]

Originally Posted by RoughCollies

Dakota is 90lbs and gets a cup of food twice a day. Dixie, who is somewhere in the 60's and is on a diet gets 1/2 a cup twice a day. She's supposed to be about 55lbs and gets HALF of what the beagle is getting.

it just goes to show how different dogs handle food differently being fed the 1/2 and a bit twice a day faye got down to around 16 ish lbs...and gadget gets 1 cup twice a day and is a perfect weight...id say around 40ish lbs

[Reyven]

It also depends on the food involved as well as to how much food to give.
However, since this dog sounds to be very overweight (hard to actually tell without pictures) and is getting 1 cup twice a day, a cut in the food is in order, as well as more exercise. Even a short walk every day would help, or even playing ball or something to get the dog working and moving!

[weezyNollie]

My dogs all get 1 cup total per day. Louise is 40 lbs, and she will get heavy if I feed her more. Ralphie is 22 lbs, and could gain a pound or two. And Ollie gets 3/4 cup and he is 16 lbs and is perfect (finally).

A cup twice a day, or two cups/day is way too much for a beagle.