I have a 7 year old American Eskimo. In the past year he has gained about 10lbs and we've tried diet food, tried making him exercise but all he does is sit down and moan. He won't jump up onto anything and is having trouble with the stairs now. He is acting about 15 yrs and we know he's only 7. We've taken him to the vet and he is supposed to be fine other than his weight. Any suggestions? We feel like he's given up and we don't want to loose him at such a young age.

I don't know much about American Eskimo's, such as how big they are supposed to be, so I'm not sure how serious 10 lbs is. But, my Lhasa Apso was a little fatty, thanks to my dad who insisted on giving him constant treats and table scraps. I've heard most diet food is crap. I put him on Innova EVO and substituted about a third of what he was supposed to get with raw shredded carrots. He loved the carrots, and ended up going from 22.5lbs to 18lbs in about 6 weeks. EVO is grain free, so somewhat similar to the Atkins diet for dogs, as it was explained to me.

Could he be possible haveing hip or knee pains.
Is there anything that really gets the dog excited??

get him to a vet, have him evaluated for if it's something else other then a bad diet and exercise.

then ask your vet for what you should do for this breed in particular and plan a diet and exercise regimen and follow it very strictly.

eskimo dogs are supposted to be a very high matnece dog who needs plent of excersise they was breed to be very active dogs. if there not kept active of course they will get a lot bigger in no time.

Eskies are actually "kind of" similar to Shelties on a lot of levels...

If you're feeding him a high grain content food (or anything with corn in it at all) get him off of it. Corn especially is really only a carb source for dogs. If you look at the diet foor you're feeding, I bet the 1st or 2nd ingredient is corn. That is essentially like a person going on a Pasta diet to lose weight...

I was feeding Iams, Science Diet, or Purina One for a lot of years... I STRUGGLED with weight on my Shelties. I checked thyroid's, I put them on the prescription diet foods... NOTHING helped. Then a friend recommended I go "corn free". Every single dog dropped their extra weight in a matter of weeks, was eating "regular" food (not diet), and a sane portion size even and they kept the weight off. It was seriously like magic. As a result, I refuse to feed anything with corn in it since.

EVO is a good solution - though with the high protein content it is something I actually use to put weight ON some of my more active dogs. I've never tried it as a weight LOSS solution... I'd personally recommend the Eagle Pack Holistic Select Anchovy, Salmon, Sardine, and Oatmeal food as my top pick for a "weightloss" diet. It's lower calorie and very low grain. It will also make his coat REALLY plushy and shiny AND if there is any kind of joint issue at all, it has both glucosamine and an additional Omega 3 supplement IN the food. You could also try California Natural, regular Innova, Nature's Variety, Canidae... all are really excellent foods.

You'll find you're feeding A LOT less. Figure out what his ideal weight is (what you want him at), look at the back of the bag, and decrease the recommended portion size by 20% until you get him at the weight you want him at. Then you SHOULD be able to up it back by 10% an see if he'll maintain at that feeding amount.

Excercise helps. It does. But the biggest mistake pet owners make when trying to maintain weight on their dogs is that they think it's all about excercise. In reality, you have to keep the food portion size relative to how much activity the dogs does. A couch potato doesn't have to be chubby. They are just going to need a lot less food. I have one girl who LIVES on my bed. She'll run up and down the stairs for fun, and I can take her out to a play yard and she'll play for 30 minutes... but she'd rather just sit like a lump on a log and watch the other dogs or sleep most of the time. :) She gets 1/2 a cup of Chicken Soup a day if she's being lazy (she's 18 lbs and spayed). If she will actually go out and play and be active she gets 3/4 of a cup. But I have to pay attention to what her activity level was like for that day.

On a side note... have you had his Thyroid function checked? It's usually about $60-75 to check thyroid function - but if he's lethargic, seems kind of depressed and dumpy, and his coat is not as nice as you think it should... he may have hypothyroidism which I believe IS a common health problem in Eskies (it is in Shelties) and he's at an age where even if his thyroid function was normal as a young adult, it may not be anymore.

If his thyroid is low, it will involve a small pill 1-2 times a day that is fairly inexpensive and not really a big deal. If it's low an you DON'T put him on the meds, dogs can actually die from low thyroid's being left untreated. If it's low, you also will definitely want to get him on a high quality, low grain food.