Kris Dow

Since we got our new dog (about a month ago now) our cocker spaniel has distinctly put on the pounds. (I suspect someone in the family has been over-treating her to ''make up" for the new addition.)

Obviously, this is not ideal, and since this forum has many people who are helpful and educated, I'm hoping for some feedback on the best way to go about slimming her down. (One local vet very helpfully suggested Science Diet- having read the ingredients, I will not be feeding that to my dogs.)

One element, exercise, seems to be mainly handling itself- our newer dog is larger and so moves at a faster clip on walks, so she's getting more of a workout there already. When time permits we're going to try to get her out for some fetch games, too, but that can't be as regular an activity as I'd like right now.

The second element, food, I'm approaching in the following way:

Calculate caloric requirements of 'goal' weight.
Calculate caloric value of 'treats' (she gets a couple dried chicken breast treats at bedtime as part of her routine)
Fill out remaining caloric needs w/ good quality kibble (currently Barking at the Moon) & small amount of lean meat.

Should that approach work, or is there something else I need to be doing?