Overweight Border Collies

Where's Richard Simmons?

I need some help - my older Border Collie (he's 4 years old) is gaining weight no matter what I do. He gets a great deal of exercise playing with my younger Border Collie. I had his thyroid tested and its normal. Is it possible he is getting fat from eating horse manure? He just loves it.

If you have ruled out possible medical reasons for the weight gain there are only two possibilities left to explain it: 1) lack of exercise 2) extremely high calorie diet. Horse manure is nutritious and tasty (this is not coming from personal experience :-) but I seriously doubt it is the root of the problem. You may want to reduce his dietary fat and protein levels a bit but I wouldn't worry about it too much. Your biggest concern should be getting the dog more exercise. The statement that "He gets a great deal of exercise playing with my younger Border Collie" points to a possible reason. Playing with another dog may simply not be enough exercise. Roughhousing and running around the yard burn up calories but not nearly enough for any self-respecting Border Collie. Get him out and exercise him on your own with some sort of physical activity. You'll be surprised at the results.