The Dieting with my Dog Guide to Weight Loss and Maintenance

Weight Loss & Your Dog: Helping to Manage an Ideal Weight

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Neutered dogs actually require fewer calories. Very occasionally weight gain is associated with a medical disorder that may require specific treatment. Dogs with unlimited access to food understandably eat more than they need. Many commercial foods are loaded with salt and fat. This improves taste, which means your dog will want to gorge. Too much food and too little exercise produces a typical result: All dogs have an ideal weight for their size and breed.

Your veterinarian will be able to tell you what this is, and show you how to check that your dog is maintaining a healthy weight. Between check-ups, place your hands on his side - are his ribs hard to feel or even impossible to feel? If so, he is likely overweight. If your dog is overweight, you may notice some of the following signs: Weight problems are common in dogs, and can be successfully managed through changes in dog food or a nutrition program. Combining a change in nutrition with increased exercise is the most effective way of achieving a healthy weight. Exercise tips for dogs: The food your dog eats plays an important role in his overall health and well-being.

Balanced nutrition is an essential part of an active, healthy lifestyle. Eating too much dog food, snacks or people food will cause your dog to become overweight, and this increases the risk of conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, heart disease and breathing problems. Food plays a very important role in treating an overweight dog. Along with exercise, a low-fat and low-calorie food is essential in helping your dog lose weight and stay fit. Fiber is also a key ingredient since it helps your dog eat less while keeping his full.

Once your dog has been overweight, he may be prone to weight gain and should have an ongoing weight-management plan based on good nutrition, exercise and regular check-ups and weigh-ins. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Instagram Youtube. Hill's - Transforming Lives.

A valid email address is required. Please leave this field blank: Please select your preferred country and language. Republic of Singapore English. Choosing the right cat food. Choosing the right kitten food. Choosing the right dog food. But within two months her weight had ballooned by almost a full pound, and there was no way you could call her anything but plump.

Weight Loss for Obese Dogs

How could this happen? How could I have let my new dog get fat — me, the one who perpetually preaches the benefits of keeping dogs lean? And what the heck was I going to do about it? And I would do whatever it takes to get her back to the weight she should be, and keep her there. Here is what I learned during my struggle to help Ella lose weight. Why worry about one extra pound?

Photo by Erika Maurer. Lean dogs live longer, healthier lives than those who are overweight. A year study showed that dogs fed 25 percent fewer calories than their free-fed littermates lived nearly two years longer and showed fewer visible signs of aging. They also were a full three years older before they needed treatment for arthritis. Health problems that are more common in overweight dogs include pancreatitis, diabetes, heart disease, disc disease, ruptured cruciate ligaments, hip dysplasia and other forms of joint disease, surgical complications, compromised immune system, and even many forms of cancer.

As many as half of all dogs in the U. A recent study found that veterinarians considered 47 percent of their patients to be overweight, yet only 17 percent of the owners agreed. If in doubt, ask your vet for an opinion, or go to an agility competition to see what fit dogs look like. Most prescription weight loss diets are excessively high in carbohydrates and low in both fat and protein. The same is true of many commercial weight loss diets, though some companies have recognized that this is not the best way to help dogs to lose weight and have changed their tactics.

Protein and carbohydrates supply the same number of calories, but protein is preferentially used to build lean muscle, while carbs are more likely to be stored as body fat. L-carnitine, an amino acid derivative found in meat, fish, and dairy products, helps to burn fat. Dogs thrive on high-protein diets and find them more satisfying, while they have no nutritional requirement for carbohydrates. Diets to help your dog lose weight should be high in protein and low in carbs. Fat has more than twice the calories per gram of protein or carbs, so the amount you feed should be limited.

Fat, however, is also what satisfies the appetite best. A diet that is too low in fat will leave your dog feeling hungry all the time, making it harder for you to stick to the diet plan and potentially leading to food-stealing or even poop-eating. If you are feeding kibble or other dry food, look for a minimum of 25 percent protein.

There is no harm in feeding high protein diets to puppies, seniors, or healthy adult dogs; there are only a few specific health conditions that require protein to be limited. Look for fat percentage around 12 to 16 percent.

Dog Diseases - Weight Management - Obesity | Hill's Pet

Some dogs have had success losing weight with reduced portions of even higher-fat foods that are also very high in protein, probably because these foods are quite low in carbs. Avoid foods with excessively high more than 5 to 6 percent fiber, the indigestible part of carbohydrates. Increased fiber will not help your dog feel satisfied, and too much can interfere with nutrient absorption.

This is also a good opportunity to desensitize your dog to vet visits. Give him a few low-calorie treats for sitting quietly on the scale. Examples of good food choices include Wellness CORE Original 34 percent protein, 14 percent fat, 4 percent fiber and Orjijen Adult 40 percent protein, 16 percent fat, 2. For canned foods, subtract the moisture percentage from , then look for protein that is at least one third the remainder, and fat that is one quarter the remainder or a little less. Usually that means protein is at least 8 percent and fat is around 5 to 6 percent, but these values may be slightly lower for foods with very high moisture content 80 percent or more.

Many though not all grain-free foods are high in protein and low in carbs, though a number of them are also high in fat.

Causes and Culprits

The majority of senior and light diets are still high-carb and low-protein. However, a number of newer formulas now use higher protein which means fewer carbs , and are lower in fat than adult maintenance foods. Canned foods are usually higher in protein and lower in carbs than dry foods.

How to reduce your dog to a healthy weight, and get him living life to the fullest.

If you feed a homemade diet, feed lean meats, low-fat dairy, and green vegetables in place of most grains and starches. Remove the skin from poultry, but feed the dark meat rather than very low-fat breast meat. Remove separable fat from meats, and avoid fatty meats such as lamb, pork, and high-fat beef, or cook them to remove most of the fat. You can also use these foods to replace part of a commercial diet, which will increase the amount of protein and decrease the amount of carbs in the overall diet. Reduce the amount you feed gradually rather than making drastic changes all at once.

Slow, steady weight loss is more likely to result in long-term success. Weigh your dog in one to two weeks. If your dog has not lost weight, reduce the amount of food by another 5 per cent. Continue to reduce the amount of food you feed every week or two until your dog begins to lose weight, then continue feeding that amount. If you switch to a new food that is considerably higher in protein and fat than your current food, cut the quantity of food by up to one third, as these foods are more nutrient dense and will provide more calories in smaller portions.

Even though the total amount of food your dog gets is less than before, you may find he is more satisfied. You can find these scales at office supply and kitchen supply stores, department stores such as Target, and online at places like Amazon. Most can handle up to five pounds with accuracy to the tenth of an ounce, and will also allow you to switch to grams when needed for more accuracy with very small measurements. You must weigh your dog frequently, especially when first starting a weight-loss program.

Aim for weight loss of 3 to 5 percent of body weight per month, or one percent per week. A pound dog should lose about half a pound per week, or 2 pounds per month. Instead, I bought a shipping postal scale that weighs up to 55 pounds.

Tips & Tools

I put a box on the scale and zero it out, then put Ella in the box to measure her weight to the nearest half ounce a small treat afterward makes her a willing participant. By the time you notice a difference, your dog could have gained a lot of weight back. Caloric needs can also change over time as your dog ages, after neutering, or if his activity level varies seasonally. Resting energy requirement RER is the number of calories per day your dog requires for just basic needs, and a good amount to feed most dogs to encourage weight loss.

This is what I should feed in order to help her lose weight. This amount may need to be adjusted in some cases. Very active dogs may require up to 1. For a dog that should weigh 50 pounds, 50 times 5 is calories per day, the same amount calculated above. They offer several serving sizes, but you may have to do further calculations to match what you feed. For Ella, I converted most foods to. Beware of volume measurements, such as kcal per cup, which will not be as accurate as measuring by weight.

Keep in mind that the foods you feed may vary in calorie content from those shown in the chart.

Always check the labels of packaged foods to verify the calories they provide. For example, if white rice has kcal per grams, it has 37 kcal per ounce. When Ella continued to gain weight even with reduced meals, I realized that I needed to consider the calories she was getting from treats, particularly since, like any new dog, she needed a lot of training.

I used treats to reward behaviors that I wanted to encourage, such as pottying outside and learning to use the dog door. I fed her cooked chicken breast to counter-condition her shyness around strangers that we met on our walks. I put treats in a Kong toy when I left the house, to reduce any anxiety she might feel about being alone. I used clicker training to improve our communication. Altogether, those treats added up to a lot of calories. Dogs care more about the number of treats they get than the size of each treat: Using small treats allows you to reward your dog without adding too many extra calories.

Avoid treats that are high in fat and calories, such as cheese, hot dogs, and peanut butter. Raw vegetables and some fruits make excellent treats. I give baby carrots to my small dog.

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