Weight Loss for Dogs

Complete Guide To Action

With nearly half of all dogs now being overweight or obese, weight loss for dogs is a topic of increasing importance.

And while it's easier to prevent your dog from getting fat in the first place than to embark on a weight loss regimen, successful weight loss for dogs is not difficult if you are committed.

Owner Compliance

Your dog can't decide to sign up for a gym membership or switch to a lower calorie food. That's why owner compliance is the key to weight loss for dogs. Since you are the one responsible for your dog's food intake and exercise, you are also the one who needs to be motivated to make weight loss happen.

Most dogs lose weight easily if their owners are committed to following through with a canine diet and/or exercise plan. The problem is that many dog owners lack adequate motivation and follow through.

If your dog is overweight, the first step is to admit that this is indeed the case.

As I have previously discussed in Is My Dog Fat?, many dog owners are invested in seeing their dog's weight as normal, but as long as you are in denial about your dog being overweight, you won't be inclined to make the necessary changes.

So, let's assume you, and any other members of your household who may be in the habit of providing your dog with food or treats, agree with your veterinarian that your dog is overweight. Now what?

Weight Loss for Dogs: Taking Action

Alright, your dog is overweight and you're determined to do something about it.

Your first step should be a visit to your veterinarian. It's important to rule out medical reasons for your dog's weight, and to make sure that your dog is healthy enough to embark on the diet and exercise program you have in mind.

If your dog is only slightly overweight, it may be sufficient to cut out high calorie snacks while increasing physical activity and possibly feeding a little less at mealtimes.

Keep in mind, though, that dog foods are guaranteed to meet your dog's nutrient needs only if you feed the recommended amounts.

While the built-in safety margin ensures that feeding a little less than the recommendations won't do any harm, feeding a 60 pound dog 1 1/4 cups of kibble when the manufacturer recommends 2-3 cups for adults in the 50-75 pound range is not a good idea. At least not if you'll need to do it for more than a couple of weeks to achieve the desired weight loss.

For dogs who need to lose more than 8% of their body weight, I recommend switching to a dog food designed for lower energy needs, such as a weight loss or senior diet.

Specifically, I suggest you feed a high protein, low carbohydrate diet with low to moderate fat levels (see Best Weight Loss Dog Food).

You can purchase a commercial low carb dog food such as EVO Weight Management, or you can hire a pet nutritionist to formulate such a diet specifically for your dog.

Aim for a loss of 1-2% of body weight per week. Any more than that and your dog will be losing too much lean muscle mass, which is counterproductive.

One of the many advantages of high protein/low carb diets for dogs is that calorie intake need not be restricted nearly as much as with the traditional high carbohydrate diets. To lose the aforementioned 1-2% of body weight per week, you need to reduce your dog's calorie consumption by only about 15% compared to the 40% reduction typically recommended for high carb/low fat diets.

And because low carb dog foods resemble the canine evolutionary diet, they are highly palatable to dogs. Sticking to the weight loss regimen will be much easier when your dog is eating a food she loves and isn't constantly hungry.

How Many Calories

To determine how many calories your dog needs to maintain her weight, add up the calories in her current meals plus any treats and table scraps you are feeding. Keep a food diary, and weigh her weekly to make sure she is not still gaining. If she is gaining weight, adjust her food intake accordingly. After about 3-4 weeks, you should have a good idea of your dog's maintenance calories.

If you don't want to wait a month to get your dog started on a weight loss diet, simply add up her current calorie intake and deduct 15-20%.

So, if your dog is currently eating 1000 calories a day, you would be feeding 800-850 calories a day of a low carb dog food in order to promote weight loss. In the event that the weight doesn't come off, you overestimated your dog's maintenance calories and will need to cut back further.

Make sure you feed at least two meals a day. More frequent, smaller meals have been shown to do a better job of keeping hunger at bay and your dog's metabolism elevated than feeding a large meal once a day.

While dogs can certainly lose weight with diet alone, you can help things along by increasing your dog's activity level. An additional 20-30 minutes of daily exercise is highly recommended. Small dogs can get a good workout by taking them on a brisk walk, but for large dogs, jogging, biking, or off-lead exercise will probably be necessary to provide them with an aerobic workout.

Don't Forget to Count Treats

In my experience, the main reasons for the obesity epidemic in dogs are insufficient exercise (this is particularly true for urban dogs who may only get half an hour of exercise a day) and too many treats and table scraps.

Many dog owners overestimate how many calories their dogs burn during the course of a day.

For instance, the average twenty pound (ten kilos) dog who lives indoors and gets thirty minutes of aerobic exercise a day needs only 350 calories to maintain his weight. This means that three little 30-calorie dog biscuits would constitute over 25% of this dog's daily caloric requirement.

And the situation gets even worse when you're supplementing your dog's diet with high fat, high calorie treats such as pig ears or fatty table scraps.

If you are doing a lot of reward-based training, cutting out all treats obviously isn't realistic, but make sure you count training rewards in your dog's daily calorie budget. Also, remember that training rewards should be tiny—about the size of a pea or pencil eraser.

Some of the best commercial training treats I've come across contain the same premium ingredients I look for in a high quality dog food (i.e., human-grade meats and no sugars and artificial additives) and deliver just 2-3 calories a piece. For small dogs, each treat should be cut into 2-3 pieces to make it go even farther.

Stick with It

You will want to weigh your dog once a week to chart the progress he's making, but don't get discouraged if weight loss is taking longer than expected. I highly recommend monthly visits with your dog's vet or nutritionist to stay on track.

Not only will your vet or nutritionist be able to adjust your dog's diet if necessary, but they will be able to keep you motivated when your resolve is slipping.

Many dog owners are initially highly committed to their dog's weight loss, but after a few weeks, they slide back into the old routine. This is particularly true when weight loss slows or hits a plateau (fortunately plateaus are far less common on the low carb weight loss diet I recommend).

The good news is that all the research indicates that the vast majority of dogs lose weight easily if their owners are motivated to put them on a diet and stick with it. Obesity-related health problems are preventable, so let's do what it takes to prevent them!