How can I help my obese senior dog lose weight

How to Help Your Dog Lose Weight

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In the U.S., 56% of dogs are overweight or obese, and that excess weight is tied to an astonishing array of health problems. When it comes to preventing dog obesity, or even the slow creep of excess pounds, simple awarenessknowing what your dogs weight should be, and keeping on top of any fluctuationsis the first step. Just a few pounds can make a big difference.

You can seek your vets counsel on your dogs ideal weight, but a quick way to assess good canine condition at home is to ask:

• Does your dog have an hourglass shape when you stand behind them and look at them from above?
• Do they have a waist?
• Can you easily feel their ribs?

If youre answering no for all three, theres a good chance your dog needs to lose weight. Now what? Here are some vet-approved tips for helping your dog safely shed excess pounds and keeping them in good condition.

The Food Factor

For dogs, as for humans, losing weight really comes down to two things: food and exercise. And for a dog owner trying to manage or reduce their dogs weight, food is most important by far.

Weight loss begins and ends at the food bowl for dogs and cats, Ernie Ward, DVM, and founder of the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP), tells us. Weight loss for humans and dogs is 60-70% diet and 30-40% exercise.

For dog owners who have active lifestyles, its easy to overestimate the impact of physical activity on weight maintenance. So even for active dogs, its important to establish clear guidelines for daily caloric intake.

Get Specific With How Much Youre Feeding

Heres where things can go sideways. Humans may or may not choose to count calories as a guide for what theyre eating, with some opting for other methods of keeping to a healthy regime (Do my pants fit? Great!). But when it comes to the long-term management of your dogs weight, its essential to establish a concrete benchmark for how much to feed. This means determining the number of calories your dog needs every day.

Its not a good idea to rely on the feeding guidelines on the average pet food package. There are many factors that will influence your dogs dietary needs, including breed, size, activity level, and whether theyre spayed or neutered. Standard kibble-bag feeding ranges are generally too broad for your dog, and many owners end up over-feeding based on too-generous and too-vague suggested portion sizes, typically measured in cups and scoops.

The feeding guidelines on pet food packages, says Ward, are based on active adult dogs for all life stages. Spaying or neutering, for example, reduces energy requirement by 20 to 30%, he says. So, if your pet is spayed or neutered, and not particularly active, you can already be overfeeding by 20 or 30% or more.

When it comes to determining the ideal caloric intake, its important to consider a number of factors. We take a couple of things into considerationwe look at body condition score, we look at muscle condition score, we look at lifestyle, and any concurrent medical conditions, Dr. Ward says. We start by determining, OK, how many calories should you be feeding?

As a starting place, there are also many tools online to provide rough feeding guidelines based on weight and breed. You might start by consulting the guide published by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention.

For at-home calculating, you can use the Resting Energy Requirement (RER) formula. Take your dogs weight in kilograms, multiply by 30, and add 70 (or, take their weight in pounds, divide by 2.2, multiply this figure by 30, and add 70). You can then factor in a metabolic energy requirement (MER), depending on things like health and whether theyre spayed or neutered.

Typical MER factors include:

• Weight loss1.0 x RER
• Neutered/ Spayed Adult1.6 x RER
• Intact Adult1.8. x RER

Ask your veterinarian about the MER and calculating and determining how your dog can lose weight safely. Tools like the MER multiplier table on the web provide estimates, but every dogs metabolism is different, so be sure to keep monitoring your pets weight.

You can also sign up for a fresh-food plan (like the ones offered to customers of The Farmers Dog). A plan like this makes it easy to determine the correct total caloric intake and food portions based on your dogs very specific requirements, and also makes it easy to adjust daily calories based on changing weight-management needs.

Food Quality Is Also Key

In addition to calorie counting, another important part of weight maintenance or weight loss is feeding lower-carb, whole, fresh food.

Many ultra-processed dog foods are full of carb-based fillersas Dr. Ward has noted, when you actually break down the ingredients on the label, many of them top out at over 60% or more carbohydrates. Fresh diets provide quality protein, but also the fiber and moisture that can keep your dog satisfied, without carb-y fillers.

Feeding nutrient-dense, bioavailable food will keep your dog healthy as they reduce their overall intake of food.

Treats Count, So Count Them

Another way to help your dog drop some extra weight is by controlling, and possibly reducing, their treat intake. Here, again, quality and quantity matter.

Nobody wants to deny their dog treats, as they are often helpful training aids, and its fun to see the excitement they generate. But its important to keep a close eye on how many treats your dog actually eats in a day and what their caloric impact is. Treats should be factored into, and comprise no more than, 10% of total daily calories.

Dog owners who feed their dogs healthy food, yet still feed them highly processed, high-carb, high-calorie treats, are potentially missing a big source of weight gain and health issues. And if you feed your dog too many treats (more than 10% of their daily intake of food), you can undo the benefits of the balanced diet youre feeding.

Many vets recommend using single-ingredient treats like fresh veggies and fruit. Baby carrots, celery, broccoli, green beans, cucumbers, blueberries, apples, and bananas all make healthy treats and, unlike mystery-meat treats, can contribute to your dogs health (use apple and banana in smaller amounts due to higher sugar content).

As for peanut butter, make sure its truly a special (rare) treat, and doled out in limited amounts; this dogand humanfavorite has a hefty 100 calories per tablespoon. Also, ensure that the peanut butter youre using doesnt contain Xylitol, which is toxic to dogs. For a lighter, and perhaps better, substitute, try plain canned pumpkin, which weighs in at just five calories per tablespoon.

Its also worth stepping back and considering why youre giving your dog treats. Our bond with our dogs is so special, and every dog owner wants to see the happy excitement a treat brings. But you can get that joyful response with healthy treats, or with smaller portions. I typically tell owners that dogs get the same enjoyment, and you can get the same reaction, from a small piece of a treat as you can from the whole thing or a handful, says Alex Schechter, DVM. There are many ways to show love and bond with your pet. It doesnt have to be all about food.

Safely Increase Exercise

Food is key, but no weight loss plan, or health maintenance plan, is complete without exercise. The most obvious, and important, activity for your dog is walking. Regular walks dont just exercise your dogs body; they provide crucial mental stimulation and that all-important opportunity to sniff. The amount of walking your dog needs, or wants, depends on their breed and general health. But while conventional wisdom says that some dogs need less exercise than others, all dogs need to move.

While the recommended minimum of daily exercise is 20 minutes, twice a day, many dogs will need much more. For many breeds, an hour of exercise a day is a good target. If your dog needs to lose weight, try to increase the amount of exercise they currently do. So, if thats none, or barely any, start with short intervals of walking. If youre already exercising, try lengthening your walk or other activity by 10-20%.

Ask your vet about the best types of activities based on your pets breed, age, gender, and current physical condition. Introduce new activities slowly to avoid injury. And, unless your dog has been trained for or slowly introduced to these kinds of activities, leave the extreme sports to your own weekend hourstoo-vigorous, or repetitive activity can put your dog at risk of joint problems. Also, keep weather conditionslike high sunin mind if your activities are outdoors. The sun creates the potential for heat stroke and burnt paw pads.

Rule Out a Medical Condition

If youve established and are staying within caloric boundaries and youre still not having any luck helping your dog lose weight, a visit to the vet could be in order to rule out a medical condition. Weight gain and lethargy can be symptoms of conditions like hypothyroidism and Cushings syndrome. The latter, also known as hyperadrenocorticism, usually occurs in older dogs, and can also cause frequent urination, hair loss, and weakness.

Weight Loss (and Maintenance) Is a Long Game

If you determine that youre overfeeding, work with your veterinarian to create a weight-loss schedule based on the appropriate calories so that your dog doesnt lose weight too fast, which is unhealthy.

Overall, the best weight management strategy is to develop good habits that are applied, consistently, long-term.

People (humans) want to rush weight loss, says Dr. Ward. Thirty days to bikini season! But this is a long process. Its years of making small decisions that help. When youre deciding on sharing your pizza crust with your Pomeranian, if you do it once, OK. But if you do it once a week for five years, thats a problem.

This article was vetted by a vet. Reviewed by Alex Schechter, DVM, founding veterinarian atBurrwood Veterinary.He was previously founding veterinarian atPure Paws Veterinary Care.

How to Help Your Overweight Dog Lose Weight

Want to know a simple secret that can help your overweight dog lose weight? And live longer, too?To be successful, every weight loss plan must be based upon one simple principle

Dogs that consume fewer calories than they burn lose weight

Simple, right? Yet if weight loss was truly that easy, why are so many pets overweight?

An Epidemic of Overweight Dogs

Today, dogs are fatter than ever. Its now estimated that 45% of all U.S. dogs are either overweight or obese.¹

Thats 35 million dogs.

Whats worse, obesity can be life-threatening, too. An overweight dog is more likely to suffer from a disabling medical condition like

• Diabetes
• Arthritis
• Heart disease
• Lung disorders
• High blood pressure
• Immune dysfunction
• Cancerous tumors

Add Two Extra Yearsto Your Dogs Life

A recent study proves that dogs maintaining ideal body weight live almost two years longer (and with significantly less disease) than their overweight siblings.²

An overweight dog is more likely to die at a younger age

In other words, you can add nearly two extra years to your dogs life just by maintaining your pets ideal weight.

A Couch Potato Eating Machine

Unfortunately, many fail to recognize a fat dog.

Veterinarians report that although nearly 50% of all the dogs they see are overweight, only 17% of pet owners agree.

It can sometimes be difficult for an owner to admit her 80 pound dog is 20 pounds overweight not just big-boned.

Every day I hear pet owners comment, How can he be overweight? He hardly eats anything.

Obesity is frequently indicative that our dogs are sedentary, couch potato eating machines burning almost no calories.

The Solution

The obesity equation is actually very simple. Dogs that consume more calories than they burn gain weight.

So, to lose weight

Your dog must eat less and exercise more

Thats all there is to successful weight loss. Best of all, if you work out together, exercise can be great for you, too.

The GoalYour Dogs Ideal Weight

Start your plan by knowing your dogs ideal weight. Not only can your veterinarian help you do this, but she can also screen your pet for certain conditions that can contribute to obesity

• Diabetes
• Cushings Disease
• Hypothyroidism

You can also visit the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention for some suggested weight ranges for specific breeds.

How to Calculate Caloriesfor Weight Loss

Once you know your dogs ideal weight, youll be able to discover the amount of calories to feed your dog daily to achieve steady weight loss.

Use the Advisors dog food calculator to determine this important number.

While most dogs will experience predictable weight loss when fed this amount each day, others may require even fewer calories. This can depend on a dogs age and activity level.

The Problem with a Dog Food Label

Label recommendations are designed for weight maintenance not weight loss. Following these instructions will likely lead to continued gains.

To control weight, you must know how many calories are in a cup of food. Then, feed according to calories.

Also, if your dog is severely overweight, your vet may need to help you design a custom weight loss program for your pet.

The Wrong Way to Feed a Dog

Many dogs are fed free choice which means food is available 24 hours a day. So, the dog eats whenever it wants.

Free choice feeding is completely unnatural for any mammal. And (just like us humans), a dog will eat when bored instead of just when hungry.

Whats more, free feeding can contribute to unnatural hormonal changes which can make weight loss even more challenging.

And the Right Way

A dog should be fed two to four small portions a day. And the total number of calories for all meals and treats must equal the number of calories desired for weight loss.

If your schedule makes it difficult to follow this strategy, there are timed automatic feeders that can help your pet get the right amount of food.

And only at specific times.

Dont Guess Measure

Its critical to actually measure your dogs food. Never guess. Use an 8 ounce measuring cup not a coffee cup or a food scoop.

Then be sure to dispense the exact amount of food called for in your calculations.

The Trouble with MostWeight Loss Foods

Although there are many foods marketed for canine weight loss, not all are created equal. Products described as diet, lite or reduced-calorie may not be the best choice.

Many of these recipes replace meat content with high levels of carbohydrate fillers. This creates a low-calorie, bulky food that helps your dog feel full.

But only for a short time. Some arent very tasty and most tend to cause an increase in stool production.

These products can lead to dogs who are constantly hungry. Many times pets even gain weight due to the difficulty of staying on track in the face of persistent begging.

Most regular maintenance diets are high in calories (usually between 450 and 550 calories per cup or per can) making it easy to overfeed your pet.

Less Food More Begging

While weight loss can sometimes be achieved by feeding less of your dogs regular maintenance food, youll find you must feed very small amounts to achieve the reduced number of calories required to lose weight.

This leads to a pet that may feel less satisfied and begs more.

What to Look forin an Ideal Weight Loss Product

For successful weight loss, choose a quality dog food with

• Above-average protein³
• Below-average fat⁴
• Below-average calories⁵

A higher protein content helps a dog feel more satisfied with less begging. This makes it easier for you to stick to the diet.

These products also help combat muscle loss an unwelcome side effect with dieting.⁶

Lower calories allows your dog to eat more and still lose weight.

Weight loss is often easier to achieve by adding canned food to your dogs feeding regimen.

Canned products usually have higher protein, lower carbohydrates and fewer calories compared to a similar sized quantity of kibble.

Its also possible to achieve a good high protein weight loss diet by combining a high quality commercial dog food with low-calorie home-cooked foods. This should be accomplished with the help of your veterinarian or veterinary nutritionist.

Exercise. Exercise. Exercise.

Forty percent of American adults do not participate in any leisure time physical activity. So, no doubt our dogs are just as sedentary.

In humans, physical activity has been proven to

• Aid in weight loss
• Lessen heart disease
• Lower cholesterol levels
• Decrease the risk of diabetes
• Control anxiety and depression
• Reduce the risk of certain cancers
• Slow bone loss associated with advancing age

We can probably expect many of these same benefits for our pets.

So, get your dog moving. Take a walk. Run. Play fetch. Swim. Climb the stairs. Provide at least 30 minutes of brisk exercise every day to facilitate weight loss.

How to Monitor Your Dogs Weight Loss

Monitor your dogs progress. Weigh your dog at least every 1 to 2 weeks. Using the recommended guidelines, overweight or obese dogs should lose about 1% to 2% of their body weight each week.

If your dog is not losing weight, the daily calories may need to be restricted further.

Also make sure no one in the house is cheating by giving extra food or treats.

Once You Reach Your Goal

Once the ideal weight is reached, the amount of food your dog is eating will likely need to be increased.

Its important to continue weighing and monitoring your dog for any future change in weight.

So, keep a log. And make any necessary adjustments throughout your dogs life to maintain an ideal weight.

My Recommended Dog Foodsfor Weight Loss

To see a list of my current recommendations, be sure to visit the Advisors article, Dog Foods for Weight Loss.

Donna Spector, DVM, DACVIM is a renowned, board-certified Veterinary Internal Medicine Specialist.

Dr. Spector has written and lectured extensively on topics including animal nutrition, diabetes, gastrointestinal disorders, and kidney failure. She is widely acknowledged for her role as consulting veterinarian to Halo, Purely for Pets and her TV appearances with The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Dr. Spectors online consulting service offers personalized and tailored medical, nutritional and weight loss consultations for owners of both dogs and cats.

She provides professional advice relating to urinary disorders, liver problems, immune diseases, intestinal issues, diabetes, asthma and other breathing conditions, hormonal problems and other internal medical complaints.