My beagle is 44 lbs. Is she overweight? How to help her lose weight?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The ideal body weight for a male beagle is about 20-25 pounds. You can consider increasing his daily activity with regular walks and activities such as playing fetch. Also, you can consider a weight management diet. I really like Hill's metabolic weight management diet. Good luck and have a great day!

HI, good for you for adopting an older dog! She does not look very overweight but can stand to lose a few pounds. You should be feeding her a high quality dry food like Science Diet and look for the weight loss food. Make sure you feed her what it advises you to feed on the back of the bag. treats should be low fat like baby carrots or ice cubes. Based on the picture I would say get her down to about 30kgs and see how she looks. there is no need for wet food if she likes the dry. You should be able to feel her ribs easily but not see them. She should have a tucked in waist as well. Keeping her slim will keep her healthier. Start out with short walks and gradually go on longer ones. Exercise is vey helpful in losing weight. If she feels hungry, you can give her pieces of kibble as treats or stuff a rubber Kong toy with some weight loss canned food as well. Good luck, i hope this helps!

Remember that being over weight or obese is based on the body condition score and not just the actual weight. If Rowdy is obese, he does need to loose weight but it should be slowly. Here are some helpful links about body condition scoring and weight loss: https://www.petcoach.co/article/how-do-i-determine-if-my-dog-is-overweight/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/weight-loss-programs/ You will either need to reduce his food intake or switch him to a lower calorie diet. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

That is about right for the average beagle. More important is how that weight is distributed in terms of location and muscle vs fat. If you’re unsure, see your vet, but I’ve included a link to my favorite body condition score chart below. Bruno should be aiming for the 4-5 score. Hope this helps and best wishes to you and Bruno! https://oregonvma.org/files/Purina-Dog-Condition-Chart.pdf

What an adorable pair of dogs!! No, I would not look into a weight management food just yet. As long as you give her a healthy diet, exercise her daily, and do not give her too many treats or any human food, she can maintain her weight. I have a 10 year old spayed Chow Chow, and I have never had to use a weight management food on her. Just keeping healthy eating habits and daily exercise is enough. I hope this helps!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I think she is in good condition at least based on these pictures. I would just continue with your current plan as she looks healthy and in good body condition. She is beautiful! Good luck and have a great day!

Female kelpies should weigh between 30 and 46#. Let's go in the middle and say she should weigh about 38#. She looks like a bigger dog from the photos so if you aren't sure what her ideal weight should be just call your vet and ask. They would know better as they have actually examined her. The ideal weight is important as that is what you will use to determine how much food to give her. If I used 38# as her ideal weight she should eat about 588 calories per day which includes her food and all treats. Honestly, the best weight loss food is going to be a prescription from your vet. These foods are specially formulated to have high fiber and lower calories so that your dog can continue to eat a more normal amount of food. Then they won't be hungry and begging all day. Once they reach their ideal weight on that food, then you can transition them to a maintenance diet. ( https://www.royalcanin.com/products/vet/weight-loss-support ) If you don't want to go that route, they can lose weight on any diet but she just may not be able to eat much. If I had to pick an over the counter diet I would use this one: ( https://www.chewy.com/hills-science-diet-adult-large-breed/dp/42749 ) If you used that diet at 297 kcal/cup she would eat 2 cups per day. That would leave no room for treats. You can refer to this article for more information about weight loss: ( https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/creating-a-weight-reduction-plan-for-dogs ) Hope this helps. If you have more questions feel free to post again. Best wishes.