What's the best dry food for my 7-year-old dog's weight loss?

Hi there! Let me see if I can help you with Brownie. I always recommend "The Big 4" as far as brands, as they are the most balanced diets on the market for dogs and cats. They are Purina, Science Diet, Royal Canin, and Eukanuba-Iams. That being said, I always point out that when changing diets we go slowly over a week to ten days' time. You can follow the guide in this link to try to avoid causing any gastrointestinal upset like vomiting or diarrhea: https://www.hillspet.com/dog-care/nutrition-feeding/how-to-transition-my-dogs-food I would check the bag and make sure that you measure the food and stick to the recommended calories per day, taking into account any additional calories like treats, table food, or dental chews. We can sometimes be surprised how many calories are in a milkbone even. You can try a reduced fat or weight loss diet made by one of the brands mentioned above, and see if that helps. Before starting I always recommend a vet visit. An exam can be very helpful in making the initial weight loss plan. I will often discuss trying cutting out snacks and treats, a reduced fat diet, and monthly weight checks. If there isn't a difference in about 6 weeks, I will recommend checking thyroid levels to see if that is functioning OK. If not, that can slow down metabolism and cause weight gain. And if all is well and we're still having trouble, there are prescription diets that we can try to help reset the metabolism like Hill's metabolic. I hope you find this answer helpful. Best of luck!

Discontinue feeding any table food and limit treats. Feed a good quality maintenance diet or discuss weight loss diets, such as Hill's r/d, with your veterinarian. Increasing exercise and activity will also promote weight loss. Since Sophie is an older dog, have her thyroid function checked as this could cause weight gain.

HI there. I would recommend using a true weight loss diet and not a "weight management" or "healthy weight". You should use the weight loss diet until he is his ideal weight then you can transition to a management diet. These diets are expensive but they are not meant to be a long term solution so keep that in mind. If you feed the correct amount it shouldn't be too horribly expensive. You must feed him to his "ideal weight" and not the weight he is currently. So read the instructions on the bag of food carefully. Feed him this diet only - no treats or bones or people food. I would suggest Puirna OM or Hill's w/d. These are prescription diets and should be prescribed by your vet but I have recently come to find out you can buy them on Amazon without an Rx. They should not make his coat or skin poor. If that is a recurring theme then he may have an underlying condition like hypothyroidism causing that (could also be why he is heavy) so you may want to consider having his thyroid levels checked. These links are from Chewy.com. I don't know if they require a Rx but you can check Amazon too or just ask your vet for a prescription. https://www.chewy.com/purina-pro-plan-veterinary-diets-om/dp/50028 https://www.chewy.com/hills-prescription-diet-wd/dp/54717 Hope this helps. Best wishes!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Kira. She does appear overweight based on your pictures. You want her to have only a thin covering over her ribs. They should be easily felt when you pet her side. Then she should have a defined waist from both the top and side views. I recommend using a weight loss formula from Purina ProPlan or Royal Canin. I would stop feeding the raw meat as it not properly balanced for dogs and carries a high risk spreading disease to dogs and people. I hope this information helps!

Hello. This is a great question! She should be eating about 500 -550 calories PER DAY which includes all food and treats. She can eat any food as long as she stays inside that calorie window. If you feed her a lower calorie diet then she will get to eat more food and be less hungry. Purina ProPlan Weight Management Dry Food is 337 calories per cup so if you feed her this food she can eat 1.5 cups per day with a little left over for a treat or two. http://www.petsmart.com/dog/food/dry-food/purina-pro-plan-weight-management-formula-adult-dog-food-5148013.html?gclid=CKrvp4aRkdQCFZBgfgodPccMzA If you don't like this food you can use any diet. Just check the bag, it will tell you how many calories per cup. Take the 525 (using the middle of her calorie range) and divide it by the number of calories in each cup of food and that will tell you how many cups of that food she can have PER DAY. Example as above 525 / 337 = 1.55 cups I hope this helps. Best wishes. Dr. Amber

You are correct that it is difficult to find a good quality weight loss diet. Good quality meats and fats are high in calories. At the end of the day, weight loss is about calories. So, a weight loss food is beneficial because they can eat the same amount of food. But you can achieve the same decrease in calories by feeding less of the Acana that you are currently feeding. A 10-20% decrease in daily calories is exactly what I recommend for weight loss, so you could simply decrease from a level 2/3 cup to heaping 1/2 cup for a month. If Chloe is losing weight, then continue at that amount. If she is not losing weight, then decrease to a level 1/2 cup. Since she is a small dog, it should take her a number of months to lose the weight, so don't be discouraged if she only loses a few ounces in that first month. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Zoey is adorable!! I would recommend a weight loss food and a gradual transition to the new diet. I would also need to know exactly what Zoey is eating now to give you a good amount to give her. If you increase exercise, stop all treats and human food then many times dogs will lose weight just with that. I would also recommend weighing Zoey every 2 weeks to make sure she is continually losing weight. If you do put her on a diet and she does not lose weight you can always talk to your veterinarian about hypothyroidism which can make it difficult for dogs to lose weight. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.