My dachshund is overweight and won't walk. How can she lose weight?

It's awesome that you want to be proactive about Maggie's health! Switching to An all canned diet can help with weight loss. I'd aim to feed Maggie for her ideal body weight. So if she should weigh 15 lbs, look at the suggested feeding amount (on the can of food) for 15 lbs and feed about 25% less for weight loss. Weruva makes a lower calorie canned food that may help. Slowly increasing Maggie's walks so she gets low impact exercise will also help. And eliminating any treats or table scraps she eats is also a good idea. Finally, if Maggie doesn't start to lose weight you may need to see your veterinarian to discuss thyroid testing and prescription weight loss diets like Hill's Metabolic. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Great question! Walking Buddy every day is a good idea, and I would see if you can walk him twice a day for at least 30 minutes a time to help him lose weight. One tip is to cut out all treats. No human food, no scraps from dinner, and no dog treats. These can really add up over time and cause a dog to gain weight. You can try cutting back a bit on his dry food and adding some wet food instead with the dry food. Canned dog food has fewer calories because it has a higher moisture content, so adding some into his dry food while removing dry food to compensate can help him lose weight. Finally, you can speak to your vet to see if they feel a weight loss food would be appropriate for him. I hope this helps!

1 common reason is selecting an adult food when your pet is technically a senior dog. Make sure Chaos is eating mature/senior version of the brand food you are buying. Also I would try to start feeding your pets in 2 separate bowls if not done so already, and taking a little extra effort to keep their food bowls separate until they get used to the transition. I would only put down about 1/3-1/2 cup food twice daily so maybe a hair less than what you are currently doing. Splitting up the food into 2 meals is ideal for weight loss and maintenance, instead of 1 large meal. Also the begging strips are likely a large source of the fat content. I would limit these to 2-3 times a week and perhaps only 1/2 of the beggin strip. Other less fattening treats are milk ones or dental chews (Virbac dental chews). I hope this helps and just try to actually walk Chaos around the block or neighborhood 2-3 times a week and I am confident you will see a reduction in his weight. Best wishes and take care!

In addition to exercise (walks) you can reduce his present food by one third and add bran as bulkfiber, so he does not feel hungry. You can also feed a low calorie weight reduction food available from your vet such as Hill's Prescription Diet r/d, or Royal Canin Satiety Support and Calorie Control (also available by prescription only), Your vet may also recommend other weight reduction foods tailored to your dog's health and his recommendation of monthly weight loss.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! You can switch her to a diet called Science Diet metabolic weight management diet which is great for weight loss and just follow the feeding suggestions in the bag based on her weight. You can walk her 3-4 times a day for 20-30 minutes as long as it is not too warm outside. I have had good success using that diet for weight loss in my patients. Good luck and have a great day!

In order to get started with a weight loss plan it's good to score her current body condition. Below is a link that will help you do this. Ideal is 4 or 5 on the scale. https://www.wsava.org/sites/default/files/Body%20condition%20score%20chart%20dogs.pdf After that, you can use the healthy weight calculator at the following link: https://www.petcoach.co/healthy-weight-calculator/ There are some products in the pet store that are actually formulated for weight loss and these would be the best ones to feed. I know Hills, Purina and Royal Canin all have good products, but don't know of any other. The best thing to check on the bag is the AAFCO statement, which is just below the guaranteed analysis. This will tell if the food has actually demonstrated what it claims. I've included a link to an article below that explains all of this. Make sure you feed the food according to the bag's instructions and try to cut out all treats and table scraps. If you happen to feed treats, then you should account for the them by feeding even less food than is recommended. https://www.petcoach.co/article/what-to-look-for-when-choosing-your-pet-s-food/ The hardest thing for pet owners is that they feel like they are starving their dog. Trust me, you are not starving them, despite how bad they may make you feel. If your dog likes any vegetables like celery, carrots or green beans, then these are great, low calorie options to give as treats that can make you and your dog feel a bit better about the diet. In the end, know that a skinnier dog will be healthier and live longer, so it's well worth it. I hope that helps and you are able to get a good plan going for Mazy. I've given one more link to an article with additional information below. https://www.petcoach.co/article/5-ways-to-help-your-dog-lose-weight/

Yes that’s the calories in the can. On dry food it will have the kcal/cup. I usually recommend diet dry food with added vegetables to fill him up rather than wet food. I like dry food with 250kcaks/cup or less, and measure each meal. You can give canned pumpkin, green beans, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower and carrots. Some dogs prefer the vegetables cooked and mixed in with a little fat free chicken broth. Hills has a metabolic diet that is very effective to use for a diet also. That is heavy for a dachshund so I’m glad you are putting him on a diet. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Oskar.