Will my dog get enough nutrients if I cut her food for weight loss?

Specialist weight loss diets are the most effective way to manage weight issues as they are designed to provide all nutrients required, promote fat loss and maintain muscle mass whilst also allowing the dog to feel full. Reducing weight on standard foods is very difficult and requires feeding of approximately two thirds of the recommended amount, based on target weight which can leave patients hungry

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.

Both the Royal Canin and ProPlan are balanced diets that are formulated to meet all the nutritional needs (both macro and micro nutrients). So you don't need to worry about that. Any diet can achieve weight loss if you count the calories. The issue with the 'fresh' diet is that they tend to be higher in calories which means Giuseppe cannot eat as much food. For dogs, this can be a problem because their stomachs work based off of a total volume of food. So if the total volume of food is small, their stomach does not send the signal to the brand saying they are 'full'. Typically the weight loss diets have more fiber than normal food. This allows dogs to eat more (thus feel full) but have less calories. I hope this makes sense and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Weight loss will definitely help with back trouble - sounds like you're already on the right track. I think that a prescription diet sounds like a great idea - talk to your veterinarian about options available through them. Hill's makes a Metabolic diet for weight loss that might be a good option. The other option might be to decrease the amount of food you are offering and eliminating all treats, chews and table foods. You could talk to your veterinarian about what R's estimated ideal weight would be, and formulate a diet plan based on how many calories are in her current diet.

There is no evidence that grain free foods promote weight loss in dogs, and unless there is a medical reason to avoid grains I don't recommend feeding these diets. Reducing calorie intake is necessary for weight loss, although increasing exercise can help as well. You can either talk to your vet to help estimate Tasha's ideal body weight and calculate approximately how many calories she should be eating in a day to promote weight loss, or you can try reducing the total amount of food she is getting in a day by 25%. Remember treats and chews have calories too - think of every treat as a piece of candy and try to minimize them as much as possible or replace them with a healthier alternative like a frozen green bean.

Oh yes. I would highly recommend Hlil's Metaboilc diet because it causes weight loss and can help with weight management. This is a highly successful diet that causes weight loss in over 79% of pets within the first 2 months. Royal Canin low calorie, Hill's R/D are two other options for weight loss. THese are all Rx diets and require a vet visit to get your pet started on the weight loss plan in mind. Also if your pet has any overt signs of hypothyroidism, then checking for a metabolic disease like this is recommended; however this is not common in small breed dogs like the Parson Russell Terrier. And of course it goes without saying that daily regular exercise for 30 minutes is recommended to encourage metaboilc break down of stored fats in the body.

The easiest thing to do without being overly scientific is to just cut back her daily food ration by 25%. Example, if she get 1 cup of food per day, cutting her back to 3/4 cup per day. Do a weight check once every 2 weeks. If she starts to get too thin then you can increase the food a bit (ex: 10% increase) and if she is not losing enough weight you can cut back more (ex: an additional 10% decrease). This is the best way to do it without changing too much.