Why is my 4-year-old dog gaining weight despite diet and exercise?

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.

Based on the pictures you provided, it appears that Alfie is starting to lose some of his "waist" when viewed from the side and the top which would indicate that he is heavier than an ideal body weight. I am attaching a link to a website that includes pictures and descriptions of an ideal body weight body. https://petobesityprevention.org/pet-weight-check/ An ideal body weight of 5/9 should gave a good tuck of the abdomen behind the ribs when viewed from the side which Alfie appears to be losing. I have often found that the amount of recommended food on the bag is more than the normal dog with average metabolism need to maintain weight, so they will gain weight. I will usually recommend a 10-20% decrease in total calories for the day for weight loss in dogs that are slightly overweight. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

I am sorry to hear about your issues with Hyper's weight. I am linking to an article here on helping dogs lose weight for your information: https://www.petcoach.co/article/5-ways-to-help-your-dog-lose-weight/ You don't mention the amount of food your dog is eating. It is possible she is getting too much food for her size/metabolism. Sometimes we can help our pets lose weight by decreasing the amount of food we are giving. Other times we may need to switch to a prescription weight loss food for a little more help. In some instances there can be an underlying disease, such as hypothyroidism, that can be making it difficult for our pet to lose weight no matter what we do!!! For this reason, it is best to make an appointment with your vet to examine your dog. They can help determine the amount of weight she needs to lose, and help determine the correct amount to feed or recommend a diet change. They may recommend bloodwork to be sure there isn't an underlying cause for her inability to lose weight. Best of luck to you and Hyper!

Daphne could have a slow metabolism or she could have hypothyroidism. I would recommend to make an appointment for a thyroid panel which is a blood test. This will tell you if she needs thyroid medication. Generally most dogs do well with treatment. If her thyroid is fine, then you may want to think about using a prescription diet dog food. Thank you so much for using Pet Coach.

If it was not yet done, you should take Jada to your vet and have her thyroid tested. This is a blood test that will determine whether her thyroid is working properly or not. If it is hypoactive your dog would gain a lot of weight and have a hard time losing it. Another test that may be necessary is a test for Cushings disease. You should try feeding a weight reduction diet such as Hill's Prescription Diet r/d Weight Reduction Chicken Flavor Dry Dog Food. Your veterinarian should have this for sale. And she will need lots of exercise, such as going for walkies and playing with a ball.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Tasha. I suspect that her thighs are thin secondary to the hip dysplasia. She likely has developed arthritis due to the malformation of her hips. This causes a dog to bear more weight on their front limbs and they subsequently lose muscle mass in the hind limbs. As far as weight loss, her resting energy requirement is around 1400 calories per day based on her weight. So feeding 1100 calories per day should be sufficient for weight loss. If you are feeding 3 cups per day, that equals about 367/cup. This is fairly high for a weight loss food. I recommend prescription weight loss diets as they are much lower in calories per cup, high in protein to support lean muscle mass and high in fiber to keep the dog full longer. I hope this information helps and I am available for a consultation if you have additional questions.

Poor girl. It is really common for dogs used only for breeding to not understand play and to not be very active. If she is gaining weight despite being on a diet then I would worry about thyroid issues. She doesn’t look like she is very heavy. Also remember if she was recently spayed she will gain some weight after that due to her hormones being lowered. As far as her gum disease, if she is healthy enough (heart sounds okay and blood work normal), I would talk to your vet if she is a candidate for a dental cleaning and extractions of any diseased teeth. I hope this helps.