My dog lost 4 lbs in 6 months. Is this healthy weight loss rate?

A safe weight loss is 3-5% per month. If he started at 112 and is now 105 he lost 7 pounds which is about 7% weight loss. So, you accelerated it a bit but that is still fine. We don't want them to lose weight too quickly. I think you should have the owners do exactly what you have been doing because you know they will not be as strict as you and they will likely feed him a bit more. That should still keep him at 5% weight loss per month. When he gets to his ideal weight though they will need to evaluate if they need to increase the food a bit or leave the amount as is. The best recommendation is to have them work with their vet. Here is a good online resource for them to use: http://petobesityprevention.org/ I hope this helps and thanks for getting this dog back on track. Obesity is a HUGE problem in our pets! I hope this was helpful. Best wishes!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Lucy. Dogs should lose 1-2% of their body weight per week. This will result in a healthy amount of weight loss for her. For her size, this is approximately 1-2 pounds per week so 4-8 pounds in a month. I hope this information helps!

That's a lot of weight for a dog to lose in a week, and typically weight loss should be slower than that. I would discuss with your vet about bumping up his food intake first before doing it, as that may cause him to gain back the weight and even more. Cut all out treats, don't give him any human food at all, and feed according to the package instructions of his food. You can cut back on the exercise a little, which may help slow down the rate of the weight loss.

It can be hard for owners to know what a good weight is for a pet. So many pets we see on a daily basis on overeeight so it skews our perception. In determining if a pet is at a healthy weight, I look at three things. There should be a thin covering over the ribs (you don't want to be digging through a fat covering to feel them). There should be a distinct waist when viewed from the top and the abdomen needs to tug up tightly from the side view. You only want a dog to lose 1-2% of its body weight per week . Tbis5 is only about one third of a pound at Scrappy's current weight. As long as Scrappy doesn't have any underlying kidney disease the protein content of this diet is fine. You can offer ice cubes, fresh carrots or green beans for low calorie snacks. Make sure he gets plenty of exercise. It sounds like you are off to a good start. Keep it up!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! That is a decent amount of weight to lose in 7 months. A diet change, especially cutting out table food, can cause weight loss. The question only you can answer is, was Marble overweight in July? And is she fit now? If she is an ideal weght now make sure she can maintain that weight. If her appetite changes, she starts having GI problems or starts to drink and pee more age should be examined and have blood work ran. I hope this helps!

Hello, and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Yes, this unexplained weight loss in Mia definitely worries me. 2 lbs of loss in a large dog wouldn't be too alarming, but in Mia's case she's lost 25% of her original body weight and that should absolutely be investigated. It is never normal for a dog to lose this much weight and almost certainly indicates a medical problem. I recommend bringing Mia to the vet for evaluation. Anticipate that your vet will likely start with an exam, then will probably recommend checking a fecal sample and running bloodwork. Dramatic weight loss in young dogs can be due to problems with digestion (such as inflammatory bowel disease or pancreatic insufficiency), congenital issues (such as a liver shunt), intestinal parasites, and (less commonly) cancer, among other things. I hope this helps and you can get to the bottom of Mia's weight loss soon!

I'm not sure I understand your question but that is great that she has lost the excess weight! Good job!!!! Excess weight is bad for pets and maintaining a healthy weight is very important for long term health. She sounds like a very happy girl who loves life! Please feel free to post any additional questions.