My low-activity dog eats less food than the bag says. Is this normal?

This is a good question! Many pet parents would not be aware of a change in caloric density depending on brand and type of food. If this is a new brand that you have just started very recently I would recommend continuing with the same measurement/quantity of food as you have previously been giving Chloe and monitor her for weight loss. If she has been on the new food for a little while and you feel she has lost some weight then increasing the amount you feed would certainly be beneficial to help her maintain weight. As you have stated though, increasing her food consumption could result in potential weight gain which is not a good thing. If you need to increase her intake then do it by only a very small amount, make sure you are carefully measuring her daily allowance of food, and monitor her weight carefully with weekly 'weigh ins' at your regular vet clinic.

Before cutting down on her food, I would try limiting her treats. They are loaded with fat and have relatively few nutrients. From this photo, it is apparent that she has a "waistline." which is good. If when you run your hands down her sides you can't feel her ribs, she is too heavy. (If you can see her ribs, she is too thin.) Calories are not the only factors in a dog's weight gain or loss. Remember fat, too! Spayed females may be less active and more prone to weight gain, but it doesn't have to be this way. How about throwing a ball or Frisbee for her to chase? Finding another dog for her to play with? Perhaps a dog park (well-supervised!)? Good luck with trimming Chloe down a bit!

You can keep him on his regular diet, just feed less of it and increase his activity. The general guideline is 1 cup of dry food per 30lbs of body weight. You can divide it into 2 or 3 meals. Limit treats and do not offer any table food. If he continues to gain, consider an exam with your veterinarian. Blood work may diagnose endocrine disorders such as hypothyroidism which can cause weight gain.

Every puppy is different. Chloe may just be a grazer and not eat the entire meal in one sitting, as some dogs are. As long as she is eating, continues to gain weight appropriately, and acting like herself I wouldn't worry too much. If you leave the remaining food down she may go back and eat it at her leisure.

Hi there. If you think that you're feeding Sophie a normal amount of food for a dog her size, then it's possible that she may have a medical problem such as hypothyroidism or Cushing's disease causing her to gain weight - these problems are more common in middle-aged and older dogs, but can occasionally be seen in younger pets as well. Your veterinarian can do lab work to check for these issues, and get her started on appropriate treatment if a problem is found. If her lab work shows that she's healthy, then this means she's getting more calories every day than she needs. In simple terms, this means you need to feed her less. You could do this by decreasing the amount of her regular food, or switching to a prescription weight loss diet and following the feeding instructions on the packaging based on her target weight.

Without knowing her breed of dog, I can't say if 17 pounds is a good weight or not for her. Some dogs do need to eat less based on their activity level, as they may be less active than others. With on a 17 pound dog, 2/3 cup of food per day is fine, especially if it's within her daily caloric range. I feed my Chow, who is 50.6 pounds, 1.5 cups of food per day, and she's a healthy weight. If she needs to lose weight, it sounds like you are doing it in a healthy and safe way, and I would keep going. Typically, dogs are affected by hypothyroidism, so if there was a problem with her thyroid, she would be gaining weight, not losing it.

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.