How many calories should my overweight dog eat daily to lose weight?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! For Opie to lose weight gradually and at the same time eat an appropriate amount of food he should be eating about 1,000-1,100 calories per day. How many cups you feed him will of course depend on the caloric content of the food you feed him per cup. That information should be in the back of the bag or possibly online. Exercising him like you are doing will also be key so you are already doing a great job. Keep up the good work! Good luck and have a good night!

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!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would highly recommend that you consider Science Diet metabolic weight management diet which can help them lose weight especially if they are not as active. Good luck and have a great day!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Physical activity would definitely help. However, a lot of it comes back to the diet that is fed. It is not necessarily about the amount of cups but it is more about the caloric content in each cup. You can follow the recommended amount of food in the bag (though they tend to recommend a higher amount than needed) or preferably have your veterinarian calculate the needed intake based on the most current weight. I recommend you try the Science Diet metabolic weight management diet which works great for weight loss. Good luck and have a good night!

Hello. This is a great question! She should be eating about 500 -550 calories PER DAY which includes all food and treats. She can eat any food as long as she stays inside that calorie window. If you feed her a lower calorie diet then she will get to eat more food and be less hungry. Purina ProPlan Weight Management Dry Food is 337 calories per cup so if you feed her this food she can eat 1.5 cups per day with a little left over for a treat or two. http://www.petsmart.com/dog/food/dry-food/purina-pro-plan-weight-management-formula-adult-dog-food-5148013.html?gclid=CKrvp4aRkdQCFZBgfgodPccMzA If you don't like this food you can use any diet. Just check the bag, it will tell you how many calories per cup. Take the 525 (using the middle of her calorie range) and divide it by the number of calories in each cup of food and that will tell you how many cups of that food she can have PER DAY. Example as above 525 / 337 = 1.55 cups I hope this helps. Best wishes. Dr. Amber

Yes, from the photos she is definitely overweight. I agree, she should weigh about 7 pounds. That means she should eat about 165 calories per day. Whenever you are feeding for weight loss you need to feed them based on their ideal weight and not their current weight. So, if you are feeding t/d she can only eat 1/2 cup per day and that will leave some calories left over for treats. I suggest you use low calorie treats like carrots or green beans. Here is an article about weight loss in pets. Hope this helps. Best wishes. ( https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/creating-a-weight-reduction-plan-for-dogs )

Hi and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would recommend feeding her twice a day. A 23 pound maltese is definitely overweight! Typically, they should be around 5-10 pounds. Going off of his ideal weight (around 5-10 lbs), Snowball should only be eating around 200 calories a day. All food products have the calories per cup listed on the packaging so you can adjust her cups/day accordingly. It should be somewhere around 1/4 cup twice a day. I hope this helps!