How can I help my overweight dog lose weight safely and effectively?

Ideally, you would be able to exercise him for 4-5 hours throughout the day, but this is not realistic for the average person. If Buddy has not been regularly exercised before now, then it's best to start with 30 minute daily walks and work your way up from there. If you are able to do the 30 minute a day routine for a month, then you can go up to an hour a day. This should be good enough for him (and you as well!). More intense exercise should only be done as directed by your veterinarian. If Buddy is obese, or has other conditions that could predispose him to injury, then it would not be good to start running and jumping exercises yet. When it comes to weight loss, the best intervention is diet. Ensure that you stick with the diet - avoiding treats and table scraps is a huge part of the diet. If he is not losing weight within the first month, then I would consider cutting the food back even more. I hope that helps and all goes well with Buddy.

I recommend switching to a lower calorie dry food. The calorie content is printed on the bag. There are many good low calorie foods for weight loss. Then I would continue to measure the food and eliminate any treats and people food. If she’s still not losing weight I reduce the amount of the dry food by 25% and give green beans, canned pumpkin or other vegetables to fill her up. You are doing a good job with the walking. She probably can’t go much further until she loses some weight and increases her endurance. If needed don’t feed her then take her meal with you and give her the kibbles in her meal along the way to keep her going, just don’t increase the amount of food. Gradual weight loss of a quarter of a pound a week is what you should strive for. We use walking in an underwater treadmill at my rehab practice for dogs like this so they can exercise without carrying their full weight on their joints. Check to see if there is a dog rehab facility near you. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Athena.

You can continue to feed her the normal diet she normally gets, but feed according to the package instructions on the bag. Do not give her any treats or human food at all. Feed her twice a day, morning and night (divide the daily amount of food she's allowed into two portions). I would then make sure she gets exercise twice a day for at least 30-45 minutes at a time. By feeding her only her the recommendation daily amount of dog food, cutting out all treats, and making sure she has plenty of exercise, you can help her lose weight is a slow and safe manner.

I would recommend doing moderate exercise (brisk walking, chasing ball, etc) for 30 minutes twice daily. I would also recommend a low fat food. The low fat prescription diets are the most effective, such as Hil'ls Metaboilc and Hill's W/D. It is also best to make sure your vet checks Grecia for any underlying metabolic disorder such as Thyroid disease, which can cause weight gain, letharyg and a dry dull haircoat. I hope this helps! Best wishes moving forward with Grecia and her weight loss. Take care!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Weight loss is something I discuss multiple times a day. While excercise is helpful, I find diet to be by far the most effective tool. First, if he is free-fed, you’ll want to switch to two measured meals per day. And I do mean use an actual measuring cup every time. For a 100lb dog, start with about 3 cups twice daily. If he is already getting a set amount, decrease that amount by about 25% (ie, go from 6 cups a day to about 4.5 cups per day). Try that for a month. If no weight loss, it’s time to look into a medical reason like hypothyroid or Cushings disease so see your vet for that. Finally, I try a prescription diet like Hills Metabolic diet which actually upregulates genes responsible for metabolism. It is very effective when other diets have failed. Of course, watch out for people food and treats of course. Choose green beans, carrots, or celery. Hope this helps and best of luck to you and Dudley!

1 common reason is selecting an adult food when your pet is technically a senior dog. Make sure Chaos is eating mature/senior version of the brand food you are buying. Also I would try to start feeding your pets in 2 separate bowls if not done so already, and taking a little extra effort to keep their food bowls separate until they get used to the transition. I would only put down about 1/3-1/2 cup food twice daily so maybe a hair less than what you are currently doing. Splitting up the food into 2 meals is ideal for weight loss and maintenance, instead of 1 large meal. Also the begging strips are likely a large source of the fat content. I would limit these to 2-3 times a week and perhaps only 1/2 of the beggin strip. Other less fattening treats are milk ones or dental chews (Virbac dental chews). I hope this helps and just try to actually walk Chaos around the block or neighborhood 2-3 times a week and I am confident you will see a reduction in his weight. Best wishes and take care!

You can do a combination of things to help Caesar lose weight. It's just like losing weight in people, increase activity and lower caloric intake. That being said, you can't do it all at one time. Gradually increase activity by going on longer walks, introduce a little jogging from time to time once he's gotten a little more fit, play fetch with him, arrange playtime with other dogs he gets along with, whatever you can do to help him get up and get moving. Also, the best food I've seen for gradual, healthy weight loss is a Science Diet product called Metabolic. Take your dog to your vet and ask them to do measurements and weight for you. If they aren't familiar with the program, everything is explained on the Hill's website. By entering your dog's measurements and weight into the Hill's website, you will get a customized feeding schedule for your dog that tells you exactly how much to feed for him to gradually lose the weight he needs to. Also consider getting him a slow feeder or puzzle feeder to slow him down when he eats and help keep him mentally stimulated as well.