My dog is overweight and not losing weight. What food should I feed?

Specialist weight management diets have been specifically formulated to provide all of the required nutrients in a less calorie dense formula to ensure all needs are met, whilst also promoting weight loss and maintaining healthy muscle mass. Simply restricting the portions of a regular food can potentially result in dietary deficiencies over time but can also lead the brain into not losing weight as the body is under-fed leading to rentention of fat reserves etc. Your vet or vet tech can help prescribe the appropriate amount to be fed in relation to exercise levels, current weight and target weight as well as advising on appropriate adjustments for treats/extras included in the diet

Many pets like Brees suffer from being overweight. If you are looking for an over the counter product, try Royal Canin or Hill Science Diet (both brand carry 'light' diets). In my opinion, the prescription food made by Royal Canin called Satiety Support is a great option because the portions are large (which most dogs like) but they still lose weight. The other things that could be contributing to his weight problem could be a condition called Hypothyroidism. This commonly makes dogs heavy and have problems losing weight. A doctor can determine Brees' thyroid status with a simple blood test. Medication is needed to regain normal metabolism.

Hi there! Let me see if I can help you with Brownie. I always recommend "The Big 4" as far as brands, as they are the most balanced diets on the market for dogs and cats. They are Purina, Science Diet, Royal Canin, and Eukanuba-Iams. That being said, I always point out that when changing diets we go slowly over a week to ten days' time. You can follow the guide in this link to try to avoid causing any gastrointestinal upset like vomiting or diarrhea: https://www.hillspet.com/dog-care/nutrition-feeding/how-to-transition-my-dogs-food I would check the bag and make sure that you measure the food and stick to the recommended calories per day, taking into account any additional calories like treats, table food, or dental chews. We can sometimes be surprised how many calories are in a milkbone even. You can try a reduced fat or weight loss diet made by one of the brands mentioned above, and see if that helps. Before starting I always recommend a vet visit. An exam can be very helpful in making the initial weight loss plan. I will often discuss trying cutting out snacks and treats, a reduced fat diet, and monthly weight checks. If there isn't a difference in about 6 weeks, I will recommend checking thyroid levels to see if that is functioning OK. If not, that can slow down metabolism and cause weight gain. And if all is well and we're still having trouble, there are prescription diets that we can try to help reset the metabolism like Hill's metabolic. I hope you find this answer helpful. Best of luck!

I would recommend converting them to a specialist weight loss diet (many 'light' diets are designed to prevent weight gain and maintain a target weight rather than actually shed the excess). My preferred option is the hills metabolic range which provides guidelines for feeding to target weight (for dogs more than 30% overweight) and also on adjusting feed volumes if combining the wet and dry food

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I highly recommend that you consider the Science Diet metabolic weight management diet which has proven to result in weight loss. This is something that can help Boscoe achieve weight loss though this should still be combined with regular walks/exercise. Good luck and have a great day!

I would recommend using a basic dog foot diet. Not all low fat and weight loss diets actually help dogs loose weight. I would look at the bag and feed Neuer the amount of food based on the weight he should be not what he is now. Also, watch treats and people food closely, these can really pack on the pounds. Exercise will also help Neuer loose weight. If you feed him the proper amount, watch treats and increase exercise he should loose weight. hope that helps

I would suggest regular exercise and a prescription diet for maximum effect. Ask your vet about prescribing one for Ellie. My top recommendations are Hill's Metabolic, Hill's R/D or Royal Canin low calorie.