My dog gained weight on Acana. Is Royal Canin Mini Weight Control a good diet?

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.

Hello. Yes, it is a good idea to continue with this food after her ideal weight is reached. If she continues to lose too much weight, you may need to switch her to a maintenance type diet, but most dogs will do well to stay on this one. Thanks for us using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would recommend just changing to a lower calorie diet such as the one you mentioned. Other low fat or weight loss diets that I have had a very good experience with are Hills metabolic weight management diet and the Royal canin GI low fat diet. Good luck!

Royal Canin has a weight control food you can give Pax to help her lose weight, and I would recommend making sure she exercises at least twice a day for at least 30-45 minutes at a time. I would also have her seen by a vet to determine how much weight she needs to lose.

Royal Canin is an excellent food, and I highly recommend it. I strongly urge the switch especially if the Merricks is grain free. There is a suspected link between grain free diets and an increase in dilated cardiomyopathy. The FDA is now investigating this link, and it looks like grain free diets are not good for dogs. Grains are good for dogs, and the grain free food is a fad. If you do switch food, you have to do it slowly to avoid GI upset. Start by mixing together 75% old food and 25% new food, and feed that for a couple of days. Then do 50% old and 50% new. Again feed for a couple of days, and then feed them 25% old and 75% old. After feeding that for another couple of days, you can feed them the new food only. In terms of your dog being overweight, feed according to the package instructions on the bag of food, no treats, and exercise daily. Best of luck, I hope this helps!

Both the Royal Canin and ProPlan are balanced diets that are formulated to meet all the nutritional needs (both macro and micro nutrients). So you don't need to worry about that. Any diet can achieve weight loss if you count the calories. The issue with the 'fresh' diet is that they tend to be higher in calories which means Giuseppe cannot eat as much food. For dogs, this can be a problem because their stomachs work based off of a total volume of food. So if the total volume of food is small, their stomach does not send the signal to the brand saying they are 'full'. Typically the weight loss diets have more fiber than normal food. This allows dogs to eat more (thus feel full) but have less calories. I hope this makes sense and please feel free to post any additional questions.

His weight is on the upper normal scale, meaning he could become overweight very soon. i would recommend a goo quality reduced calorie dog dry food like Royal Canin Mini Light Weight Care for example.