My 1-year-old dog is overweight. Is she too young for weight management food?

What an adorable pair of dogs!! No, I would not look into a weight management food just yet. As long as you give her a healthy diet, exercise her daily, and do not give her too many treats or any human food, she can maintain her weight. I have a 10 year old spayed Chow Chow, and I have never had to use a weight management food on her. Just keeping healthy eating habits and daily exercise is enough. I hope this helps!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Kira. She does appear overweight based on your pictures. You want her to have only a thin covering over her ribs. They should be easily felt when you pet her side. Then she should have a defined waist from both the top and side views. I recommend using a weight loss formula from Purina ProPlan or Royal Canin. I would stop feeding the raw meat as it not properly balanced for dogs and carries a high risk spreading disease to dogs and people. I hope this information helps!

Right now she looks OK but I would not want her to gain anymore weight. I recommend rechecking her weight in 2 to four weeks and if she's continuing to gain weight then you will need to decrease her food.

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.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Firstly, good for you to get on top of Sydney's weight, once you get the weight under control Sydney will feel so much better! There are a few different products made for weight management, some of the best/most effective ones are the prescription diets. I personally like Hill's weight management diet, because the animals feel full but are getting less calories, and it also has joint support products in the food as well. You can try any company weight management food however, as any will work as long as you don't over-feed it. The best trick for this is to get a measuring up that is the amount you need to feed when it is FULL. Therefore you won't be tempted to 'just give a tiny bit more'. Measure the food out, and make sure everyone knows that Sydney is on a diet and doesn't get any treats! Remember, exercise is also important, to protect the knees in the start, try swimming with Sydney, it is great for the muscles and easy on the joints. Regular (every 2 weeks) weigh-ins with the vet will help you keep on track as well. Best of luck with Sydney and your weight loss journey!

Zoey is adorable!! I would recommend a weight loss food and a gradual transition to the new diet. I would also need to know exactly what Zoey is eating now to give you a good amount to give her. If you increase exercise, stop all treats and human food then many times dogs will lose weight just with that. I would also recommend weighing Zoey every 2 weeks to make sure she is continually losing weight. If you do put her on a diet and she does not lose weight you can always talk to your veterinarian about hypothyroidism which can make it difficult for dogs to lose weight. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

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