Helping Your Pet With Obesity

In itself, a dog carrying too much weight is not a big health issue. When your dog grows older, however, having a heavy body weight exerts excessive pressure on joints and consequently worsens any underlying joint conditions or arthritis. Therefore, it is crucial to recognize that your dog is overweight and address the issue.

There are a number of prescription weight loss diets (dry and wet food) that are readily available to make managing your pet’s weight as easy as possible; however, you can also use calorie-restricted home-cooked meals if you prefer.

It is crucially important that any weight loss diet is low in fat and calories. A low-calorie diet helps your dog to reduce body fat while maintaining satiety. High fiber content is also a feature used to reduce calorie intake, trigger satiety, and avoid hunger, as well as providing benefits for dogs with diabetes, colitis, and constipation. The addition of certain amino acids, such as carnitine and lysine, also helps dogs metabolize fat for energy production and maintain lean body mass.

One of the most important steps is working out the correct daily feeding amounts, and restricted treats are necessary to achieve good results. Talk to us about tips for managing their diet, treats, and snacks, and how to deal with begging behaviors/habits.

If you have any further questions on weight loss plans, exercise ideas, or would like to start your dog on a calorie-restricted diet, please contact the hospital and speak to one of our vets or nurses.