Overweight Dogs

Why is it important to keep dogs a healthy weight?

Unfortunately, excess weight can lead to a series of health issues for your dog including reduced lifespan, rheumatism, arthritis and diabetes.

How can I tell if my dog is overweight?

A body condition chart can help you to identify if your dog is overweight. Dogs who are an ideal weight have a visible waistline and you should be able to easily feel their ribs with a flat palm. If you have to press to feel the ribs then this means that there is a layer of fat covering them and your dog is likely overweight. This applies for ALL breeds and ALL ages.

What is the solution?

Good diet, good dog– all of our diets aim to meet a dog’s needs and not exceed them. Diets with high protein and fat levels are often adding more calories to your dog’s diet than they can burn off and this is what leads to weight gain.

Are you sure that’s enough? – double check the the feeding guidelines and ideally this amount should be weighed out rather than done by eye. Adult feeding amounts should be based on their ideal or target weight, not their current weight if they are overweight or obese.

Treat them right – Treats should only be given as part of training and even this should be done in moderation. For many dogs using some of their daily food allowance for training is enough and avoids the potential for overfeeding by giving treats on top. If you do need to give tastier treats for training, make sure to reduce their daily food allowance to compensate.

More tips?

• Tasty titbits – As well as human foods being potentially unsuitable for your dog, they are also one of the biggest contributors to dogs putting on excess weight. What seems like a small amount to you can be a lot of extra calories for your dog.
• Work out to help out – Make exercise a regular part of your routine either on walks or around your home and garden to help them burn off extra calories.

Still feeling stuck?

Our Weight Control Chicken & Oats diet is always a great place to start for overweight or particularly hungry dogs.

You can also contact our helpline to talk to one of our expert nutritionists, who can help you come up with a plan for your dog’s weight loss journey.