What Can You Do if Your Dog Is Overweight?

Overweight dogs are a topic I wanted to cover at some point but the time came quicker than I planned.

If you want to hear how you can help your dog lose weight from a dog owner who has done it before, keep reading!

I have two cavaliers but only one of them, Halla the tricolor, lives with me. Haiku, the black&tan lives with my ex, and I, unfortunately, get to see Haiku every 2-4 months.

Now Haiku is here visiting and I noticed immediately that he has gained weight and is a chunky boy. He is currently at 32 lbs/14,4 kg and he should only weigh 24 lbs/11 kg.

Years ago our family’s dog got overweight after being neutered. At the time I got him to lose some weight but my parents couldn’t stop giving him treats so the weight loss was slow and ineffective.

Now I know what the do’s and don’ts are, and I want to share them with you!

How to Tell if Your Dog Is Overweight

The simplest way to figure out if your dog is overweight or not is to look at its torso. An overweight dog has a round even body without any definition in the hips. The picture below illustrates well how normal and overweight dogs differ.

A good guideline is, can you feel your dog’s ribs from the side or not? The ribs should be felt easily without any pressing.

If your dog has a thick, long, or curly coat and it’s hard to figure it out by looks, determine your dog’s weight.

How to Weigh Your Dog at Home

Works for small and medium-sized dogs:

1. Go grab the floor scale and weigh yourself. Write the numbers on a piece of paper.
2. Then weigh yourself again while holding your dog in your arms. Write the result on a piece of paper as well.
3. Now subtract your weight from the weight of you and your dog.
4. Now you know how much your dog roughly weighs.

Google your dog’s “breed and average weight”. Compare the search results to the results you got from weighing your dog.

Symptoms of Your Dog Being Overweight

Here is a list of practical signs how your dog might act differently due to their excess weight:

• panting, wheezing, and heavy breathing
• not being able to jump in the car, on the couch, or in bed
• not being able to clean their private area
• male dogs struggle to lift their legs while peeing
• a reluctance to go for walks or lagging behind

Personally, I recognize the heavy breathing and lagging behind on walks. Haiku has slowed down a lot and starts panting after mild exercise. Those are clear signs that we have some work to do.

Okay, what to do now that you have figured out the dog is overweight and something needs to be done?

How to Help Your Dog Lose Weight

First, you should figure out why your dog has gained weight. If your dog has gained weight rapidly and there have been no dietary changes, contact your local vet.

But if you know deep down that your dog has gained weight because of big meals and extra treats, this article can help you.

There are three factors: Daily meals, treats, and exercise. You have to change that equation so that your dog’s energy intake is less than the energy burned.

The best scenario is to give your dog less food AND more exercise. But I know everyone can’t do it like that so I’m going to suggest different ways to go about it.

If you can’t increase the amount of daily exercise your dog gets, it’s all about the diet.

If you for some reason can’t just give less food to your dog, substitutions have to be made.

Food for Overweight Dog

The biggest reason why people are overfeeding their dogs is that the owner just doesn’t have the heart to say no when the dog begs for treats. I have heard this so many times. “Look at those eyes!”, “How can you say no to that face?”.

You have to toughen up and think about what is actually best for your dog. Instead of a piece of cheese or some other treat, pet your dog and play with them. Hugs and kisses have no calories.

There is no best food for overweight dogs. But there is a couple of feeding strategies you can follow:

1. Give your dog only 3/4* of the amount of the same food your dog gets daily.
   Example: If a 10 kg/22 lbs dog gets 175 grams of kibble in a day, give them only ~131 grams daily.
   *I cut Haiku’s food intake in half, resulting in too rapid weight loss, which is not good! That’s why I recommend 3/4 instead of 1/2.
   
2. Substitute the normal kibble with a light version. Many dog food brands offer kibble for seniors. Senior food is great for weight loss because it contains less fat and more protein.
   Example: Acana Dog Adult Small Breed has 31% protein and 17% fats and Acana Senior has 33% protein and 14% fats.
   
3. No more treats! If all your family members like to give treats to the dog, imagine how much extra energy that is daily. No wonder the dog has gotten fat over time. No more dentastixs or dog biscuits. Treats are the easiest thing to cut out. But it’s hard to get all the family members on the same page and comply with the new diet.

*If you have given your dog less food and they started to behave ravenously, try giving them some grated carrot with their food. Grated carrot fills the dog’s stomach with fiber with fewer calories.

How to Exercise an Overweight Dog

Remember that the overweight dog can’t handle vigorous exercise. Longer walks and swimming are great exercises because they are gentle for the dog’s knees and hips.

For example, playing fetch is effective but keep those play sessions short. Haiku would rather get a stroke than stop playing fetch with a tennis ball. He is truly obsessed and that’s why I need to know when to stop in time.

Overweight Dog’s Exercise Plan

An overweight dog doesn’t need an actual exercise plan. They just need more exercise in general.

Normally I walk my dogs 3 times a day: in the morning, after I come home from school/work, and in the evening before bed.

Our walks are usually 2-3 kilometers and they take about 30 minutes. Now that Haiku needs more exercise, we make an hour-long walk most evenings and it’s about 5 kilometers.

You can decide what suites best for your lifestyle, either:

• go for an extra walk with your dog. Do this every day or every other day.
• If you can’t fit an extra walk into your schedule, make your regular dog walks longer.

That’s what I did. I chose the second option and doubled the distance of one of our daily walks.

EXTRAS:

• go to a dog park so your dog can run around with other dogs.
• play fetch with your dog in your backyard or in an empty dog park.
• if your dog likes to swim, take them to a beach where dogs are allowed.

Conclusion

Weight loss is an equation of less food + more exercise. If you can’t move more then you need to cut down portion sizes and seize the dog treats.

It takes time to figure out what combination works for you and your dog. Some dogs can’t simply eat smaller portions because they get heartburn and will vomit due to an empty stomach. For those dogs, low-fat high-protein foods are the key to success.