Backed by Dr. Katie Woodley, Dr. Meghan Barrett & 1 others...
While advances in veterinary medicine are extending our dogs' lives in many areas, obesity remains one of the most significant threats to their health and longevity. A 14-year lifetime study researched the effects that diet restriction had on lifespan and age-related changes in dogs. It revealed that overweight and obesity alone reduces dogs' lifespans by at least two years. Maintaining your dog's ideal body condition and muscle mass is one of the most powerful commitments you can make to their health.
Obesity is a disease of chronic inflammation because fat is pro-inflammatory. While we often focus on how excess weight affects joints, the reality is that obesity leads to many other diseases throughout your dog’s body that aren’t always visible. Even a few extra pounds on your dog increases cancer risk and accelerates the development of heart failure, kidney disease, diabetes, and more. Keeping your dog at a healthy, lean body weight helps prevent these conditions and increases their overall quality of life.
Check all symptoms you’ve noticed to discuss at your next vet appointment.
| Symptom | Observed? | How Severe? |
|---|---|---|
| Ribs are difficult to feel or buried under a thick fat layer | check_box_outline_blank | arrow_drop_down |
| Fat deposits near hips and base of tail | check_box_outline_blank | arrow_drop_down |
| Spine is difficult to feel | check_box_outline_blank | arrow_drop_down |
| Hips are rounded or hard to detect | check_box_outline_blank | arrow_drop_down |
| Flat or sagging belly when viewed from the side | check_box_outline_blank | arrow_drop_down |
| Broad or rounded body shape with no visible waist | check_box_outline_blank | arrow_drop_down |
Obesity is the most common preventable disease. Effective weight management extends far beyond simply measuring food portions. It requires learning how to accurately assess your dog’s body condition, understanding if your dog has predisposed risk factors, and regular monitoring throughout your dog’s life.
Many dog parents struggle to accurately assess their dog’s weight. Weighing your dog every month helps catch unhealthy weight gain early and allows for prompt dietary and lifestyle adjustments, but the scale reading alone doesn't give the complete picture. Body condition and muscle condition scores reveal how that weight is distributed as fat versus muscle mass.
Several factors can increase your dog’s risk of becoming overweight, including their breed, feeding choices, spay/neuter status, and not getting enough daily exercise. Although we can’t control genetics, you can directly influence your dog's weight through daily choices:
Why It Matters:
An ideal body condition is associated with a decreased risk of obesity-related comorbidities. According to the Association of Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP), dog parents commonly classify their overweight or obese dog as having a normal or ideal body condition. Comparing what you see and feel on your dog to a standard body condition score (BCS) should be part of every routine physical exam and nutrition consultation.
What You Can Do:
Learn how to assess your dog’s body condition at home
Why It Matters:
Dogs with significant muscle loss may appear thinner, even if they have an average amount of fat. The term "skinny fat" refers to a condition where a dog appears to be thin or at a healthy weight, but has a higher body fat percentage and lower muscle mass. This condition can be misleading because the dog may not have visible fat deposits but still lacks muscle tone. Assessing your dog’s muscle condition score (MCS) involves visualization and gentle examination of your dog's spine, shoulder blades, skull, and hip bones.
What You Can Do:
Learn how to assess your dog’s muscle condition at home
Why It Matters:
Free feeding means leaving food out all day so your dog can eat whenever they want, rather than providing measured portions at set times. This feeding method often leads to overeating because it prevents you from controlling portions and tracking your dog’s daily caloric intake. Research shows that measured, timed meals are more effective for preventing obesity compared to allowing constant access to food.
What You Can Do:
Why It Matters:
Recommendations on dog food labels or from an online feeding calculator can vary greatly. By following those feeding guidelines, many times you are unknowingly overfeeding or underfeeding your dog.
What You Can Do:
Determine your dog’s resting energy requirement (RER). This is the number of calories they need to maintain normal body functions, not including exercise. To calculate RER, use the following formula: RER = 70 x (body weight in kg)^0.75
Adjust for your dog’s activity level. Once you know your pet’s RER, you’ll need to determine their total daily energy requirements based on their activity level. Use the following multipliers:
Consult your veterinarian. One size does not fit all! Age, breed and health status all play a factor in calorie requirements. Always double check with your veterinarian to make sure you are not over or under feeding.
Why It Matters:
Spayed/neutered dogs are almost twice as likely to become overweight or obese compared to intact dogs. The risk is higher for males than females of the same age and breed size. Surgical sterilization alters hormone balance, which slows metabolism and can lead to weight gain if dietary adjustments aren't made. This metabolic change is permanent, requiring lifelong vigilance about caloric intake.
What You Can Do:
Why It Matters:
Weight management requires accounting for everything your dog consumes, not just their regular food. Every training treat, chew, and table scrap adds up throughout the day. These treats and other extras are often what contribute most to excess calories despite controlled meal portions.
What You Can Do:
It’s not only important how much you feed your dog, but the macronutrients you are feeding in each meal. A high fiber/low fat diet is helpful for dogs who are obese prone or dogs who are trying to lose weight. For weight management, reduced-fat diets provide fewer calories per volume, meaning dogs can eat larger portions and feel more satisfied without consuming excessive calories.
A typical ancestral diet provides 50% of calories from fat and 50% from protein. "Reduced fat" diets contain less than 50% of calories from fat. These diets include more carbohydrates as calories come from carbs, fat, or protein. Diets with less than 25% of calories coming from fat are considered ultra low-fat diets. Ultra low-fat diets should only be fed temporarily as recovery diets before transitioning to reduce-fat options. Research shows very few animals do well on ultra low-fat diets over time.
There are many reasons why your dog may be overweight, such as their breed, lack of exercise, an underlying health condition, or their diet. It’s important to work with your veterinarian in assessing why your dog may be overweight in order to safely get them to a healthy weight.
A safe weight loss plan includes working with your veterinarian, gradual changes to your dog’s food intake, and frequent scale weigh-ins. It is not recommended to initiate a weight loss plan or change your dog’s calories alone as rapid weight changes can be dangerous for your dog’s health. Avoid these mistakes when helping your dog lose weight:
Weight loss should be slow and gradual in order to ensure it is safe and sustainable for your dog. Extreme calorie reduction can create nutritional deficiencies and harm your dog's metabolic function. The goal should be to lose no more than about 2% body weight per week.
While safely and gradually increasing their exercise is an important piece of losing weight, it is difficult to “outwalk” too much food. Most successful weight-loss journeys require a combination of increased activity and a caloric restriction.
Weight loss is and should be gradual. It can be easy to become discouraged if you don’t notice your dog losing weight after committing to the weight loss plan for multiple weeks. Frequent scale weigh-ins can be an objective tool to track gradual weight loss. If your dog’s weight is continuing to increase or isn’t decreasing each month, it may be that there are extra sources of calories that weren’t taken into account, or a custom diet formulated to aid in weight loss may be useful.
Ensuring that your entire household supports the plan helps set your dog’s weight loss goal up for success. This may require having conversations with extended family, friends, trainers, dog walkers, and neighbors. While coming from a place of love, that extra treat grandma sneaks in or the last bite of toast your spouse always gives, will undoubtedly counteract the calorie restriction efforts.
