How To Get a Dog to Lose 15 Pounds?
Wednesday, November 18th, 2009
My dog is 15 pounds overweight, and we never walk her because we have an absolutely full schedule. So I’m starting to wake up early to walk her, and walk her at night as well. How long should these walks be, each, and any other tips for helping her lose weight? Serious answers, please, and thanks!
I tell people that over weight dogs need less food and more exercise just like over weight people. Walking her and playing with her will help but you also need to decrease the amount of food that you’re feeding her. Do not free feed but feed her a measured amount of food twice daily. Do not use the recommended amount on the back of the dog food bag as the dog food companies usually recommend over feeding and people have a tendency to feed the amount to what the dog weighs right now instead of what they should weigh. Feed one cup of a good quality food per 20 pounds of weight of what the dog should weigh. Sometimes you have to decrease the amount further depending on the dog. The amount includes all food items including treats and table food. Anything that goes into the dog’s mouth must be measured and included in the total amount fed. If you find that she still is not losing weight after several months take her to your vet and have her thyroid tested. A hypothyroid dog will not lose weight no matter what you do. You need to weigh your dog every two weeks so that you can adjust the feeding and exercise accordingly. You want the weight loss to be slow. Since you did not give me the size of dog I cannot give you a recommendation as to weekly weight loss. 15 pounds off of a 30 pound dog would be different than 15 pounds off of an 85 pound dog.