Can you put a dog on a calorie-restricted diet to lose weight?

It's hard to get a fat, old dog to lose weight. Is there a way to calorie-count with a dog? Even the calorie restricted types of dry food seem to be high in calories (and how many calories should a dog get, anyway?

) Asked by BizzyDitch 58 months ago Similar questions: put dog calorie restricted diet lose weight Health > Fitness & Diet.

Similar questions: put dog calorie restricted diet lose weight.

It's difficult, but you can put your dog on a diet First of all remember that research has shown that, in general, a healthy dog can abstain from food for five days before any noticeable health effects occur. They generally don't HAVE to eat every day. (Very small breeds are an exception...but unless there's really some medical problem present, missing a day of eating isn't a major catastrophe.) Always be sure fresh water is available.

So start out by feeding a very high quality, complete and balanced dog food. Look on the ingredients list...MEAT should be the first item listed, not corn. You may also want to supplement with a vitamin/mineral/fatty acid product.

PetFoodDirect. Com has some excellent products... search for SUPPLEMENTS.Be careful about over supplementing, too!. Now record an accurate pre-diet weight.

Reduce by one-third your pet’s total daily ration previously given. Include in this total all treats, snacks, or left-overs if you insist on continuing to provide these. Reweigh the pet in 2 weeks.

(Remember if the pet begs for food, that's a good sign! But don’t give in. Read again if you have to about Type II)If you find upon weighing your pet after two weeks that it has lost even a little weight, you’re on the right track; keep up this schedule!

If no weight loss is evident, again reduce by one-third the amount being fed. Weigh the pet again in two weeks. Depending upon the results either keep feeding this amount or reduce again by one-third the total amount being fed.

If you persist a good outcome is certain. Many veterinarians believe you should not feed the "Reduced Calorie" or "Lite Diets" or "Senior Diets"! These diets have very restricted fat levels to reduce the calories but by necessity have increased the carbohydrate percentages.

This increased carbohydrate stimulates additional Insulin secretion which tells the body to store unused calories as fat! There are a multitude of overweight dogs that have actually gained weight on those "Reduced Calorie" weight loss diets. Your dog needs a meat-based diet, high in protein (which isn't stored as fat) and fat and low in carbohydrate.

Now... YOU have to adjust the quantity being fed to achieve a state where the dog takes in fewer total calories than it is using for the day's energy requirements. Simple! It is also quite important to get everyone’s cooperation in restricting the pet’s intake.

There is usually someone in the household who feels sorry for the dieting pet and surreptitiously provides "just a little" something extra. More helpful would it be for the person to take the pet for a walk or a run to burn off a few calories. Keep in mind most overweight pets have a slow metabolism.

They simply don’t burn off those calories very fast and in fact don’t generally have "eager eater" appetites. Because of this slow metabolism, though, they don’t require very much; so "just a little extra" will make a big difference over a period of time.Remember...high quality, meat-based food, control the amount fed, provide more exercise, and be persistent. Help your pet live a longer, leaner and more enjoyable life.

Many types of dermatological problems are avoided if the dog or cat is consuming an optimum diet.In some cases, adding a supplement such as DermCaps, a popular Omega Fatty Acid supplement with a number of beneficial ingredients, is the key factor in avoiding repeated episodes of Hot Spots and other skin afflictions. If your dog or cat seems to lack good coat and skin health, consider upgrading the diet to a meat-based ingredient formula and adding a supplement such as DermCaps. The following table shows the daily calorie requirements for dogs in a variety of situations - indoor dogs, outdoor dogs, working dogs, and very high activity dogs.

Also, it includes the calories per lb of body weight . Use the "Base" column for your average dog (activity punctuated by couch-potato-ing)Weight cal/ Base Pets, Pets, Herd- Work-lb Inside Outside ing ing2.2 64 141 130 *4.4 53 233 211 *5.0 50 250 225 *5.5 49 269 242 *6 48 288 258 *6.5 47 305 273 *7.0 46 322 287 *7.5 45 337 300 *8.0 44 352 312 4329.0 43 387 342 47710.0 42 420 370 52011.0 41 451 396 56112.0 40 480 420 60013.5 39 526 459 66115.0 38 570 495 720 79516.5 37 610 528 775 85818.0 36 648 558 828 91820.0 35 700 600 900 990 100022.0 34 748 638 968 1065 107825.0 33 825 700 1075 1182 120028.5 32 912 770 1197 1317 138030.0 31 93032.0 31 992 832 1312 1443 147236.0 30 1080 900 1440 1584 162040.0 29 1160 1000 1560 1716 176044.0 28 1232 1100 1672 1839 189250.0 27 1350 1250 1850 2035 210057.0 26 1482 * 2052 2257 233766.0 25 1650 * 2310 2541 264088.0 24 2112 * 2992 3291 3432118.0 24 2832 * 3894 4283 4602150.0 24 3600 * 4800 5280 5850* dogs under 8 lbs should not be "outside" dogs, and dogs weighing more than 50 lbs should not be exclusively "inside" dogs. Sources: http://www.thepetcenter.com/imtop/overweight.html .

Weight Loss For Dogs They sell canned (and perhaps dry) weight loss dog food at most vets. It cannot be purchased in any store. Also, it is good to have a vets guidance because age, dog type and size all play factors..

Purina's Beneful Beneful comes in a 'healthy weight' formula as I'm sure other brands do, too. Last year when my daughter came to visit with her 3 dogs, Mika was so overweight that she could just about walk around. She was pathetic.

We have a fenced in play yard for our dogs. All 5 dogs go out and play at least 3 times a day. We take the time to go out with them, throwing the ball, whatever.

Between cutting Mikas' feeding portion to about 1/2 cup, twice a day, and getting her some exercise, she is looking better and thinner every month. For her size she should be around 65 pounds. As she loses the weight, she is becoming more active, more healthy and a much happier dog.

I haven't seen a calorie chart for dogs, there may be one...but just cutting back on the portions, cutting back on snacks and a little more exercise should work wonders for your dog. Instead of expensive treats, we buy a bag of Wal-Marts' Doggy Dinner Rounds. The dogs love them, it's really a dog food, and they're inexpensive.

We limit our treats to 3 each. HELENofTROY's Recommendations Feeding Your Dog For Life: The Real Facts about Proper Nutrition Amazon List Price: $24.95 Used from: $15.50 Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5 (based on 2 reviews) Super Nutrition for Animals! (Birds Too!): Healthy Advice for Dogs, Cats, Horses and Birds Amazon List Price: $12.95 Used from: $1.50 Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5 (based on 2 reviews) .

Portion control works well If you're measuring the food (and if not, you might want to start) the easiest thing to do is cut back a little bit on the portion size. Don't cut back a lot, just a little bit, for a slow weight loss. So, if you're feeding (for example) 3 cups of dry food a day, cut back to 2 3/4 cups.It's enough for a gradual weight loss without the dog noticing a difference.

If the dog stops losing weight and still isn't fit enough, you can cut a little more. Eventually you'll find the right amount to keep the dog at the proper weight. The key is to cut just a little bit and go for a slow weight loss.

If you're "free-feeding" the dog (where food is out all day) you might want to give up on that. While some dogs will regulate their food intake well enough, some will pig out so that no matter how low-cal the food is, the dog is still eating too much. If you haven't been measuring the dog's food intake, now might be the time to start.

Most bags of dog food will list a recommended amount to feed the dog. It's a good starting point, but you might want to talk to your vet to figure out what's a safe amount for weight loss without the dog becoming ill. And instead of looking at low-cal foods, there are foods formulated for older dogs.

That might be a healthier choice. The other thing to watch is treats. If you're in the habit of giving the dog treats all day long, either cut back, or substitute with something low cal.

Carrots can be a good choice. While they're fairly high in sugar, as veggies go, dogs normally don't chew carrots well enough to get at the sugars, and they don't digest the chunks well enough, so they don't get a whole lot of calories from them. But they taste sweet and they're crunchy.

How many to stay at my new weight?" "Does T-tapp work well (ie. You lose weight) if you do not alter your diet? " "the reason people lose weight on any weight loss diet is because?" "Diet and Anti-Depressants- How do I keep the weight off?

" "How can a wheelchair bound person who can't exersise much lose weight without starving on a severe diet? " "Does anyone know of a good diet for a dog?" "What diet pill on the market, do you think works the best in helping people lose extra weight?. " "I have a 6 year old schipperke/chihauhau mix.

Even with diet and exercise he doesn't lose weight. How can I help him?

Does T-tapp work well (ie. You lose weight) if you do not alter your diet?

What diet pill on the market, do you think works the best in helping people lose extra weight?.

I have a 6 year old schipperke/chihauhau mix. Even with diet and exercise he doesn't lose weight. How can I help him?

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.