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Throughout the years, obesity in dogs has become increasingly common. As their human companions become more sedentary, so do the dogs. And with a combination of inactive lifestyle and inadequate food, our pets are more and more becoming prone to illness, disease, and obesity.
As a trainer, I work with a lot of dogs, from house pets to highly-active working companions. I can say without hesitation: it’s true that, in recent years alone, dogs are just getting fatter.
One thing that I am passionate about, on top of training dogs to be able to live their best lives, is actually health and fitness training. With a background in exercise science (for humans), I love being able to carry that information over to make dogs healthier and happier.
And while our pets’ health is entirely the responsibility of us, their owners, a lot of dog owners just don’t have the same education I have as a fitness specialist. How could we expect the average dog owner to inherently know the in’s and out’s of how to help their dog lose weight?
How do you tell if your dog is overweight? What is considered “healthy” weight for most dogs? Is a fat dog really even a problem if you yourself aren’t an avid fitness junkie? And once you know if your dog is obese or not, how do you help them lose weight anyway?
In this article, I’m here to help guide you through understanding canine obesity, how it effects our pets, and what you can do to help your dog lose weight.
What is Canine Obesity?
Technically speaking, obesity is “an accumulation of excess fat in the body resulting in increased body weight above the normal range.”
Obesity is the most common nutritional disorder among dogs.
In a survey carried out in 2018, it was found that almost 60% of dogs and cats found in the USA are overweight or obese. And this fat accumulation and increase in weight can be due to multiple reasons and can cause many health issues.
You can read more about the effects of obesity in dogs, from comorbidities to direct causations of other known ailments, in How Can I Tell if My Dog is Overweight?
In short, obesity in dogs is linked with diabetes, osteoarthritis, lower life expectancy, hypothyroidism, high blood pressure, higher risk of cancer, cardiac disease, and an increased risk of hyperthermia. And these are only the “correlated” risks, meaning that they are seen commonly as comorbidities in obesity cases.
Obesity in dogs, in more direct ways, can cause decreased mobility and agility, stress on the joints and organs leading to pain and even arthritis, difficulty breathing, and difficulty in grooming and hygiene.
Needless to say, an obese dog is not a happy dog.
Fortunately, your dog can avoid or even reverse many of these conditions by losing weight and adopting a healthier lifestyle overall.
Is Your Dog Obese?
For most canine owners, it is hard to assess that their friend is obese or gaining weight, especially if their dog is a long hair breed.
A simple way is to know the healthy weight of your dog based on breed or their individual history, and weigh your dog regularly.
If the weight of your Dog is 10-20% above the normal weight, your dog can be considered “overweight.” And your furry friend will fall in the category of “obese” when his weight is more than 20% above the normal range. Remember that the normal weight range is different for different breeds.
Another, possibly more accurate, way of assessing obesity in pet dogs is my sight and feel. From the side, a dog should have a nice abdominal tuck, where the abdomen cinches in from the ribs. This will be more dramatic in some breeds like the lithe sighthounds, and less significant in others like the stout bulldogs, but an abdominal tuck should be present in all dogs to some degree.
By feel, when touching your dog over their ribs, you should be able to very clearly feel (and in short-haired breeds, even see) their ribs beneath the skin. Dogs do not normally store excess fat around the ribcage, so if there is a fat deposit in that area, it’s safe to say that your dog is overweight. If you can grab the fat deposit in your hand, your dog is definitely obese.
You can read more about these methods and more in the aforementioned article, How Can I Tell if My Dog is Overweight?
Symptoms Of Obesity In Dogs
On top of the techniques already raised, there are plenty of other things to look out for that can help determine if your dog is overweight. Symptoms of obesity in dogs include:
- Increase in weight
- No or little visible waistline
- The ribcage is not palpable
- Excess body fat
- Enlarged abdomen
- Lack of grooming
- Lack of mobility
- Lethargy
- Difficulty breathing
- Decrease in stamina
- More time spent sleeping
Causes Of Obesity In Dogs
There are plenty of causes of obesity. Some of these are out of our control, while others are strictly lifestyle factors that we can influence to help our dogs lose weight.
More often than not, dogs become overweight because of a combination of factors rather than one of these causes on their own. That said, some causes of obesity in dogs are:
- Consuming more calories than the body expends
- Lack of exercise and activity
- Inadequate diet (low-quality foods with poor ingredients or lots of fillers)
- Age (dogs above five years have a higher chance to become obese)
- Genetic factors (both from breed and from individual genetics)
- Neutering and spaying (hormonal changes)
- Certain medicines like Phenobarbital and Glucocorticoids promote fat deposition in the body
- Certain diseases and disorders like Hypothyroidism, Insulinoma, and Hyperadrenocorticism.
Health Issues Associated With Obesity
Being overweight or obese is a serious concern for your canine friend. As obesity can lead to or is at best associated with many life-threatening health issues, including:
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Breathing problems
- Mobility issues
- Liver problems
- Certain cancers
- Canine arthritis
- Kidney disease
- Heart problems
- Skin problems
- Joint problems
How To Reduce The Weight Of Your Dog
As obesity is associated with many health issues, we as dog owners must keep an eye on the body shape and weight on a regular basis. It’s important to take all steps to keep our pets’ fitness under control and keep your companion healthy throughout life.
If you have assessed your dog to be obese and in need of weight loss to address the issue, here are some steps you can take to help your dog lose weight, from a fitness specialist.
Rule Out Medical Cause
It’s easy to assume things both about our own health and fitness as well as that of our pets. One of those things is the idea that lifestyle factors are the only factor.
Before you jump to significant lifestyle changes, take a trip to your veterinarian clinic and get your dog tested for other possible reasons or diseases (like Hypothyroidism, Insulinoma, and Hyperadrenocorticism ) that can be the cause of an increase in weight.
While you are there, also ask for a “wellness check” and specify that you are looking to begin exercising your dog once they are cleared to do so. Knowing this, your vet can check their joints and look for any issues that might make certain types of exercise problematic for your dog.
We do this in the human fitness world, as well. That is why when you first talk to a personal trainer or you first buy that exercise program, you are always urged to get assessed by a physician who can clear you for exercise as well as identify any issues that might cause problems during certain activities or exercise as a whole.
Once your dog is checked by a vet, clear of any weight-influencing disorders or disease, and given the green light to start a weight loss program, you are ready to start making the appropriate lifestyle changes.
Get A Weight Management Plan
You might be able to get a weight management plan from your veterinarian while you are there. This can be a lovely place to start, and can be helpful for a lot of dog owners.
However, understand that veterinarians are not canine fitness trainers or conditioning specialists! Even within the human healthcare continuum, fitness trainers and physicians work together because they serve different roles in the care for our bodies. The same is true for dogs; a fitness specialist for dogs or canine nutritionist is usually going to be more knowledgeable about that specific area than a general veterinarian.
And while this is not always the case, many vets will try to prescribe a weight-loss kibble or upsell you on other products from the company that owns their chain.
While not all kibbles and commercial dog foods are bad, Big Kibble is a very real issue with plenty of conflicts of interest within the pet industry. My favorite book tackling this subject is, appropriately, called Big Kibble by Shawn Buckley and Dr. Oscar Chavez, and details canine health and wellness in relationship to the kibble industry as a whole.
Regular Exercise
Exercise is the key part of any weight loss plan as it helps to burn calories and condition the body to increase BMR, or basal metabolic rate.
What this means is that when dogs use their bodies, they will undergo certain adaptations. One of those adaptations is muscle conditioning, which causes the body to burn more calories at rest. The muscles need more fuel because they’ve become bigger or stronger. Therefore, even on your dog’s “rest days,” they will burn through their food quicker and take from their own fat stores over time.
Physical activity is, hands down, the best treatment for canine obesity caused by lifestyle.
However, you want to increase the intensity of exercise gradually. Depending on your individual dog, your starting point is going to look different from others. Some dogs with severe obesity and joint pain might need lower-impact exercise like swimming or hydro treadmill work. Others might be able to start with a leisurely walk.
You can take start from 10-15 minutes walk a couple times a day and can gradually increase the time up to two hours a day (depending upon the health status and breed requirements).
Dog are natural nature-lovers, so take advantage of their natural instinct and take them out for some fun during the day.
If you’re having trouble figuring out how much physical activity your dog needs during the day, my recommendation is always going to be the fantastic FitBark.
FitBark is a compact fitness tracker that attaches comfortably to your dog’s collar. It tracks their activity and other stats throughout the day, including activity spikes by hour, sleep score, and calories burned.
I use FitBark GPS for my personal dogs, which I write about in my article, Fitbark GPS Review: The Fitness Tracker for Dogs. The FitBark GPS is still holding strong for all three dogs I use it with, and helps me tremendously since I make all their food from scratch.
FitBark GPS also provides location tracking on my dogs should I ever need it, but the stardard “FitBark 2” for $69.95 (with regular sales going on) provides all the fitness information a dog owner could need to help their dog lose weight and stay fit long-term.
Modify Diet & Feeding
Your veterinarian may provide you a modified diet plan (according to age, breed, and size of your dog) and prescribe a low-calorie food. This is one option, as long as you keep in mind the conflict of interest and weigh other options with your dog’s best interest in mind.
I’ve used several types of kibble during my time as a dog trainer and as a pet care professional prior to that. My all-time favorite so far is Ketona from KetoNautral Pet Foods. I tried it for 30 days with my new personal/demo dog, Milo, with fantastic results. I documented the entire process in my article, Review: We Tried Ketona Dog Food for 30 Days, and the results in Milo’s fitness really spoke for themselves.
Ketona’s selling point is weight loss for dogs, but I was also able to use it to help Milo gain some lean muscle. I absolutely recommend their chicken formula for anyone looking to help their dog lose weight. I also really appreciate KetoNatural for their willingness to fight misinformation and the aforementioned “Big Kibble” and push for quality ingredients and transparency in pet food.
I’m also a huge advocate for “real food” for dogs. Anyone who’s been following this space knows that I’m passionate about making my dogs’ food from scratch, which I talk about in my post, How I Easily Make Healthy Homemade Dog Food. I promise, it’s easier than you might think!
If making food from scratch isn’t your style, but you want all the benefits, I have some other recommendations for awesome premade cooked and raw “real” food:
- Just Food For Dogs: minimally-processed dog food made from real, human-grade food, delivered to your door.
- Pet Plate: subscription-based cooked food delivery service for dogs using human-grade food
- Raw Paws Pet Food: complete raw diets, ingredients, and treats. We review them at A Review of Raw Paws Pet Food
- Raw Wild: Raw food and ingredients from wild elk and deer, for delivery or subscription
- Darwin’s Natural Pet Products: fresh premade raw dog food for delivery with a wide range of options of main protein source
If you’re not one for raw food, any of the raw options can be cooked up upon arrival by throwing them in a crock pot, instant pot, or your preferred method of cooking them up!
No matter what you choose for your dog, dietary changes should be made slowly to avoid gastric disturbances.
Offer new food 3-4 times a day but in small amounts and at the same time daily. You can also transition your dog’s food slowly by mixing the new food with the old food in increasing amounts, until your dog is 100% on their new diet.
Replace Treats with Non-Food Reward and Healthy Options
Every dog enjoys a tasty treat, but there are numerous other ways to reward your dog and show your dog some love that doesn’t include feeding them.
In training, consider introducing more non-food rewards and include physical touch, toys, play, and plenty of verbal praise in your arsenal of rewards. This nonfood reward strategy will significantly reduce calorie intake over time.
When you do want to use food as reward, I also recommend having your dog work for their daily food. If you have them on a high-quality kibble like Ketona from KetoNatural, you can portion some of their food out and have them do training sessions or work for it throughout the day. This prevents overfeeding, and keeps your dog adhered to their weight loss plan.
If you try this and your dog isn’t interested in working for “just kibble,” try scheduling training before mealtimes or consider switching to hand-feeding to help increase their food drive.
If you’re still set on giving your dog a treat every once in a while, practice moderation and choose healthier options. Once per week I give all of my personal dogs a bully stick, which is a great option for chews that won’t pack on extra pounds. You can get bully sticks online at Best Bully Sticks and Bully Sticks Central for remarkably affordable prices.
Most of all, if your dog is a fan of table scraps, now is the time to cut that habit! Not only can feeding table scraps significantly impact any weight-loss efforts by tacking on extra calories, it also increases your dog’s tendency to beg and be “pushy” for human food.
Exercise Patience
Weight gain does not occur overnight, nor does weight loss.
There are no shortcuts for canine obesity, but the fact is that it’s not difficult to help a dog lose weight. All it takes is perseverance and time.
Remember to respect that you will need several weeks to start seeing results, and possibly months to reach your goal in a healthy manner. Do not expect rapid results, and do not push your dog harder than they are ready for.
The time required by your dog to gain target weight, depends on how much weight he wants to lose, type of food, and how much physical activity they get.
In general, your furry companion can safely lose 2-4% of their body weight per week until they attain their ideal weight.
Your dog’s weight should be checked every two to four weeks during the diet period to make sure that you are progressing at a satisfying but safe rate.
It’s also beneficial to take your dog to your veterinarian clinic for general medical checkup at least twice yearly. During a weight loss program, it may be better to do so even more regularly, if you have the means to.
Even a quick checkup at a pop-up vet like PetVet Clinic can give you a quick assessment and a reliable weight check to make sure you’re on the right track, and shouldn’t cost the same as a scheduled vet appointment. Regardless, regular visits are helpful and even necessary to keep your dog healthier and fit throughout their lifetime.
