Helping Your Dog Lose Weight. Features. September 2. Issue How to reduce your dog to a healthy weight, and get him living life to the fullest. But within two months her weight had ballooned by almost a full pound, and there was no way you could call her anything but plump. How could this happen?
How to Lose 10 Kg Fast. While there is nothing wrong with wanting to lose weight quickly, how you do it is very important. This wikiHow will teach you how to lose 10. How could I have let my new dog get fat – me, the one who perpetually preaches the benefits of keeping dogs lean? And what the heck was I going to do about it? How to Lose Weight in One Month- Diet Chart for Weight Loss This post is for Rati and Mrunmayee, who followed the 4 weeks diet. The answer is that it happened because I’d never owned such a small dog before, and it turned out I was massively overfeeding her, particularly when I counted all the treats she was getting. And I would do whatever it takes to get her back to the weight she should be, and keep her there. Here is what I learned during my struggle to help Ella lose weight. What’s the Big Deal? Why worry about one extra pound? On a big dog, one pound wouldn’t matter, but for Ella, that’s 1. But it’s her health, not her looks, that concerns me. Photo by Erika Maurer. It! A 1. 4- year study showed that dogs fed 2. They also were a full three years older before they needed treatment for arthritis. Health problems that are more common in overweight dogs include pancreatitis, diabetes, heart disease, disc disease, ruptured cruciate ligaments, hip dysplasia and other forms of joint disease, surgical complications, compromised immune system, and even many forms of cancer. As many as half of all dogs in the U. S. A recent study found that veterinarians considered 4. If you can’t easily feel your dog’s ribs and shoulder blades, her waist is not discernable (a tuck behind the ribs), or there’s a roll of fat at the base of her tail, it’s time to face reality and put your dog on a diet. Because we’re so used to seeing overweight dogs, many folks think a dog at his proper weight is too skinny. However, as long as the hips and spine are not protruding and no more than the last rib or two are slightly visible, he’s not too thin. If in doubt, ask your vet for an opinion, or go to an agility competition to see what fit dogs look like. Types of Food Best. The same is true of many commercial weight loss diets, though some companies have recognized that this is not the best way to help dogs to lose weight and have changed their tactics. Protein and carbohydrates supply the same number of calories, but protein is preferentially used to build lean muscle, while carbs are more likely to be stored as body fat. L- carnitine, an amino acid derivative found in meat, fish, and dairy products, helps to burn fat. Dogs thrive on high- protein diets and find them more satisfying, while they have no nutritional requirement for carbohydrates. Diets to help your dog lose weight should be high in protein and low in carbs. Fat has more than twice the calories per gram of protein or carbs, so the amount you feed should be limited. Fat, however, is also what satisfies the appetite best. A diet that is too low in fat will leave your dog feeling hungry all the time, making it harder for you to stick to the diet plan and potentially leading to food- stealing or even poop- eating. It’s better to feed a diet with moderate fat and reduce the portion size as needed rather than feeding a low- fat diet. If you are feeding kibble or other dry food, look for a minimum of 2. More is better: generally, the higher the protein, the lower the carbs. There is no harm in feeding high protein diets to puppies, seniors, or healthy adult dogs; there are only a few specific health conditions that require protein to be limited. Some dogs have had success losing weight with reduced portions of even higher- fat foods that are also very high in protein, probably because these foods are quite low in carbs. Avoid foods with excessively high (more than 5 to 6 percent) fiber, the indigestible part of carbohydrates. Increased fiber will not help your dog feel satisfied, and too much can interfere with nutrient absorption. Hill’s Prescription r/d dry dog food (its weight- loss formula) has an astonishing 2. Over one quarter of what you’re paying for is indigestible. The scale at your veterinarian. This is also a good opportunity to desensitize your dog to vet visits. Give him a few low- calorie treats for sitting quietly on the scale. Examples of good food choices include Wellness CORE Original (3. Orjijen Adult (4. For canned foods, subtract the moisture percentage from 1. Usually that means protein is at least 8 percent and fat is around 5 to 6 percent, but these values may be slightly lower for foods with very high moisture content (8. Many (though not all) grain- free foods are high in protein and low in carbs, though a number of them are also high in fat. The majority of senior and light diets are still high- carb and low- protein. However, a number of newer formulas now use higher protein (which means fewer carbs), and are lower in fat than adult maintenance foods. Canned foods are usually higher in protein and lower in carbs than dry foods. If you feed a homemade diet, feed lean meats, low- fat dairy, and green vegetables in place of most grains and starches. Remove the skin from poultry, but feed the dark meat rather than very low- fat breast meat. Remove separable fat from meats, and avoid fatty meats such as lamb, pork, and high- fat beef, or cook them to remove most of the fat. It’s okay to include eggs in the diet in moderate amounts. You can also use these foods to replace part of a commercial diet, which will increase the amount of protein and decrease the amount of carbs in the overall diet. How Much to Feed. Reduce the amount you feed gradually rather than making drastic changes all at once. Cutting the amount of food too dramatically will change your dog’s metabolism, making it harder to lose weight and easier to gain it back. Slow, steady weight loss is more likely to result in long- term success. If you continue to use the same food you’re feeding now, start by reducing the amount by about 5 per cent, or around 1 ounce per pound of food, or 1/8 of a cup per two cups of food, depending on how you measure what you feed. Weigh your dog in one to two weeks. If your dog has not lost weight, reduce the amount of food by another 5 per cent. Continue to reduce the amount of food you feed every week or two until your dog begins to lose weight, then continue feeding that amount. If you switch to a new food that is considerably higher in protein and fat than your current food, cut the quantity of food by up to one third, as these foods are more nutrient dense and will provide more calories in smaller portions. Even though the total amount of food your dog gets is less than before, you may find he is more satisfied. It’s critical to accurately measure the amount of food that you feed. I learned the hard way that when I try to eyeball my dogs’ food, they gain weight. The only way I’ve found to achieve consistent weight control is by using an electronic postal scale to weigh everything I feed. You can find these scales at office supply and kitchen supply stores, department stores such as Target, and online at places like Amazon. Most can handle up to five pounds with accuracy to the tenth of an ounce, and will also allow you to switch to grams when needed for more accuracy with very small measurements. Monitoring Your Dog’s Weight. You must weigh your dog frequently, especially when first starting a weight- loss program. Aim for weight loss of 3 to 5 percent of body weight per month, or one percent per week. A 5. 0- pound dog should lose about half a pound per week, or 2 pounds per month. Because Ella is so small, I couldn’t get an accurate weight by picking her up and weighing us both on my bathroom scale, then subtracting my own weight. Instead, I bought a shipping postal scale that weighs up to 5. I put a box on the scale and zero it out, then put Ella in the box to measure her weight to the nearest half ounce (a small treat afterward makes her a willing participant). If your dog is too heavy to pick up, you’ll need to go to your veterinarian’s office in order to get an accurate weight. This is also a good time to help desensitize your dog to vet visits, by feeding small bits of low- calorie, high- value treats while you’re there. Once your dog begins losing weight steadily, you can go longer between weigh- ins, but recheck at least monthly to make sure you’re still on the right track. It’s easy to slip back into giving too much food and undo much of the good you’ve done if you rely solely on how your dog looks and feels. By the time you notice a difference, your dog could have gained a lot of weight back. Caloric needs can also change over time as your dog ages, after neutering, or if his activity level varies seasonally. If you’re weighing your dog regularly, you’ll be able to catch any weight gain early and react before you have a bigger problem. Counting Calories: Not As Difficult As You Might Think. Resting energy requirement (RER) is the number of calories per day your dog requires for just basic needs, and a good amount to feed most dogs to encourage weight loss. To determine your dog’s RER, convert his ideal weight in pounds to kilograms by dividing by 2. For Ella, I used 1. This is what I should feed in order to help her lose weight. This amount may need to be adjusted in some cases. Very active dogs may require up to 1. RER to keep weight loss at a safe rate of no more than 5 percent per month. Here’s another approach: 3,5. If your goal is for your dog to lose one pound every two weeks (appropriate for a dog who should weigh 5. For a dog that should weigh 5. Calorie Calculators. Many calorie calculators signi. One calorie calculator I found said Ella should. Remember to use your dog’s ideal weight, not his current. They offer several serving sizes, but you may have to do further calculations to match what you feed. For Ella, I converted most foods tokcal per ounce, but used kcal per item for things like eggs and treats. If Nutrition. Data.
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