Obesity in dogs is a topic close to my heart. In October 2015, we adopted an obese 5yr old beagle named Otis, and I started researching how to safely help him lose weight.A dog is considered overweight if she weighs 10-20% above her ideal body weight. A dog weighing more than 20% above his ideal body weight is considered obese.
There are a lot of risks to the health of an overweight or obese dog, just like with people. Obese dogs are more likely to experience musculoskeletal problems, cardiovascular problems, breathing problems, exercise and heat intolerance, and diseases like heart disease and diabetes.
My vet recommended that I switch Otis to a low calorie/low fat food. She recommended Science Diet Perfect Weight, which she has fed to her own dogs. Since most dogs can benefit from a lower fat diet, I decided that both my newly adopted beagle and my basset/beagle mix could eat the same food. My basset needs to have grain free, though, or she suffers from nasty gastrointestinal upset. Science Diet Perfect Weight is only 291 calories* per cup and is one of the lowest calorie foods on the market, but it contains corn, which I don't feed to my basset.
We have tried many different brands with differing levels of protein/fat/calories and different protein sources. It even got to the point that I created a spreadsheet to keep track of the different brands and their related info, including price shopping at a couple of different stores, like www.chewy.com, www.amazon.com, and www.petsmart.com. I read reviews from multiple sites, but relied heavily on www.dogfoodadvisor.com because I like their breakdown of each food's nutritional pros and cons. They also have a dog food calculator that can help you figure out a baseline or general idea for how much food your dog actually needs based on activity level and weight goals. Remember to take into account any extra treats you give, which will reduce how much food your dog needs overall. I like rotation feeding to help change up their meals because Remy (my basset) gets bored after a few weeks to a month and starts refusing food, but also to help with if I have to change foods due to a recall or supplier shortage.
Otis lost eight pounds in eight months with a combination of increased activity (more walks, which he loves) and reducing the amount of his food and feeding a lower calorie food. This is considered a healthy weight loss. It's slow enough that his body didn't go through severe changes but quick enough that could see that the change in food and additional exercise were actually working.
Some of the foods we had pretty good success with are:
- Earthborn Holistic Grain Free Weight Control, which has only 325 calories per cup and contains 25% protein and a mere 7% fat. The main protein is Chicken Meal, it comes in as large as 28 pound bags, and generally retails for about $2.11 per pound. Chicken meal actually contains 300% more protein than regular chicken meat. It's rated 4 stars on DFA (Dog Food Advisor).
- Another chicken meal based food is Whole Earth Farms Grain Free Healthy Weight. This food has 29% protein, and slightly more fat at 15%. There are 321 calories per cup, and a 25 pound bags runs around $1.62 per pound with a 4 star rating at DFA. This was one of the most affordable brands we tried, and he did lose weight on it.
- Beef might be what your dog prefers, and Merrick makes a low calorie food called Grain Free Healthy Weight. This food earned a 4.5 star rating from DFA, comes in a 25 pound bag at around $2.16 per pound, and contains 32% protein, only 8% fat, and 360 calories per cup. Neither of my dogs have lost on this, but I think it's because it's higher calorie than most of the other brands that they eat.
- The only non-grain free food we tried was Fromm Gold Weight Control. They do also make a grain free version with fish as the protein called Gold Coast, but their regular version has no corn, wheat, or soy so we tried it. The main protein is turkey liver and duck, and it contains 25% protein with 10% fat, and 241 calories per cup. It's rated 4 stars on DFA, and runs about $1.53 per pound for a 33lb bag, This was the best value as far as cost, but my basset had some issues with it and developed a yeast infection.
- Otis had some of the best results on Solid Gold Holistic Fit & Fabulous, which has fish/pollock as the main protein. Remy, my basset, was not a fan of the fish and refused to eat it except if she was starving. Otis dug in with gusto. It is not rated in DFA, but has 26% protein and only 7% fat. It contains 330 calories per cup, comes in a 24 pound bag and costs about $2.33 per pound.
There are other foods that made my list of possibilities but that we have not yet tried (or ruled out for various reasons):
- Wellness Core Reduced Fat Grain Free, made with Turkey, and containing 33% protein, 12% fat, and 360 calories per cup. It has a five star rating from DFA and it costs about $2.26 per pound for a 26 pound bag. I ultimately decided not to try it because of the higher calories combined with the 12% fat. It has the same calories as the Merrick, but Merrick is lower in fat.
- Wellness Simple Limited Ingredient Grain Free Healthy Weight has 4 stars from DFA and costs about $2.08 per pound for a 24 pound bag. It was 26% protein and only 8% fat with 394 calories per cup and the main protein being Salmon. I opted against this for my dogs because Remy doesn't seem to care for fish and the calories were way too high. This might be better for larger dogs who have higher caloric needs. 8/30/16 Edit: Since this was posted, we have adopted a third dog, an eight year old beagle/chihuahua mix, who turned out to possibly be allergic to chicken. Despite the very high calories, I am transitioning all of my dogs over to this food (because it's salmon and not whitefish) and reducing the amount of kibble I feed them. Adding water and fresh veggies (steamed green beans, raw carrots, raw celery, etc) help them feel full while they adjust to less kibble.
- Nulo Freestyle Adult Trim Grain Free has Cod as the main protein. I really want to have my dogs try this but haven't because Remy doesn't seem to care for seafood. It has 4.5 stars from DFA, 30% protein and only 7-9% fat with 368 calories per cup. At $2.62 per pound for 24 pounds, it was a bit more expensive than I was comfortable spending for a food that Remy probably won't eat. If your dog doesn't mind fish and you are comfortable with the price, this might be a great one to try.
- The last that I considered but haven't tried yet is Annamaet Grain Free Lean. With 5 stars from DFA, 350 calories per cup, 33% protein and only 9% fat, this is a contender for trial in our house. It runs about $2.34-$2.87 per pound for a 30 pound bag and has Chicken, Duck, and Herring as the protein. It's much more expensive than the others as well.
To help prevent Otis from feeling like he was being starved, we gradually reduced the amount of kibble he was getting, and added warm water to his kibble to help fill his stomach. We also supplemented with raw or steamed vegetables as treats instead of nutrition-empty biscuits. He really enjoys steamed sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and carrots. He eats raw green pepper and celery, too. He likes raw or steamed apples, and loves bananas. Once or twice a day, I give him one of my three-ingredient canine cookies, as they are high in fiber and help keep his digestive system running smoothly.
Unfortunately, as the weather got too hot, I got lazy and stopped walking him except on weekend mornings, as we have fenced yard. He doesn't cope well with heat and humidity and has breathing issues, and I don't like going to work looking and smelling like a sweaty mess. Once the weather cools, we will be walking more. He's gained most of the weight back, but he's also getting a few more treats to help with the addition of a new dog. They are almost out of their current food, so I am switching again as part of our rotation to one of the lower-fat and lower calorie foods.
Don't just reduce the amount of normal food. This is because over time, your dog will not get the right nutrition. Lower fat/calorie foods are formulated to make sure that your dog gets the nutrition he needs, to help him lose weight safely and in a healthy way. Just reducing the amount of regular calorie food will cause some weight loss, but it's not healthy weight loss. It's like with people, if you just eat less overall of your higher-fat diet, of course you will lose weight. But, you have to make healthy changes to lower-fat/higher fiber and protein foods so you stay full and get enough vitamins and minerals from your food.
Aside from lowering the fat and calorie intake, your dog will need to increase his activity more. This means more exercise. This can be daily walks, runs, chasing a ball or laser pointer, or pretty much anything that gets your dog moving. While you will need to monitor and possible reduce activity if you live in an area with hot (and especially humid) summers, you can still get some exercise in playing indoors if you have room. You can also try to take walks in the early morning or late evening hours. When the weather is cold, walking is also more challenging, but your pup (and her feet) can handle it as long as it's not very icy or below freezing. You do need to take into account your dog's age and overall fitness and medical needs. For example, a dog prone to tearing cruciates (knee ligaments) would not be a good candidate for running but could most likely handle a good long walk. Always check with your vet if you aren't sure!
*Calories in dog food are actually measured in kilocalories, or kcal. You may see labels that reference kCal/ME, which is a way of measuring the metabolic energy. For the sake of simplicity in my own research and blog, I do not convert the kCals to calories, but simply refer to them as calories.
Sources:
petMD
VCA Hospitals
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