Helping Your Pet Lose Weight
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Your pet’s veterinarian has advised you that your pet needs to lose weight. Just as is true for us, an
overweight pet is at higher risk for diabetes and other life-threatening diseases. Excess weight also
puts additional stress on the heart, lungs and musculo-skeletal system. Some pets may be
overweight in part due to a medical condition such as hypothyroidism in dogs, so tests should be run
for animals who appear to eat normal amounts yet still have weight problems. In addition, any
weight loss should be monitored by your pet’s veterinarian. Cats in particular are susceptible to liver
problems if they lose too much weight too quickly, so it is especially important to work with the
veterinarian while helping your cat slim down.
So how do we help them shed those pounds? Many owners (and their veterinarians) use weight-loss
formula foods. We do not recommend these diets, however. These “prescription” or “special
formula” foods sacrifice quality ingredients and balanced nutrition in favor of bulking them up with
added low-calorie fillers. A person who lost weight on a diet of rice cakes and peanut butter may be
thinner, but would not be healthier. The keys to weight loss are nutritious food in appropriate
quantities and increased exercise.
Below are some suggestions for using these “weight loss keys” and helping your pet achieve a
healthy weight, and enhancing his or her quality of life.
If you free-feed your pet, STOP! Free-feeding is leaving food out in the pet’s bowl at all times. It
can be very difficult to monitor how much your pet is eating, and if you have multiple pets, one may
be consuming more than his fair share. Any pet, no matter the age, can be taught to expect food at
mealtimes instead of a constant supply. Feeding through regular mealtimes is also the best way to
feed each pet in the household individually and be sure exactly how much each animal is consuming,
and to put carefully portioned amounts in each bowl (measure!!!), along with each pet’s particular
supplements. Most of us at CBAH have multiple animals, and if we can feed 7 or 8 large dogs, who
each eat their own measured portion of food and supplements from his or her own bowl in his or her
own designated eating place, you can, too. Really! If your pet truly does seem hungry between
these newly enforced meals, try splitting the day’s food into 3 or 4 meals instead of 2.
Don’t fall for the “I’m starving to death” look! Throughout their evolution, dogs and cats have had
to hunt their prey (exerting a large amount of energy), and never knew when the next meal was
coming. Sure, we’ve never missed giving them a meal, but they are not convinced that isn’t going to
change five minutes from now. They will always be ready to eat, and if they can convince you to feed
them (and they will try!), they figure they are doing what they must to survive the coming “famine.”
In addition, giving treats as a form of praise has taught many pets to beg for treats and associate
that with love and affection. When your pet is begging for food or treats, what they really want may
be some of your time and attention. Substitute play, grooming or a good snuggle for those treats!
When you do give a treat, try giving half a treat (or less!) instead. This particularly works with dogs,
since most cat treats are tiny to begin with. Dogs can’t measure, but they sure can count! They don’
t think, “Wow, I’m getting two really big treats,” but rather, “Wow, I’m getting two treats!” Take that
one treat, make it two, and Sparky thinks he’s gotten twice as much. (Sneaky maybe, but a good
trick!)
Change your pet’s food, but not to a “lite” diet! As mentioned above, those weight loss diets are
full of carbohydrate fillers and lacking in optimal nutrition. We always encourage a raw food diet, or
at least the addition of raw protein to a high-quality dry food diet. Commercial pet foods have
extremely excessive amounts of carbohydrates… because they’re cheap! But in the wild, a feline
essentially has no carbohydrate requirement. The only carbohydrates a wild feline would ever
consume would come from the digestive tracts of their prey. Dogs (canids) in the wild may consume a
bit more carbohydrate, because they will forage from time to time, but they would never come close
to approaching the carbohydrate levels in the average bag of dog food. Because they are consuming
far too many “carbs,” which they can’t digest well in the first place and therefore derive little useful
nutrition, all those carb calories get stored as fat. Look over our compiled list of recommended foods.
Feed one of them (or something of equal quality), supplement with raw proteins or a high quality
grain-free canned food, or try one of the ever-growing number of prepared raw frozen complete
diets. If you continue to feed your pet a dry food, consider one of the new grain-free diets. But how
much should you feed? First of all, look at the recommendations on the bag, and the suggested
feeding amount for the weight you want your pet to be, and then feed less! We have yet to find any
packaged food that isn’t very, very generous in its serving sizes! Remember, YOU have COMPLETE
CONTROL over what your pet eats and how much! Unless Rascal learns to open the fridge at night
and make ham sandwiches, you determine what he eats.
Increase your pet’s activity levels! Sure, we all hate to hear this. The New Year rolls around, and
every person you know is vowing to join a gym. But our own sedentary lifestyles have been passed
on to our pets. Even if they appear fairly active while we’re at home, what do you imagine they’re
doing while you’re at school or work? Simple! They’re snoozing, and on the couch or bed if they can
get away with it. For the average dog, a stroll around the neighborhood isn’t enough exercise to
make much difference. Yes, it’s good for them, and they enjoy it, but unless they’re elderly or have a
health issue that makes exercise too difficult, they need more! Instead of “treat,” think “fetch!”
Fetch is fabulous, because YOU don’t have to do too much, as long as your dog remembers the “bring
it back” part of the game. Jogging or biking is good, as long as you get your veterinarian’s approval
first. Severely overweight dogs should not start off with too vigorous activity right away. (On a
slightly different topic, dogs under a year old shouldn’t be doing any serious running, as their joints
are not yet fully developed.) If your dog doesn’t fetch, you can try going to an off-leash dog park or
other securely fenced area where he can run with other dogs, or play in some other manner that is
more of an exertion than a people-paced leash walk. If you have access to a pool or safe, clean body
of water, swimming is a great form of exercise for an overweight dog, as it doesn’t stress the joints.
Cats, naturally, are more difficult to exercise. To encourage solo play, cat furniture or dangling toys
might be a good option. If your cat isn’t attracted to such toys, try tempting them by applying some
catnip or by sitting and interacting with them using the toy. There are also battery operated toys,
such as a running mouse or a base with a feather toy on a stick, that will entice the cat. You might
try using a portion of the cat’s daily food portion as a “hunt and eat” game. Get kitty’s attention and
then toss a kernel of food across the room. The goal is to get him to chase the food, then “attack”
and devour it. Use those feline predatory instincts! It’s the same food he was going to have in his
bowl, but he did a little work for it, and you are interacting with your pet… an added benefit!
In short, anything you can do to get your pet to move around when he’d otherwise be lying around,
or to increase low-level activity to a higher intensity activity, will be beneficial.
Weigh your pet regularly! After implementing your pet’s weight loss program, weigh him or her
every two weeks. It can be difficult to judge whether there has been any weight loss/gain when you
see your pet every day, so monitoring that scale will be important. As long as you’re seeing weight
loss, great! Just remember that pet weight loss will plateau just as our own sometimes does.
However, you shouldn’t see any weight increases along the way. If you stop seeing weight loss and
haven’t yet achieved the goal weight, decrease the food intake slightly, and increase the exercise.
Remember to recheck with your veterinarian regularly, and to report any significant changes in
appetite, activity, urinary or bowel habits, skin/coat condition, etc., immediately.
overweight pet is at higher risk for diabetes and other life-threatening diseases. Excess weight also
puts additional stress on the heart, lungs and musculo-skeletal system. Some pets may be
overweight in part due to a medical condition such as hypothyroidism in dogs, so tests should be run
for animals who appear to eat normal amounts yet still have weight problems. In addition, any
weight loss should be monitored by your pet’s veterinarian. Cats in particular are susceptible to liver
problems if they lose too much weight too quickly, so it is especially important to work with the
veterinarian while helping your cat slim down.
So how do we help them shed those pounds? Many owners (and their veterinarians) use weight-loss
formula foods. We do not recommend these diets, however. These “prescription” or “special
formula” foods sacrifice quality ingredients and balanced nutrition in favor of bulking them up with
added low-calorie fillers. A person who lost weight on a diet of rice cakes and peanut butter may be
thinner, but would not be healthier. The keys to weight loss are nutritious food in appropriate
quantities and increased exercise.
Below are some suggestions for using these “weight loss keys” and helping your pet achieve a
healthy weight, and enhancing his or her quality of life.
If you free-feed your pet, STOP! Free-feeding is leaving food out in the pet’s bowl at all times. It
can be very difficult to monitor how much your pet is eating, and if you have multiple pets, one may
be consuming more than his fair share. Any pet, no matter the age, can be taught to expect food at
mealtimes instead of a constant supply. Feeding through regular mealtimes is also the best way to
feed each pet in the household individually and be sure exactly how much each animal is consuming,
and to put carefully portioned amounts in each bowl (measure!!!), along with each pet’s particular
supplements. Most of us at CBAH have multiple animals, and if we can feed 7 or 8 large dogs, who
each eat their own measured portion of food and supplements from his or her own bowl in his or her
own designated eating place, you can, too. Really! If your pet truly does seem hungry between
these newly enforced meals, try splitting the day’s food into 3 or 4 meals instead of 2.
Don’t fall for the “I’m starving to death” look! Throughout their evolution, dogs and cats have had
to hunt their prey (exerting a large amount of energy), and never knew when the next meal was
coming. Sure, we’ve never missed giving them a meal, but they are not convinced that isn’t going to
change five minutes from now. They will always be ready to eat, and if they can convince you to feed
them (and they will try!), they figure they are doing what they must to survive the coming “famine.”
In addition, giving treats as a form of praise has taught many pets to beg for treats and associate
that with love and affection. When your pet is begging for food or treats, what they really want may
be some of your time and attention. Substitute play, grooming or a good snuggle for those treats!
When you do give a treat, try giving half a treat (or less!) instead. This particularly works with dogs,
since most cat treats are tiny to begin with. Dogs can’t measure, but they sure can count! They don’
t think, “Wow, I’m getting two really big treats,” but rather, “Wow, I’m getting two treats!” Take that
one treat, make it two, and Sparky thinks he’s gotten twice as much. (Sneaky maybe, but a good
trick!)
Change your pet’s food, but not to a “lite” diet! As mentioned above, those weight loss diets are
full of carbohydrate fillers and lacking in optimal nutrition. We always encourage a raw food diet, or
at least the addition of raw protein to a high-quality dry food diet. Commercial pet foods have
extremely excessive amounts of carbohydrates… because they’re cheap! But in the wild, a feline
essentially has no carbohydrate requirement. The only carbohydrates a wild feline would ever
consume would come from the digestive tracts of their prey. Dogs (canids) in the wild may consume a
bit more carbohydrate, because they will forage from time to time, but they would never come close
to approaching the carbohydrate levels in the average bag of dog food. Because they are consuming
far too many “carbs,” which they can’t digest well in the first place and therefore derive little useful
nutrition, all those carb calories get stored as fat. Look over our compiled list of recommended foods.
Feed one of them (or something of equal quality), supplement with raw proteins or a high quality
grain-free canned food, or try one of the ever-growing number of prepared raw frozen complete
diets. If you continue to feed your pet a dry food, consider one of the new grain-free diets. But how
much should you feed? First of all, look at the recommendations on the bag, and the suggested
feeding amount for the weight you want your pet to be, and then feed less! We have yet to find any
packaged food that isn’t very, very generous in its serving sizes! Remember, YOU have COMPLETE
CONTROL over what your pet eats and how much! Unless Rascal learns to open the fridge at night
and make ham sandwiches, you determine what he eats.
Increase your pet’s activity levels! Sure, we all hate to hear this. The New Year rolls around, and
every person you know is vowing to join a gym. But our own sedentary lifestyles have been passed
on to our pets. Even if they appear fairly active while we’re at home, what do you imagine they’re
doing while you’re at school or work? Simple! They’re snoozing, and on the couch or bed if they can
get away with it. For the average dog, a stroll around the neighborhood isn’t enough exercise to
make much difference. Yes, it’s good for them, and they enjoy it, but unless they’re elderly or have a
health issue that makes exercise too difficult, they need more! Instead of “treat,” think “fetch!”
Fetch is fabulous, because YOU don’t have to do too much, as long as your dog remembers the “bring
it back” part of the game. Jogging or biking is good, as long as you get your veterinarian’s approval
first. Severely overweight dogs should not start off with too vigorous activity right away. (On a
slightly different topic, dogs under a year old shouldn’t be doing any serious running, as their joints
are not yet fully developed.) If your dog doesn’t fetch, you can try going to an off-leash dog park or
other securely fenced area where he can run with other dogs, or play in some other manner that is
more of an exertion than a people-paced leash walk. If you have access to a pool or safe, clean body
of water, swimming is a great form of exercise for an overweight dog, as it doesn’t stress the joints.
Cats, naturally, are more difficult to exercise. To encourage solo play, cat furniture or dangling toys
might be a good option. If your cat isn’t attracted to such toys, try tempting them by applying some
catnip or by sitting and interacting with them using the toy. There are also battery operated toys,
such as a running mouse or a base with a feather toy on a stick, that will entice the cat. You might
try using a portion of the cat’s daily food portion as a “hunt and eat” game. Get kitty’s attention and
then toss a kernel of food across the room. The goal is to get him to chase the food, then “attack”
and devour it. Use those feline predatory instincts! It’s the same food he was going to have in his
bowl, but he did a little work for it, and you are interacting with your pet… an added benefit!
In short, anything you can do to get your pet to move around when he’d otherwise be lying around,
or to increase low-level activity to a higher intensity activity, will be beneficial.
Weigh your pet regularly! After implementing your pet’s weight loss program, weigh him or her
every two weeks. It can be difficult to judge whether there has been any weight loss/gain when you
see your pet every day, so monitoring that scale will be important. As long as you’re seeing weight
loss, great! Just remember that pet weight loss will plateau just as our own sometimes does.
However, you shouldn’t see any weight increases along the way. If you stop seeing weight loss and
haven’t yet achieved the goal weight, decrease the food intake slightly, and increase the exercise.
Remember to recheck with your veterinarian regularly, and to report any significant changes in
appetite, activity, urinary or bowel habits, skin/coat condition, etc., immediately.