My dog needs to lose weight. Is her veggie diet enough protein?

Specialist weight management diets have been specifically formulated to provide all of the required nutrients in a less calorie dense formula to ensure all needs are met, whilst also promoting weight loss and maintaining healthy muscle mass. Simply restricting the portions of a regular food can potentially result in dietary deficiencies over time but can also lead the brain into not losing weight as the body is under-fed leading to rentention of fat reserves etc. Your vet or vet tech can help prescribe the appropriate amount to be fed in relation to exercise levels, current weight and target weight as well as advising on appropriate adjustments for treats/extras included in the diet

Interesting question! There are no hard and fast rules here and ut depends on the quality of protein and amount which is digested/absorbed, the lifestyle of the dog and any medical conditions, illness or injury. Maintenance diets in healthy pets are often lower in protein, injury, illness and intense exercise such as agility would require an increase in intake. Obesity is a concern and if Chloe is maintaining a kean, healthy weight i would not be concerned about changing her diet

Hi there and thank you for using Pet Coach! I have had great luck with using Natural Balance Fat Dog formula as well as Science Diet Adult Perfect Weight. I would remove all treats and only use her food as a treat instead. If she is not losing weight on either of these foods within 2-3 months, I would talk to your veterinarian to discuss other options such as thyroid testing and prescription weight loss food. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Kira. She does appear overweight based on your pictures. You want her to have only a thin covering over her ribs. They should be easily felt when you pet her side. Then she should have a defined waist from both the top and side views. I recommend using a weight loss formula from Purina ProPlan or Royal Canin. I would stop feeding the raw meat as it not properly balanced for dogs and carries a high risk spreading disease to dogs and people. I hope this information helps!

It can be hard for owners to know what a good weight is for a pet. So many pets we see on a daily basis on overeeight so it skews our perception. In determining if a pet is at a healthy weight, I look at three things. There should be a thin covering over the ribs (you don't want to be digging through a fat covering to feel them). There should be a distinct waist when viewed from the top and the abdomen needs to tug up tightly from the side view. You only want a dog to lose 1-2% of its body weight per week . Tbis5 is only about one third of a pound at Scrappy's current weight. As long as Scrappy doesn't have any underlying kidney disease the protein content of this diet is fine. You can offer ice cubes, fresh carrots or green beans for low calorie snacks. Make sure he gets plenty of exercise. It sounds like you are off to a good start. Keep it up!

Hi. Great job trying to get some weight off of her. A few recommendations....pets are NOT vegan. So it is not recommended for pets to be on this type of diet. If there is a food allergy, she should be on a prescription dog food prescribed by your veterinarian. Pets are usually 93% of the time allergic to the protein source, not carbs. So chicken or beef, etc. Therefore, a different protein source such as fish or other novel proteins are recommended. With weight problems, you will want to cut back, or stop all treats and people food. Some pets don't lose weight if they have metabolic or endocrine conditions. The most common is a low thyroid. So getting her thyroid checked is an important step. Also increase exercise as much as possible. Lastly, have your veterinarian give you a recommendation bases on weight for the amount of dog food she should have per day. Good luck.

Weight loss in pets is similar to weight loss in people. They need reduced calories and more exercise. Here is a great link about weight loss in pets: https://www.petcoach.co/article/weight-loss-programs/ You can't just go by the numbers on the scale. It is most important to assess Pavi's body condition score: https://www.petcoach.co/article/how-do-i-determine-if-my-dog-is-overweight/ Also, I'm not sure if this is a home made diet or a commercial diet. Especially with a home made diet, it is very important to make sure the diet is balanced. https://www.petcoach.co/article/how-to-create-a-balanced-homemade-diet-for-your-pet/ You may want to post again about what you are feeding, how much you are feeding, how over weight Pavi is and what her daily exercise is like. I hope this helps.