Weight Loss and Your Pet

Like many of us, a number of our companion animals struggle with weight problems. Those extra pounds can lead to a variety of weight-related medical problems including diabetes, arthritis and heart disease.  So what can be done to lose the extra weight and keep our companions fit and trim?

One way to decrease their weight and improve their fitness is by burning calories through exercise. Make sure to consult with us before beginning an exercise program with your pet, especially if weight related problems like arthritis or other health issues are present. Also beware of the “weekend warrior” syndrome. The overweight dog that spends most of the week lying on the couch may not be up for a five mile run on Saturday and Sunday. This can result in sore muscles and joints and even lead to serious injury.

For those animals that enjoy the water, swimming is often a good exercise choice as the water supports some of their weight while also providing more resistance for their muscles to work against. Again, check with us to see if this would be an appropriate activity.

While increasing your pet’s activity is important, usually calorie reduction is required as well. The first step is to reduce or eliminate any calories coming from treats. Fatty table foods, especially, should be avoided as these can lead to pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas resulting in vomiting and a painful abdomen) as well as obesity. For a list of the calories in some commonly fed treats as well as some low-cal alternative for dogs, please click here. For a list of the calories in some common fed treats for cats, please click here.

When cutting back on treats does not provide enough calorie reduction to result in weight loss, then it’s time to change how you feed them.

A common question is how much to feed your pet in order to achieve weight loss while preventing hunger at the same time. This can vary greatly depending on the type of food. In general, when factoring in the activity level of many pets, most pet food labels tend to over-estimate how much to feed by as much as 20-25%. Take this into account when figuring out how much your pet should eat during the day.

If your pet seems hungry or is begging for food, you may find that they tolerate a diet change better if their feedings are spread out through the day.  By the time they are hungry again, it’s time for more food. For example, if your pet’s daily allotment is two cups of food, rather than feeding them one cup twice daily you could feed four smaller half-cup meals.

If your schedule will not allow for four or five feedings you could feed one larger meal once daily and two smaller ones later in the day. As long as the total amount of calories fed daily is reduced, your pet should lose weight.

Other tools are available from us which can help maintain a healthy weight for your pet. Low-calorie prescription diets such as Purina CNM OM or Royal Canin Calorie Control high fiber add non-digestible fiber in order to reduce calories and satisfy hunger while helping pets to lose or maintain weight. As well, other diets are available for pets which have developed diabetes, arthritis or other weight related medical problems that also may help with weight loss. Depending on the patient, we may recommend blood tests to rule out common diseases associated with being overweight such as hypothyroidism or diabetes.

For animals that have difficulty losing weight, medications like Slentrol are available to help curb appetites and decrease dietary fat absorption and thereby make weight loss easier.

Any weight loss program is more successful if accompanied by periodic weigh-ins to monitor progress. If you have concerns about your pet’s weight, we welcome you to schedule an appointment for a health assessment and let us  customize a weight loss plan for your companion.