Managing your dog’s weight loss is a gradual process

QUESTION: I came to the realization that I’ve been neglecting my dog’s health by letting him gain weight to the point that he is now obese.

My dog is a six-year-old Shih Tzu and he weighs 22 pounds. I know that the habits he has are wrong. I now know it wasn’t a good decision, but since I got him I’ve been feeding him with an automatic feeder.

He eats whenever he pleases and I don’t know exactly how much each day. On top of that, I share my food with him, so he gets a lot of table scraps as treats. I know it is dangerous for him. I want to change his eating habits and improve the quality of his diet but I am not sure how to go about that.

Any suggestions?

Eylene, West Kelowna ANSWER: Good for you Eylene, for being proactive about your dog’s health condition.

The information you gave me is too vague to make specific recommendations — I can only give you a general guideline for your dog’s weight loss.

Personally, I am not a fan of automatic feeders. As you said, you don’t have any control or knowledge on how much food your dog is consuming. I recommend to my clients to feed their dogs twice a day, morning and evening. If you feed your dog commercial dog food, you should get a measuring cup of the specific brand you are using. Follow the chart on the food bag to know how many cups of food your dog should eat per day. Divide this total into the number of meals you are feeding your dog.

In order to get your dog to lose weight, your calculation should be based on the principle that the amount of food he will be getting per day will be for his target weight and not the current weight. The difference in the amount of food between the current and the target weight may be significant, therefore decrease the amount of food gradually over a period of about a month.

You can consider temporarily changing your dog’s food to a specific diet for weight loss. These diets may be very aggressive, they are usually very high in fiber — filling but low in fat and calories.

These diets are usually very good for a short period of time in order to achieve the desired weight loss but are not rich enough in nutrients for being a maintenance diet.

As a long term diet you can use some weight-control products (vs. weight-loss products). These products are still lighter than normal food but rich enough to supply the body’s requirements.

As for snacks, I recommend you use foods that are safe, healthy and low in calories such as carrots.

As with people, dogs also benefit from physical activity, and it is essential for weight loss and a healthy lifestyle. Make sure to fit the exercise to the dog’s physical ability. Start with mild walks and increase the duration and endurance of the workout gradually.

Closely inspect the influence and consequences of exercise on your dog. If your dog starts to limp or show other signs of being sore or uncomfortable, it might be too much for him and you should take it slower.

Having said all of that, I encourage you to take your dog to see your vet.

After weighing and examining your dog, the vet will classify his body condition and will determine a specific target weight. It is important to determine whether the weight gain originates from his eating habits and lifestyle or are due to a medical condition such as hormonal imbalances.

Weight loss is a gradual process. In order to do it safely it should be done slowly and the final result might take time to reach.

QUESTION: My six-year-old Lab loves to get into the garbage, therefore he often has episodes of upset stomach.

When it happens, I feed him i/d until his stomach settles. I find this food very helpful. I know this diet is considered a prescribed diet, but I was wondering if I could feed him this diet on a regular basis and if this is something you would recommend. Richard, West Kelowna ANSWER: Foods such as i/d (stands for Intestinal Diet), or other alternative brands manufactured by other food companies, is as you said, a prescribed diet that is easy to digest.

You most certainly can use this as your dog’s primary nutrition. This diet is rich enough and meets pets’ nutritional requirements.

However, please note, that because this is a prescribed diet you can only find it in vet offices and not in pet stores.

Dr. Noa Oz is a local veterinarian at Rose Valley Veterinary Hospital in West Kelowna.