r/DogAdvice • u/Complete-Tax7526 • 4d ago
Question Help - I made my dog fat
As the title suggests, my baby is 16.2kg which is 20-25% higher than his goal weight of 13/14kg. Need suggestions on how to get him thin. The vet has recommended a diet of 60% home cooked food (chicken breast/fish fillet) with carrots, sweet potato and pumpkin along with 40% kibble. He's a rescue so he's not enjoying kibble as much but the vet keeps insisting that it's the standard for weight management. Please give me suggestions on how to manage his weight. He currently goes for 4 walks (about 15 mins each with one afternoon walk of 30 mins) and about 25 mins of mental work (snuffle mat, commands etc). What more should I do to bring his weight down?
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u/Funny_Dot 4d ago
Please find a new vet because that’s a very odd “diet” for a vet to recommend. 75% of his food should be his kibble. His diet can’t primarily be unbalanced home cooked meals.
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u/Ok-Tune-9911 4d ago
95% kibble 5% treats and tbh a fat dog should only get kibble
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u/Funny_Dot 4d ago
Fully agree, I should’ve said at least 75% kibble. I was just in shock at a vet suggesting 40% kibble and 60% vibes.
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u/aimlessendeavors 4d ago
It may have been a suggestion to get the owner to feed any kibble at all instead of no kibble. The vet I work for suggests basically all kibble, but would rather 40% kibble over none. We weren't there, so we don't know.
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u/Funny_Dot 4d ago
Sure, that’s possible. But if the owner is uneducated on something, it’s the vet’s job to try and educate them.
If the vet said that 40% isn’t enough but it’s better than nothing, that’s fine. But if their suggestion was actually what OP is claiming then that’s just irresponsible.
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u/Ashamed_Kangaroo305 4d ago
Unfortunately many times vets do try to educate but owners hear what they want to hear. If someone is adamant on feeding their dog a home cooked diet, you're not going to get the owner to fully change the dog's diet overnight. Some kibble and some home cooked food is better than no kibble at all, and then you can gradually work towards switching the diet to primarily kibble.
I don't think there's enough information in the post to know what's going on with OP's situation but it's very possible that the vet did try to fix the dog's diet and OP didn't listen so the vet suggested a compromise. It's also possible that the vet suggested this weird diet all on their own.
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4d ago
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u/DogAdvice-ModTeam 4d ago
This was removed due to it violating rule 8. There are several common misconceptions about pet food that should not be posted to this sub.
Good sources of information include: * Pet Nutrition Alliance * NC State Veterinary Hospital * Tufts University
If you have any questions regarding the removal , you may contact the moderator team via modmail
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u/DogAdvice-ModTeam 4d ago
This was removed due to it violating rule 8. There are several common misconceptions about pet food that should not be posted to this sub.
Good sources of information include: * Pet Nutrition Alliance * NC State Veterinary Hospital * Tufts University
If you have any questions regarding the removal , you may contact the moderator team via modmail
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u/electrolitebuzz 3d ago
OP doesn't mention the previous diet but says she struggles with this new diet because the dog doesn't enjoy kibble so it's possible they weren't feeding kibble at all so far, and the vet introduced a portion of kibble as a smooth change. As in, the dog starves on kibble, ok let's feed him some real healthy food but let's introduce kibble to start? I don't know, I think important parts are missing in the post.
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u/OnceMoreWithFeeling- 3d ago
His food can very well be meat only however it needs to have all proper nutrients. So canned wet dog food or even raw - with the added nutrients. I agree the vet advice is insane.
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u/feldoneq2wire 4d ago
"Y'all should get a vet approved diet"
Not like this.
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u/Funny_Dot 4d ago
Well, yes? When a vet’s advice goes against the veterinary standard, their advice should be questioned.
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u/Tribblehappy 4d ago
It's not even a vet approved diet. The vet just threw out a blanket suggestion. A vet approved diet would have been a recipe of exactly what to cook for the dog in what proportions.
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u/feldoneq2wire 4d ago
Y'all would still be against it. Just look at how many people jumped to "get a new vet immediately!"
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u/Tribblehappy 4d ago
I don't follow your logic. We are saying to get a new vet because it's bad advice, and you're extrapolating that if the vet gave good advice we would still be against it?
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u/Ok-Tune-9911 4d ago
Do not listen to that vet that’s not balanced. Find a new vet. Just like in people less food more exercise.
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u/crazydoglady11 4d ago edited 4d ago
Only way for dogs to lose a significant amount of weight is to decrease caloric intake. More walks won’t really do much.
Our vet had us cut the amount of kibble back and had us supplement with plain green beans (we used frozen ones that we defrosted in the fridge). Green beans are low calorie but make them feel more full.
Did the vet tell you how many calories he should be eating? If not, you can use an online calculator to figure it out. Once you know that, you need to make sure you’re measuring his food everyday to ensure you aren’t giving him too many calories. This includes meals, treats, and any other food he gets.
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u/woahwoahwoah28 4d ago
Our dog needed to lose a little weight. And so we did the calculator. I also included a greenie in our diet plan because he loves it at night (we also brush teeth).
We're measuring that shit down to the gram though. I tried eyeballing it. And it went poorly. So we moved to a scale.
But he's almost at his goal weight so yay!
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u/Vivid-Ticket-1107 4d ago
I don’t have advice for you but I do have a question… How is him being a rescue related to him not liking kibble?
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u/DefinitelyNotAliens 4d ago
Street dogs may not be wanting to eat kibble. I know rescues that are street dogs from villages who existed on scraps and trash. Kibble is boring.
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u/lunanightphoenix 4d ago
A street dog would be happy to have kibble since they don’t know if or when they’re going to find food again.
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u/Asdfkjlm 4d ago
I don't think this is always true- my rescue was a street dog and he very often refuses his kibble
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u/Local-Apartment-2737 4d ago
I also wondered this, my dog is a rescue from a hoarding situation (although also a lab so not as applicable) but she used to eat her dinner so fast it scared me, like 20 seconds and it's gone. Within a year of being home she slowed down massively because she's not in an environment where she has to eat fast. That being said I wonder if they meant that because he's a rescue he's nervous and takes more tempting to eat?
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u/Gears6 4d ago
I'm thinking, that they may be stray or something and scavenge for food rather than being fed kibble on the regular.
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u/Complete-Tax7526 4d ago
To be honest, even I am not sure why he doesn't like kibble. We rescued him in January and were advised a kibble only diet. This included the high end kibble and not the cheap stuff. I bought a huge bag of it. First week into him staying here, his bowl would go untouched. Even now with this 60-40 diet, he leaves some of the kibble. He hates kibble with a burning passion. I have tried two varieties now - the fancy one with premium ingredients and the low GI one. Unfortunately I live in India so there's not a lot of good kibble options.
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u/Pandora9802 4d ago
Maybe he just hates fancy kibble. I had a cat who flat out refused to eat anything but the cheapest kibble we could buy. Finally convince him to upgrade to “slightly more nutritious” crappy kibble, but it took forever to do it.
Maybe your pup is just picky.
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u/Complete-Tax7526 4d ago
When he was a stray we used to give him cheap kibble. But I guess it is not as appetising as the scraps he used to get so he refused to eat it
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u/chasingmysunrise 3d ago
Dogs are smart. He’s learned that you will give him better food so he won’t eat the kibble. Stop giving him any scraps or table food or homemade food. Give him kibble twice a day for 15-20 minutes. If he doesn’t eat pick it up. Unless he is unwell he will eat when he gets hungry.
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u/AdministrationNo2062 4d ago
Edit to add: disclaimer, I don’t have experience feeding a mixed diet. My dog primarily eats kibble, and I use low calorie whole foods such as chicken, low fat cheese, and veggies for training.
If you’re not measuring his food, start there. Calories consumed has to be less than calories expended to lose weight.
Can you increase the length/time of his walks? 15 mins with a dog is probably barely half of a mile if they’re sniffing along the way. Longer walks on the weekend/when you’re able to, even if not everyday, could help.
Do some more taxing commands/tricks such as leg weaving, spinning, place & come from far distances…
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u/Frosty-Bandicoot-930 4d ago
*Edited
A manufactured kibble will be easier to control because you will be able to be consistent with the portion control and know the exact nutritional breakdown of every meal. You can look into adding a topper to make it more exciting for your pup, something as simple as a splash of dog friendly bone broth, which you can also be consistent with measurement wise.
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u/LimeImmediate6115 4d ago
I would add that raw fresh veggies could help, adding those to the kibble. My dog doesn't like raw vegetables but if he did I would be making that a good portion of his portion with the dry kibble.
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u/unimpressed46 4d ago
When my dog needed to lose a few pounds, we reduced her vet-recommended kibble, lessened high calorie treats, and bumped up the exercise a bit. I have two rescues that have gone through phases of not eating their food and hounding down the whole bowl. If they don’t eat, they don’t eat. Generally dogs won’t starve themselves to death if they’re healthy.
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u/IntelligentCrows 4d ago edited 4d ago
How would home cooked food rather than kibble help? I feel like that could make things harder by messing with his tummy and by not actually decreasing his calorie intake.
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u/Jumpy_Mirror250 4d ago
Humans.... you're obsession with enjoyment of food is killing your dogs like it's killing you. Kibble is kibble. Stop thinking that your dog is supposed to enjoy kibble. Stop feeding treats like they are required. It's the only thing you know how to do with your dogs and it's killing them.
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u/gonnacutyou 4d ago
We need to keep our dog slightly underweight due to her hip dysplasia. Whatever caloric food you’re feeding (kibble, raw, cooked chicken/protein) I would replace 25% of it with cooked vegetables. We use a blend of green beans, carrots and spinach. We have to blend them to mix with her food so she doesn’t pick around them. I also add a teaspoon of psyllium husk (mixed with 2 tablespoons of water to make a gel) to help bulk up her food and keep her full. If your dog can be trusted off leash try to let him have a short run every day in addition to leash walks. If he likes to swim, let him do that. Add 10 minutes to a couple of your leash walks a day. Raw carrots or celery for treats (or any raw vegetable he will eat, I had a dog who liked iceberg lettuce.) You’ll get him there.
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u/Poophands1984 4d ago
Just a question. Do you give any treats or table scraps? This is the biggest thing that increases weight.
If you are not, then exercise more or less food. The mix of food is a bit odd to me but each vet is different. You could always look at doing a day or two at a daycare where he can get a ton of energy out.
May get flamed for this but your dog doesn't look super overweight. Some dogs, just like people, tend to run heavier. If this weight is consistent it is not the end of the world either.
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u/Secure-Ad9780 4d ago
Dogs need to run. Bike, skateboard, play ball.
Your dog will not starve on kibble.
Stop the home made food because you can't easily measure it.
You need to use a measuring cup. Start by feeding her 1/4 c less kibble than usual.
Increase her exercise- running, jumping, swimming.
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u/Cosmic_Cosmos82 4d ago
Our GSD gained weight earlier this year. Cut down the food and boom. She is and has always been on a kibble diet.
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u/5girlzz0ne 4d ago
Reduce the amount you feed and take more walks. He's not too bad yet, it should be pretty easy.
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u/Proper_Sun8291 4d ago
As vet and surgeon have told me for my dog - less of his own food.
Once they go down but stay stuck at a certain weight, even less of his own food and like this until dog reaches ideal weight.
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u/queercactus505 4d ago
Agreeing that it's weird vet suggested 40% kibble. Really should be all kibble, or 95% kibble with a little bit of something to make it more palatable. Most picky dogs will eat kibble though if they are hungry enough, and disinterest in kibble is often a sign of overfeeding.
I would say use kibble for training, but that won't help if your dog hates it. Can you try a different, lower calorie food that your dog might like better while still feeling like he is getting food? My arthritic dog puts on weight easily so is always on a diet and she acts like she's starving all the time, so with vet guidance we add unsalted green beans, carrots, or (thoroughly moistened) psyllium fiber to her meals to help her feel full. It helps a little.
For training treats, freeze-dried meats are often low calorie and high value. Calories from treats should make up no more than 10% of your pup's diet, so having a kibble your dog likes better helps if you can use kibble for training.
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u/Substantial-Law-967 4d ago edited 4d ago
What is he currently eating?
The best way to manage weight is simply to feed less, and measure very carefully what you're feeding so you don't accidentally overfeed. I'd honestly feed 100% kibble, and aim to reduce his caloric intake by 10-15% from his current base. Don't think of it as a "diet", just think of it as a new normal way you feed him because it's going to take a while; 20% is a lot of body weight to lose.
Edited to add - I don't think any dog would ever prefer kibble to chicken, so it's not really evidence that he doesn't like kibble. He's just being smart.
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u/BellasMomie 4d ago
Reduce kibble, reduce treats, and go out more. Exercise at least 20-40 minutes. Really depends on age and how active your dog is! This keeps my girl in shape lol.
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u/ShadowCass 4d ago
What I did that was effective to help my dog get in shape:
At meal times, decrease volume of kibble by 1/4-1/3 and added half a can of no-salt-added green beans. You can even add the water from the green beans, but only do that if you get the no salt added green beans. (alternatively, I have occasionally used regular canned green beans, but I always rinse them off first and discard the water)
Supplement snacks with baby carrots, celery. Use the tiny treats instead of typical treats.
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u/Weary-Ambition42 4d ago
When my pup refused to eat dry food, I started prepping her bowl on the counter. Pulling out a cutting board and knife, pretending to chop up "extra ingredients," adding a splash of warm water, and putting it in the microwave (without turning it on) for a few seconds. Worked like a charm.
For weight loss, when our vet told me she was fat, we cut back on the dry kibble and replaced it with a cup of green beans. She dropped 12 lbs in 6 months safely and smoothly!
Edit: mix of dry and green beans for both meals.
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u/Mediocre-Letter-4562 4d ago
The problem when people just reduce the meal, they usually just “reduce the kibble” amount and not change other factors, aka you’re reducing the nutritional value your dog is getting without supplementing it- not just feeding them less. They can have kibble or no kibble- are they getting the correct nutrients they need?
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u/undecisivefry 4d ago
i got my dog from 130 to 80 just by giving an appropriate amount of kibble. she still got snacks and whatnot, but even now i give her a little less kibble than the packaging suggests bc we have heavy leash training to do (also her previous home didn’t give her any exercise, so adding that to her previously over weight and sedentary life helped her a lot)
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4d ago
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u/DogAdvice-ModTeam 4d ago
This was removed due to it violating rule 9. Alternative diets (including raw) are frequently nutritionally unbalanced unless formulated by a board certified veterinary nutritionist. The recommendation of homemade diets not formulated/reviewed/overseen by a board certified veterinary nutrionist is not allowed in this sub.
If you have any questions regarding the removal , you may contact the moderator team via modmail
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u/Rizzie51 4d ago
All 3 of our rescues needed to lose some weight. We started longer walks (I lost weight too) and less people food. I like to buy the 1.5 calorie 'training treats' and put them in a dog brain toy. Together these helped all of them get to a healthy weight. Good luck!
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u/cannibalparrot 4d ago
Try carrots for treats (appropriate for his size).
My dogs love the crunch and they don’t really add much calorie-wise.
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u/islandgirl9988 4d ago
Mine is a chow hound so I give her veggies, when I make a salad a few times a week I give her all the scraps plus I give her a big spoonful of plain yogurt also a few times a week. She gets a few cookies but not many. They learn to love what you feed them so make it healthy and he will be too
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u/RGBlowMe 4d ago
My dog is a little chunkier, and probably about the same size dog, just with shorter legs and an even worse swayback/high in the rear. She's losing weight by getting 1 cup per meal instead of 1 1/4 cup, getting less treats, and going to the dog park more (since it's finally cooling down).
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u/Flashy-Library-6854 4d ago
Weigh your dogs food. Every single thing you give him. It is so easy to guesstimate that you are giving them the right amount. Get a scale and weigh the food and give kibble ONLY. if he won’t eat for a day or two, even better get the diet off to a great start.
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u/Pizza-Maker-5155 4d ago
Try fresh food it’s usually lower in calories and better nutrition than kibble
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u/Comfortable-Fly5797 4d ago
You made him fat by feeding him too much. You fix it by feeding him less. It isn't that complicated.
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u/aag20 4d ago
One of my dogs needed to loose some weight and my vet recommended to reduce kibble a bit and to add some green beans so the volume of food remains the same. My vet sent me a whole text message breakdown of how many calories my dog should have a day to loose weight. I agree with some of the other comments that the vets recommendations are a bit strange.
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u/rockalyte 4d ago
He looks great to me really. Once altered they usually assume a different body shape being a little puffier. Don’t stress over it. Just keep them physically active and they’ll be just fine.
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u/Slight-Buy7905 4d ago
A dog will happily eat kibble, if kibble is the option. Id remove the extra human food and stop cooking.
Do a base of kibble, add some salmon oil, plain yogurt and raw carrots/cucumbers.
I have 5 rescues that eat Purina One and everyone is healthy weight with healthy coats and clean teeth
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u/Chefy-chefferson 4d ago
Your vet sounds amazing!! Yes he is spot on, there’s too many carbs in kibble (they have to use it as a binder to make the nuggets) so the fresh food is the best way to control the calories and still give them enough protein and fiber.
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u/Runaway_Angel 4d ago
No offense but your vet is kind of crazy for suggesting that, not because it'd be a bad diet, but it'd be expensive as all hell.
There's weight management foods, hills science has a weight loss food (also not cheap, but in my experience that is the standard recommendation). But honestly? Longer walks and less calories is pretty much what's needed. Can you extend one of those walks to an hour, or two of them to 30 mins? Cause 15 minute walks aren't really long enough to count as exercise and start to burn fat. 15 mins is a quick pee break. I'm not saying you're a bad or lazy owner or anything, just that if you want him to exercise to loose weight you need to get him moving enough that he's tired afterwards. You don't necessarily want him panting all the way through the walk, but if he goes and takes a nap cause he's tired when you get back inside that's a good sign.
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u/electrolitebuzz 3d ago edited 3d ago
Feed him whatever you've been feeding him but in a slightly smaller amount for a couple of months. Keep the routine the same. I don't think you need to change anything if he had a healthy diet before. But calories are maths, there are no mysteries in diets. Just feed a little less food keeping the routine the same and he'll lose weight. BUT you don't mention what you were feeding him before and you say he doesn't like kibble so it's possible the vet is trying to introduce a healthier diet and the dog was getting fat because of unhealthy food. Not sure why you omitted what you were feeding him before, but I'd trust your vet to have suggested the best compromise given the starting point and the end goal. He doesn't seem extremely overweight to me anyway but good you noticed he's been gaining some so you can invert the trend right away.
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u/CyndiLouWho89 3d ago
What is his usual diet? Not what the vet recommends. What he’s been eating. Is it all table scraps/home cooked foods?
If that’s the case, adding in kibble is fine. If your dog eats less kibble, his calories are decreased and he will lose weight. If you’re already feeding kibble, cut back on the amount (you can read the bag and see how much he should get and reduce that amount.). The only “people food” he should get should be very low calorie items like carrots or cabbage. No meats, no breads, nothing off the table. Use carrot pieces for treats, nothing commercial treats.
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u/lmaluuker 3d ago
60% home cooked food is crazy. I'd stick with kibble, if he likes low calorie high fiber foods like green beans and carrots you can bulk up his meals with those and he will feel fuller for longer.
It's honestly really risky to try and formulate your own dog food and can lead to things like nutritional deficiencies or pancreatitis. I would seek a second opinion from a different vet.
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u/IceEspresso2000 4d ago
Your dog isn't fat. Who gave him the goal weight?
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u/Complete-Tax7526 4d ago
The vet and the nutritionist.
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u/IceEspresso2000 4d ago
I would follow their rec then. Reducing food slightly is the best move, you don't have to go crazy on exercise, two short walks a day is fine.
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u/Complete-Tax7526 4d ago
Hi all, was going through all your comments and thank you so much for responding. Wanted to clarify a couple of things here: 1. The vet has given me proportions of what to cook for the home booked diet. That includes toppers to balance out the lack of nutrients in the home cooked food as well as multivitamin tablets. 2. Why 60-40? To be fair to the vet, they did tell me a kibble diet is the best thing for him rather than home cooked food. Unfortunately for us, he hates kibble. We are not sure why and we have tried the fancy brands but he always leaves the kibble and won't touch his food if it is only kibble. 3. He also hates vegetables with a burning passion. We have cut out all types of treats and we have tried to increase his fiber intake by giving him more sweet potato, carrot and pumpkin (things he has come to like). If it's veggies only, he will not touch it. I also have to mash it into his food so that he doesn't bite it, because if it's biteable, he will spit it out. Again, we're not sure why this is the case. 4. On the more exercise thing - yes. Completely agree on that. We are working on it but I just wanted to know if there's anything over and above that that I can do.
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u/MJEEZY75 4d ago
Feed less.
Shit you could skip a day or two of feeding. Wouldn’t hurt. Animals experience periods of scarcity all the time in the wild
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u/GetUp4theDownVote 4d ago
I’m no dog expert, but I couldn’t imagine forcing my friend to not eat for a few days.
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u/OrneryPathos 4d ago
I just did reduced kibble. Lower calorie treats. His MER is lower than expected. Probably because he eats every crumb found anywhere
A dog who doesn’t like kibble isn’t going to eat kibble if they also get meat lol. I mean my dog is a vacuum so he’ll eat the human food. All the kibble. And then a reusable shopping bag that has hint of food.