He only gets one meal a day!

He will not eat diet foods, he does not like them!

If I fed him any less, he would starve to death!

Look at those lovely eyes, they seem to lift the food from the cupboard themselves!


Over the last 25 years, I have listened to so many reasons why people have overweight dogs. The problem is getting worse, with more and more dogs diagnosed as obese. The sad fact is that often the most caring and loving owners have the fattest dogs. Obesity leads to many health problems. Life just isn't fair!

Why do dogs become overweight?

The answer to this question is superficially very simple, yet the underlying factors are often very complex, as are the solutions.  Basically if the energy content of the food intake is surplus to requirements, some of it goes into storage. When the body "decides" to store energy, it lays down fat. All the excess fat we can see and feel is there because of eating too much. Some foods are distinctly more likely to lead to obesity than others (more about that later), but in the end it boils down to eating too much. It does not matter if you are a dog, a cat, a person or a hairy-nosed wombat, if you eat too much, you will be fat, if you eat less, you will be thinner. The difficult part is to enjoy eating well, and not eat too much. It is possible, but there are some rules to follow...

Why do some dogs eat too much? Why is my dog always hungry?

There are a few different reasons why this happens, and only some of them are relevant to any particular dog. Lets take a look at some of these "contributory factors":-
  • Commercial dog foods - the flavour. There is a whole world of difference between the diet of our modern pooches and that of their wild ancestors.  But this is not completely wrong. Many modern dogs would not survive on a completely "natural" diet anyway. Most dogs which tried it would not last long into old age either.  So what is wrong with modern diets? Many of them are actually marvellous in many ways. Vitamin and mineral deficiencies or imbalances are largely a thing of the past. The main problem is that they are designed to taste too good. If your dog is not keen to eat a certain brand of food, you will probably buy something else. If your dog loves his food, you will tend to share his happiness, and keep buying that food. This is a very important fact to dog food manufacturers and retailers. The more tasty the food, the more it will sell. The more it sells, the more money made by the suppliers. They need to sell foods which taste far nicer than is healthy, or that diet will fail in the market place and disappear without trace.  Dried (kibbled) diets are specially coated with all sorts of amazing things. Moist foods are usually full of exciting flavours. Dog food has to taste artificially too good, or you would not be able to buy it.
  • Commercial dog foods - the nutritional analysis. The impact of this is less well understood, and more controversial. One of the features of many modern dog foods is the high carbohydrate content. This is an interesting point, because "carbs" are not particularly high in energy. They contain about as much energy as protein, and much less than fats and oils. Their inclusion in dog food is often regarded as unimportant. Dogs usually digest carbs easily (as indeed we people do). Wild living ancestral dogs would not have been strict carnivores. They would have consumed a moderate amount of plant material, either directly or within the guts of their prey, so it can be argued that plant products should be included in dog food. However that is not the same as the processed starch which is included in many dog foods. A significant cereal content seems to be required for the production process of kibbles. Along with their cheapness and ready availability, that makes for some powerful reasons for manufacturers to include plenty of cereal in dog foods, without any regard to what makes nutritional sense. Many modern foods are between 40% and 75% carbohydrate. The diet of ancestral dogs has been estimated to have contained maybe 10-15% carbohydrate, and only a little of that would have been starch from cereal grains. (Before mankind began farming a few thousand years ago, cereals would have been dramatically less prominent in human diets, let alone canine diets.) I think of carbohydrate as the "vehicle" used to transport energy into the body. The energy it contains directly is part of the story, but carbs are the filler used to enable larger amounts of protein and fat to be eaten, before satiety (the feeling of "fullness") takes over. It does seem that high carbohydrate diets tend to be associated with increased hunger in dogs (and cats, and people too, but that is another story ). Foods based on protein, fat and fibre are much less fattening, mostly because they are more "filling".
  • Natural "greediness". This definitely varies enormously between different individual dogs. It is influenced by the type of food given, but the "base line" varies from dog to dog. Some will never seem to eat a good meal, whatever they are given. Caring owners can be desperately concerned when their dog seems to eat hardly anything at all. If these dogs are bright and active, they might be "lean" but they are usually in the peak of good health. These owners do not realise how lucky they are. Most dogs however are more greedy than this, some are pure gluttons. I have had to deal with a few dogs which waddled slowly into the consulting room, looking like barrels because they got into the feed bin and just did not stop! A dogs stomach is capable of impressive distension if really pushed. This needs to be taken into account. If you have a greedy dog, you might need to accept that he will always be hungry, no matter how or what you feed him. Therefore you have a choice. Keep his food sensibly restricted and keep him healthy but hungry, or keep him contentedly full and unhealthily fat. This is an important choice which needs to be actively considered by many owners of overweight dogs. What is important to you, and how much do you care about being healthy? Is a hungry dog unhappy, or is this just a natural way for many dogs to be? Some dogs are just designed to be hungry. They will only be overweight if this hunger is indulged. 
  • Activity levels. The amount of exercise your dog gets is very important. Exercise burns off energy which otherwise might go into storage, but this is only part of the story. Exercise can provide mental stimulation too. Boredom plays a part in over-eating, and an active dog will not be begging for food for something to do. For some dogs, the main interactions which occur between dog and owner revolve around food. When these dogs want attention and some excitement, they ask for food. That is the most rewarding interaction they are used to receiving, so that is what they will seek. Ideally the most excitement should come from stimulating exercise. Playing with your dog, or enjoying interesting walks together, helps on so many levels it is impossible to measure. Make sure you get out and do stuff with your dog. It is worth so much.
  •  Neutered (spayed or castrated). These surgical procedures change the hormonal balance in the body. This affects bodyweight in two ways. Firstly it changes the body's metabolism, so that less food is required on a daily basis to maintain a normal body weight. Secondly, and rather curiously, many dogs are more hungry as a result of this hormonal change. They want to eat more, even though they actually need to eat less. These are unhelpful changes and for some dogs the whole neutering process needs to be questioned. That said, many dogs are on balance best neutered, so the potential effects on bodyweight need to be taken into account.
  • Overly generous owner. This is always part of the problem, though many owners genuinely cannot see it for themselves. So often I have been in conversation with an owner who recognises that their dog is overweight, would like him to be slimmer, but cannot bring themselves to give less, or stop the tasty treats. Sometimes they will try a healthier diet, such as a commercial weight reduction diet, but soon give up because their dog "does not like it".  This can be the biggest hurdle to get over. What we want is for this dog to eat less. You give him rather boring food and he chooses to eat less, but you feel sorry for him and want to give the food which he enjoyed gorging on. We want our dogs to enjoy their food, so we find a food they enjoy eating to excess, then we provide it to excess, then we regret that they are fat! If we give a boring diet, they eat less and are healthier, but we feel sorry for them and give stuff which they enjoy, so they eat more, and get fat! Somewhere there has to be recognition of the fact that to be thinner, less food must go in. There is no point in looking for foods which stimulate our dogs to eat lots and lots, then blame the food for making them fat. We need to feed less.
  • So how much should I feed my dog? This is also a question with a simple answer, but sometimes it is too difficult to do. The correct amount of food to give is the amount which produces the correct body weight. As long as the food is essentially of good quality and well balanced, then if the dog is too fat, he is eating too much. The diet manufactures cause a lot of the problem here by providing over-generous  guidelines. They are in the business of selling food. If every dog eats 10% more than it should, they take 10% more money. Different dogs need different amounts. The manufacturers tend to set the expectation a bit too high for some dogs, and way too high for the rest! Caring dog owners hate to think that their dog is not eating enough, so giving much less can be a difficult idea to accept. However as long as he is bright and active and eating good quality food, it is safe to give less if your dog is not losing weight.  It is sensible to aim for about 1% loss in bodyweight per week. This is a small amount so you might not notice anything in just 1 week, but over a period of a few weeks, you should usually aim for about 1% per week. If the weight is not coming off, you need to feed less. ( Note however that if there are any other signs of ill health, such as excessive thirst or lethargy, then your vet needs to check things out before you persist with a diet which is not working. Sometimes a medical problem might be involved such as hypothyroidism or Cushing's disease.)
  • So what type of food should I feed my dog? How often should I feed my dog? The type of food is important, but not the complete answer. Many people are looking for the perfect diet to feed their dog, blaming the current one for whatever has gone wrong up to now. Diet always plays a part, but most dogs are remarkably versatile in their requirements and many different diets can suit them. Undoubtedly a low carbohydrate, high protein and high fat diet would be more natural than most commercial diets. This type of diet tends to stimulate less hunger than the high carbohydrate diets. If high levels of fibre (Including fermentable fibre) are also included, then your dog will probably take in less total energy, so lose weight better. In fact on a diet like this, most dogs are much less likely to put on weight in the first place, because they just eat less. Kibbled food almost always contains more carbohydrate than is ideal. They are easy and cheap, and you might not have any choice, but there are better foods to give if you can manage it. If you do feed kibbled food, bear in mind that your dog will probably seem to be "artificially" hungry all the time, so be prepared to restrict the amount you give. Weigh your dog once a week, adjusting the amount according to his weight. You might need your vet to advise you what weight you should aim for. Then feed to achieve and maintain this weight.  If you feed dried food, It is best to find a container which when filled up contains the right amount of food you want to give in the whole day. Fill it up in the morning, then give all the food your dog gets throughout the day, from this container. It should be at least 2 meals per day, ideally 4 or more, but whatever you do, always feed from the container you measured at the beginning of the day. If you "need" to give any treats during the day, they can be from this container too. That way you can see the total amount which is going to be eaten over the whole day - there is much less scope to slip in a bit extra. Just try and be honest with yourself about it. It is all for a good reason:
  • What is wrong with my dog being fat, at least he is happy? Your dog will be happier if he can avoid arthritis, heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers. All of these conditions are much more common in overweight dogs. Lean dogs tend to be much brighter, more alert and enjoy meaningful interaction with their owners, rather than being preoccupied with just food. Some dogs are easy, some are difficult, but all dogs would be better off for being a healthy body weight. They rely on us to do our best for them. None of the above is rocket science. It really does work. If your dog is overweight, feed less. Surely it is not too difficult?



Article written by:
John Cousins BVSc MRCVS - A veterinary surgeon from VioVet - Online Pet Store & Pharmacy.

The article reflects the opinions of the author and should only be used as a guide. It can only be taken in conjunction with advice from your vet. No liability is accepted for accuracy of content or any other matter.

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