Veterinarian reveals her top tips to help your dog lose weight

A vet has revealed how you can help your dog overcome excess weight and shed some pounds.

Cat, a vet living in the UK, increased her TikTok to share her tips with her 325,000 followers.

She said, “The first thing I think is really important to do is calculate how many calories your dog needs per day.

“And what we’re aiming for is the calorie requirement for the weight we want them to be, not the weight they actually are.”

“If you go to the Pet Nutrition Alliance website and go to Google’s calorie calculator, you’ll find this calorie calculator that you can use yourself.

“Or if you call the local vet, they often have veterinary nurses who are specially trained to sort it out for you.”

‘Then, of course, we have to find out how many calories are actually in their food.

‘Now some brands write this on the package, but some companies you have to call.

“Of course most good companies have nutrition guides on the back of the package.”

Cat says to be very precise about weight loss for your furry friend – counting calories is the way forward.

She then reveals that you should weigh your dog’s daily food to see if they are getting the correct amount.

She said: ‘Using cups or using eyes just isn’t accurate enough and everyone errs on the side of generosity.

‘So buy cheap digital scales, they are not very expensive, it doesn’t take long and you can know very precisely how much your pet actually eats.

Cat then says there’s a problem with cutting calories – you’ll cut their nutrition too.

She says this is especially a problem if your dog is particularly heavy — which is classified as a seven out of nine body score.

“That’s where these specialized weight loss diets come in. They are designed to be lower in calories, but still give your dog the nutrition they need to live and thrive,” said the vet.

She then put a few brands of dog food in the picture that offer this specialist food.

“Almost as important as what we feed them is how we feed them,” Cat continued.

‘With puzzle balls or sniffing mats or just grab their kibble and scatter it on the kitchen floor or garden.

“Anything that makes meals a little more interesting, takes energy, gets their minds going, and takes a little longer to eat is absolutely perfect.”

Cat then says her other top tip is to break up your dog’s meals so they have smaller portions throughout the day.

She said, “It keeps them interested, it also keeps their metabolism going.”

In terms of treats, the vet said, “often this is where the excess calories really come in.”

“It’s very important to keep treats you give to less than ten percent of that daily calorie ration.

“And you might consider omitting those cookies for something much lower in calories, like green vegetables.”

‘Dogs will often be very happy to eat it, or watermelon is another brilliant, tasty snack that can look like they’re getting something really special, but it actually has no calories at all.

And we’re all guilty of giving treats when our dogs really want our love and attention.

“So taking five minutes to play quickly will really make a difference, both because they’re not taking in any calories and burning some at the same time.”

Users took to the comments section to discuss their thoughts and also shared their own tips.

One user wrote, “I’ve had spaniels for over 10 years and their food is weighed every day, morning and night!”

Another said, “I give free food and my dog ​​maintains a perfect weight. always worked for me. if you plant, they will eat anything. Free feed, they eat what they need.’

A third wrote, “Our 14-year-old border collie was placed on a scientific metabolic diet. We wanted her to lean to help with arthritis.”

A fourth commented, “My cat is a kibble but needs to be fed urine, so I have to ration them.”