It’s an either/or proposition: either your dog is overweight, or he’s not. A fit dog who weighs just the right amount looks like an Olympic runner—he’s all skin, bone, and muscle. A thin body, for dogs as for humans, is easiest on the joints and bones—and on the food budget!
The easiest way to test if your dog is overweight is to feel the ribs. They should be right there at the surface and hard to the touch. The waist should be very thin, too. A healthy dog is skinny!
If your dog is skinny, you’re doing something—a lot of things—right. The secret to healthy weight is the same for dogs as for humans:
- Lots of exercise
- Healthy food choice
- Portion control
Exercise and food choices are covered elsewhere, but so let me just say a bit here about portion control.
Let your dog’s body tell you how much he should eat. If you’re feeding packaged food, start with what it says on the package. If you’re following my recommendation to feed homemade food, use these rules of thumb:
- Raw meat and glop: 3/4 lb per 50lb of body weight per meal
- Brownies: 1/12 batch per 50lb of body weight per meal
Then adapt to what you see happening! A dog that is more active needs more food, while a less active dog needs less. Dogs have metabolic differences like humans, too. If your dog loses weight, give him more. If you have to push to feel his ribs, give him less.
But don’t get all head-trippy over one meal. If you put a little extra in the bowl once in a while, the world will not come to an end. You’ll probably put a little less another time. These things even out. The important thing is to pay attention to what your dog’s body is telling you about the amount of food and exercise he’s getting.
