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Is my dog overweight? How to check her weight and diet needs?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Cavalier King Charles Spaniel | Female | spayed | 5 years old | 17 lbs

Is my dog overweight? She weighs 17.6 pounds and eats 3 oz. twice per day of Natural balance L.I.D. Fish formula small breed bites. She also gets two 10 calorie treats, one 8 calorie pill pocket and one 10 calorie fish oil pill daily plus one chew that's approximately 50 calories twice per week. Her daily calries range from 300-330 depending on which formula she's on. She currently eating about 315 calories right now. If she's overweight how much should she lose? Thanks!

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr Stafford, BVetMed, MRCVS

Veterinarian

Published on June 24th, 2017

I don't tend to judge their body condition on weight as every dog is different even within a breed. I look at their body instead. They should nip in behind the ribs with a definite waist, you should be able to feel but not see the ribs, and there should not be a fat rolls at the tail. From your photo I can see Chloe has a nice waist. What you feed her sounds fine and you are well aware of what she eats.

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    Answered By Destini R. Holloway, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on June 25th, 2017

    You can see her waistline from above which is good. If you can easily feel her ribs when you rub from front to back on her sides then she likely is an ideal weight. We don't use the fat roll parameter to measure a pets body condition score. Here is a website link also with more detailed info on how to measure you pets body conditon score to determine if Chloe is ideal weight. https://www.wsava.org/sites/default/files/Body%20condition%20score%20chart%20dogs.pdf And here is a resting energy requirement website to help you calculate how many calories she should be consuming daily. https://vet.osu.edu/vmc/companion/our-services/nutrition-support-service/basic-calorie-calculator Best wishes with Chloe and her diet. Take care.

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