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How can I help my overweight dog lose weight safely and effectively?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Dachshund | Male | neutered | 25 lbs

I currently have a dachshund that weighs 25 pounds and I have been walking him every day recently and I was wondering what some tips are for helping him lose weight.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on August 16th, 2017

Great question! Walking Buddy every day is a good idea, and I would see if you can walk him twice a day for at least 30 minutes a time to help him lose weight. One tip is to cut out all treats. No human food, no scraps from dinner, and no dog treats. These can really add up over time and cause a dog to gain weight. You can try cutting back a bit on his dry food and adding some wet food instead with the dry food. Canned dog food has fewer calories because it has a higher moisture content, so adding some into his dry food while removing dry food to compensate can help him lose weight. Finally, you can speak to your vet to see if they feel a weight loss food would be appropriate for him. I hope this helps!

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What would be good amount of exercise for Buddy? He gained 5 pounds in a month and was eating 5 cups of Merrick Backcountry Pacific Catch per day. I have cut him down to 4 cups a day to try to keep him from gaining more (per vet instructions), but I
Ideally, you would be able to exercise him for 4-5 hours throughout the day, but this is not realistic for the average person. If Buddy has not been regularly exercised before now, then it's best to start with 30 minute daily walks and work your way up from there. If you are able to do the 30 minute a day routine for a month, then you can go up to an hour a day. This should be good enough for him (and you as well!). More intense exercise should only be done as directed by your veterinarian. If Buddy is obese, or has other conditions that could predispose him to injury, then it would not be good to start running and jumping exercises yet. When it comes to weight loss, the best intervention is diet. Ensure that you stick with the diet - avoiding treats and table scraps is a huge part of the diet. If he is not losing weight within the first month, then I would consider cutting the food back even more. I hope that helps and all goes well with Buddy.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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my dog is about 80 pounds. She is female. She's between 5 6 or 7 years old. I had a veterinarian told me she is overweight. How often should I walk her per day and for how long? What can I do to help her lose weight please give detail specific inform
It's great that you're looking in to getting her weight down! Well done. It's most effective to decrease food intake while increasing exercise. So I'd taking a day or two to write down everything that goes in her mouth so you can find all the little treats that you give her that might add up. Then talk to your vet about how many calories she should be eating to be her ideal weight. If you can't talk to your vet, you can start by decreasing her food 10%, but I recommend talking to the vet because that could be way too little or too much for her body. I also recommend making her regular treats tiny (pea size) so she's getting less calories, but you both still get to enjoy the treat giving! As far as walks, if she's otherwise healthy, you really can't walk her too much. Add 5 to 10 minutes to your regular walk every week until you're at the point where you don't have additional time to walk. Oh and take before and after pictures! They are so fun. Good luck and thanks for using Boop
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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What is the best way to make a 25lb dachshund, who doesn’t like walking, lose weight? Or how do you encourage a dog to walk? We feed her 1/4 a cup of dog food two times a day and cut out human food. We will walk her, but she doesn’t like going too fa
I recommend switching to a lower calorie dry food. The calorie content is printed on the bag. There are many good low calorie foods for weight loss. Then I would continue to measure the food and eliminate any treats and people food. If she’s still not losing weight I reduce the amount of the dry food by 25% and give green beans, canned pumpkin or other vegetables to fill her up. You are doing a good job with the walking. She probably can’t go much further until she loses some weight and increases her endurance. If needed don’t feed her then take her meal with you and give her the kibbles in her meal along the way to keep her going, just don’t increase the amount of food. Gradual weight loss of a quarter of a pound a week is what you should strive for. We use walking in an underwater treadmill at my rehab practice for dogs like this so they can exercise without carrying their full weight on their joints. Check to see if there is a dog rehab facility near you. Thanks for using
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My dog weight 27 pounds what is the best diet to put her on for couple weeks she is only 3 years old
You can continue to feed her the normal diet she normally gets, but feed according to the package instructions on the bag. Do not give her any treats or human food at all. Feed her twice a day, morning and night (divide the daily amount of food she's allowed into two portions). I would then make sure she gets exercise twice a day for at least 30-45 minutes at a time. By feeding her only her the recommendation daily amount of dog food, cutting out all treats, and making sure she has plenty of exercise, you can help her lose weight is a slow and safe manner.
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How do I help my dog lose weight quickly
Weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint. Most overweight dogs should lose weight at roughly 1-2% of their body weight per week. The best way to achieve this is through portion controlled meals of a good quality balanced diet. Portions should be calculated based on a dog's ideal body weight, not necessarily their current weight. Make sure your dog is also getting plenty of exercise with frequent walks or games of fetch. Your veterinarian can help you to calculate the exact amount that you should be feeding your dog based on the calories per cup of the food you're offering, as well as your dog's current weight and body condition score.
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I have a mini schnauzer that is overweight at 22 lbs and should be around 14-15 lbs. can you please recommend how much excercise is needed to help her lose weight?
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Updated on September 24th, 2025
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My dog hasn’t been able to loose weight and he’s pretty overweight for his type of breed. Also he always acts like he hasn’t been fed, what should I do? I’ll add a photo to show how fat he is.
Thanks for using Boop by Petco! Weight loss is something I discuss multiple times a day. While excercise is helpful, I find diet to be by far the most effective tool. First, if he is free-fed, you’ll want to switch to two measured meals per day. And I do mean use an actual measuring cup every time. For a 100lb dog, start with about 3 cups twice daily. If he is already getting a set amount, decrease that amount by about 25% (ie, go from 6 cups a day to about 4.5 cups per day). Try that for a month. If no weight loss, it’s time to look into a medical reason like hypothyroid or Cushings disease so see your vet for that. Finally, I try a prescription diet like Hills Metabolic diet which actually upregulates genes responsible for metabolism. It is very effective when other diets have failed. Of course, watch out for people food and treats of course. Choose green beans, carrots, or celery. Hope this helps and best of luck to you and Dudley!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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What would be the most common reasons behavior-wise a dachshund would be over weight? Current conditions that come to mind: No cage, doggy door to the backyard available at all times, 1 scoop with an 8oz cup of dog food shared between another dachsh
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Updated on September 24th, 2025
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My dog is overweight I think I weigh around 44kg what exercise should I perform and how I should reduce his wait I want him to be back on 35 kg so I want him to reduce 9kg but I don't know how to reduce his weight any suggestion or idea please share
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Grecia weighs about 20-22lbs and she is overweight and she has little to no excercise. She receives a 1/2 cup of taste of the wild lamb grain free twice daily. Her ideal weight is 15-17lbs according to my vet. Is there a weight loss food that you
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