Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Dog | Bernese Mountain Dog | Male | neutered | 4 years and 5 months old | 94 lbs
I have a Bernese Mountain dog who weighs 94 pounds. He's 4 yrs old and doesn't like to run and play. I am looking for a weight management food which will help reduce his weight without drying his skin.. I've tried a couple of weight management brands in the past but it dried out his skin and caused itching and dandruff. Please help. Thank you!
1 Answer
Published on August 28th, 2017
HI there. I would recommend using a true weight loss diet and not a "weight management" or "healthy weight". You should use the weight loss diet until he is his ideal weight then you can transition to a management diet. These diets are expensive but they are not meant to be a long term solution so keep that in mind. If you feed the correct amount it shouldn't be too horribly expensive. You must feed him to his "ideal weight" and not the weight he is currently. So read the instructions on the bag of food carefully. Feed him this diet only - no treats or bones or people food. I would suggest Puirna OM or Hill's w/d. These are prescription diets and should be prescribed by your vet but I have recently come to find out you can buy them on Amazon without an Rx. They should not make his coat or skin poor. If that is a recurring theme then he may have an underlying condition like hypothyroidism causing that (could also be why he is heavy) so you may want to consider having his thyroid levels checked. These links are from Chewy.com. I don't know if they require a Rx but you can check Amazon too or just ask your vet for a prescription. https://www.chewy.com/purina-pro-plan-veterinary-diets-om/dp/50028 https://www.chewy.com/hills-prescription-diet-wd/dp/54717 Hope this helps. Best wishes!
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