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Note

In the long run, adjust your dog's feeding to maintain an optimum weight.  A dog is considered obese when its body weight exceeds 20% of the ideal for its age, sex and breed.  For example, the weight standards for the American and English cocker spaniel:

Purina has illustrations of obese dogs on their web page.

Examples

My dog is overweight and weighs 30 pounds.  Ideally, he should weigh 22 pounds.  By how many calories should I limit his diet to reach a goal of 22 pounds?

1. Convert the desired weight into kilograms
   1 lb = 0.454 kilograms
   22 lbs x 0.454 = 9.99 kg

2. Calculate the estimated caloric requirements for the desired weight.  This value is also known as the maintenance energy requirement (MER)
   MER = 132 x weight in kg^0.75
   MER = 132 x 9.99^0.75 = 742 kcal

3. Determine the number of calories to feed for weight loss (60-70% the value of step 2).  Multiply the caloric requirement from step 2 by 60-70%.
   742 x 0.60 = 445 kcal/day
   742 x 0.70 = 519 kcal/day

4. Once the desired weight has been reached, gradually increase the number of calories to that in step 2.

How long will it take for my dog to lose weight on this diet?

5. Determine the daily caloric deficit:  Subtract the value in step 2 from step 3.
   742 kcal - 445 kcal = 297 kcal
   742 kcal - 519 kcal = 223 kcal

6. Divide 3500 by the daily deficit (step 5) to determine the number of days to lose 1 pound.
   3500 / 297 = 11.8 days
   3500 / 223 = 15.7 days

Therefore, on a 445 kcal/day diet, this pet should lose 1 pound per 11.8 days.

On a 519 kcal/day diet, this pet should lose 1 pound per 15.7 days.

References

    Siegal, M. (Ed.). (1995). UC Davis book of dogs : The complete medical reference guide for dogs and puppies. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.

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