How to choose the best light (diet) dog food?

Low fat dog food will help adult dogs maintain a healthy weight, but you shouldn't compromise on quality. Low calorie dog foods contain lean animal protein (such as fresh chicken or turkey), natural ingredients, vitamins and minerals, and include L-Carnitine – an amino acid which helps pets to maintain a healthy weight and maintain lean muscle mass.

L-Carnitine works by transporting fatty acids into the mitochondria within cells where they can be “burned up” and used as fuel, instead of being stored as excess body fat. L-Carnitine has other added benefits which include helping to reduce exercise-induced muscle damage and also help with muscle recovery.

Avoid veterinarian satiety 'diet' foods for adult dogs such as Royal Canin which are marketed as specific weight control dog food. They contain little nutritional value, are bulked out with fillers to keep your dog feeling full and should be avoided!

How to tackle your dog's excess weight?

Walk - Ensure adult dogs are walked regularly and for long enough for their breed. A chihuahua will require less activity than a working cocker spaniel to keep their ideal body weight!

Cut back on treats - avoid giving your adult dog treats if they are trying to lose weight. Use your dry dog food as treats (we recommend weighing our their daily portion and taking 'treats' from this to avoid overfeeding).

Weigh out food portions - to avoid overfeeding adult dogs, we recommend keeping control on the amount of dry food they eat by weighing it out rather than guessing.

Weigh regularly - to keep your dog at a healthy weight, weight them once a week and keep a track of their weight.

Dangers of dog obesity

Obese dogs develop an increased risk for: many types of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension. osteoarthritis and a faster degeneration of affected joints. Overweight dogs can have their lifespan shortened significantly if owners are not strict on weight management.

The benefits of choosing low calorie dog foods

• Help those dogs who have a decreased activity level

• Help those pets who require a reduced calorific diet in order to help promote weight loss or help prevent further weight gain,

• Providing all of the essential and carefully balanced nutrition they require to support everyday health and well-being whilst maintaining a healthy weight