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You are here: Home / Health / Feeding Your Dog Less May Lead To A Longer Life
Feeding Your Dog Less Can Increase Their Lifespan
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Feeding Your Dog Less May Lead To A Longer Life

Last updated on December 27, 2018 By Puppy Leaks 20 Comments

We all know that many Americans struggle with their weight, but did you know that’s also true for our dogs?

Over half of American dogs are overweight. And carrying extra weight around puts them at risk for developing health issues such as hypertension, diabetes, osteoarthritis and liver disease.

That’s the bad news. The good news is we control one of the biggest factors that contribute to our dog’s weight — their food.

Over Half of American Dogs Are Overweight

It’s not just Americans that are suffering from an obesity epidemic — it’s affecting our dogs as well. If your dog is overweight you’re certainly not alone. An estimated 54% of American dogs are overweight.

It’s a problem that tends to come on gradually, and when you live with your dog everyday it’s easy to miss those changes in their weight.

And have you ever met a dog that didn’t love treats? It’s so easy to overfeed our dogs because they love food so much. And who doesn’t want to make their dog happy by giving them something they love? I know I’m guilty of it. But unfortunately for our dogs all those extra calories add up pretty quick.

And while exercise can help your dog lose weight it’s only half of the equation. If you ate nothing but high calorie junk food all day you’d struggle to keep the pounds off, regardless of how much you exercise. And the same is true for our dogs.

It’s hard to keep our dogs fit and lean if they have a poor diet to begin with. I recommend reading “Your Dog Can’t Out Exercise a Poor Diet” for further information on burning calories and the importance of understanding basal metabolism.

Keeping our dogs lean and fit is our job, and one of the ways we can do that is by controlling the amount of food they get each day. Each dog is different, and it will take awhile to find the balance that’s right for your dog. But coming up with a personalized diet that keeps your dog lean can add years to their life.

The results of feeding your dog less are pretty remarkable. Researchers found that feeding a dog less can increase their lifespan by 25%, increasing a dog’s median lifespan by 1.8 years.

Be Careful With Dog Food Instructions

First things first let’s talk about dog food labels. They’re good for giving us a pretty good estimate of how much our dogs should be eating based on their size, but they don’t take your dog’s activity level or age into account.

Every dog food has their own recommendations on proportion sizes based on a dog’s weight. But there’s a problem with those estimates — they’re quite varied and not exact. Some brands tell you to feed 1/2 – 1 cup per 20 pounds — and that difference alone is 50%. And when we’re talking about an 80 pound dog that’s a difference of 2 – 4 cups. So if you feed on the high end your dog could be eating 50% more every single day than someone who sticks to the low end.

How to Decrease Your Dog’s Food Intake

The key to decreasing your dog’s food intake is to do it slowly and accurately. That means using a measuring cup or scale and measuring out every single meal your dog eats.

If you’re currently feeding your dog what their food label recommends and they’re still gaining weight (or need to lose a few pounds) try decreasing their meals a little bit at a time. I’d start with a small decrease (5 or 10%) and keep track of their weight for a week or two. If they’re still not losing weight decrease it a little more.

The goal is not to decrease all of their food intake by 25% at once, it’s to find the amount of food that’s right for your dog. Your dog’s age, health and activity level are all factors that go into figuring out how many calories they should be getting daily.

When my dog started gaining weight a few years back I did this tactic. She started gaining weight when she was about 2 years old, despite not changing her diet or exercise routine. It wasn’t too fast but it was almost two pounds a month. In a year she could have potentially gained 24 pounds, which for her would have been quite alarming. Obviously something was wrong; she was still an active dog yet she was getting chubby.

Rather than switching to a diet dog food I made some adjustments to the amount I was feeding her. According to the dog food label she should be eating almost 4 cups of food a day because she weighs 70 pounds. Obviously that wasn’t working for her anymore so I made some adjustments and slowly started decreasing the amount she got.

It was pretty easy because she eats the same kind of food everyday. I got out a measuring cup and started decreasing her food intake by 5% at a time and started keeping track of her weight. To keep track of her weight I’d take her to the vet’s office for a quick weigh in once a week. (I couldn’t get my big dog to sit on our small scale, and I struggled trying to pick her up and get an accurate weight)

She didn’t lose much weight with a 5% decrease in food, so over the a few months I kept decreasing it 5% at a time until we got to the amount that was right for her. And that amount ended up being 25%. To say I was shocked was an understatement. I certainly didn’t think I was overfeeding her to begin with, but that 25% decrease is what has helped keep her trim over the years.

So be cautious when you read dog food labels — they’re a good estimate, but they’re not exact.

Feeding Your Dog Less Can Increase Their Life Span

A study was published in 2007 that looked at the long term effects diet restriction can have on the life span and age related changes dogs experience. The research was conducted over two decades with 48 Labrador Retrievers as the subjects.

Dogs were paired off at 8 weeks of age; one of the dogs would be fed 25% less food than it’s pair mate for the duration of it’s life. Serum biochemical analysis were performed, body condition was scored, and body composition was measured until the dogs reached 12 years of age.

The dogs who were food restricted weighed less, had lower body fat content and lower serum triglycerides, triiodothyronine, insulin, and glucose concentrations. The median life span for the dogs who ate 25% less were found to be significantly longer. The clinical signs of chronic diseases were also delayed for the restricted diet dogs.

The results suggest that the 25% reduction in food intake increased the median life span of the dogs by almost 2 years (1.8 average) and delayed the onset of chronic diseases.

This study was conducted after researchers found that there was a significant decrease in the onset of orthopedic diseases in Labrador Retrievers that were given a 25% reduction in their food intake.

Your Dogs Diet Should Be Personalized

The science of human diets is lacking when it comes to essential information, so why would we expect our dogs nutritional information to be any better? Unfortunately it’s not. Most food recommendations are always based on observational results. Although they may provide some useful information they’re not one size fits all.

The diet that works for the working Border Collie is not the same diet that will work for the Schnauzer, even if they weigh the same. If you owned both and followed your dog food label instructions they’d be getting the same amount of food. You’d probably start to notice a difference in their weight after awhile.

Diets should be personalized to meet the specific needs of the dog. One of the first places to start when making a change in your dogs diet is with a trip to the veterinarian. They can properly evaluate your dogs current condition and come up with a goal for your dogs ideal weight.

What to Do If Your Dog Needs to Lose Weight

With so many different varieties of dog food available it can be a bit overwhelming. If you’re already feeding a high quality dog food you don’t need to necessarily change the brand; you can change the amount you feed.

Feeding your dog less is the goal, so don’t forget to count all treats when it comes to measuring your dogs daily caloric intake. And be sure to measure your dog’s food intake each day, whether by a measuring cup or scale. Us humans think we’re pretty good at estimating amounts, but we’re usually pretty bad at it. If you want to come up with a personalized diet to keep your dog lean you’re going to need to accurately measure out all of their meals and keep track of their weight.

We owe it to our dogs to keep them fit, they don’t know that their excess weight is unhealthy. I went through it with my own dog much to my surprise. Turns out feeding Laika 25% less helps her stay lean and fit.

Eating right and staying active aren’t just rules for a diet; they’re key to your dog’s overall wellbeing. Keeping your dog fit and lean increases the chance of your dog living a longer, healthier life.

Recommended Reading:

Why Do Dogs Get Eye Boogers?
Exercise Tips for Dogs With Arthritis
What Unethical Breeding Has Done To Bulldogs
Is a Dogs Mouth Really Cleaner Than a Humans?
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Comments

  1. Cascadian Nomads Bethany says

    September 26, 2014 at 9:53 am

    We have a problem with underweight dogs in our house but my vet has always says leaner is better than heavier. Still, I do use the dog food labels as a feeding guide as well as work closely with my vet on how much to feed whenever I mix up the dogs diets (which is healthily often!) We walk to the vet for weigh-ins often especially when I am tinkering with diets or a new dog sport.

    Reply
    • Jen Gabbard says

      September 27, 2014 at 2:26 am

      I love their scales so much, it’s so nice to not have to try and hold a 70lb dog on a small home scale anymore. It’s so accurate as well, who knows what kinds of readings I used to get with all the wobbling from both of us.

      Reply
  2. Kate Obrien says

    September 26, 2014 at 1:15 pm

    Great post – I love the advice “I don’t follow dog food instructions” The best advice you could give. They all overfeed. Folks need to learn to just look at their dog and adjust accordingly!

    Reply
  3. Emma says

    September 26, 2014 at 2:37 pm

    Mom is always blown away when reading food bags. They have people feeding way too much most of the time and then what they put on treat bags is also over the top. We always figure our the correct amount of a new food through trial and error. You are so right that a poor diet can’t be made up through exercise because you need the good diet to be fit.

    Reply
    • Jen Gabbard says

      September 27, 2014 at 2:25 am

      Isn’t it shocking what they recommend? I couldn’t believe that I could easily cut 25% of Laika’s food and she really didn’t seem to notice, she’s certainly not even close to starving.

      Reply
  4. 2 brown dawgs blog says

    September 26, 2014 at 4:24 pm

    We are constantly adjusting the amounts of food our dogs get. During the summer when they are out training 5 or more days a week, they get a bit more. We have started cutting them back because although they will be doing some hunting on the weekends, they will not be training all week long and will not burning the same number of calories over the course of the week. Plus two are now seniors so we need to keep track of their weight.

    Reply
    • Jen Gabbard says

      September 27, 2014 at 2:24 am

      Yeah it’s something I never consider before, but now I’m much more conscious about how much my dog is eating depending on what we’re doing that day. Weight management is definitely important.

      Reply
  5. Talent Hounds says

    September 26, 2014 at 6:07 pm

    Good, healthy food = a happy and healthy dog!

    Reply
  6. Diane Silver says

    September 26, 2014 at 9:10 pm

    Great post! Our experience is that all the food labels suggest feeding more than we feed, and Rocco’s active too. We really have to be careful to account for training treats too. Often and entire meal needs to be set aside for training treats.

    Reply
    • Jen Gabbard says

      September 27, 2014 at 2:23 am

      It’s really amazing how quickly all those treats can add up. I was really surprised when I was measuring out her kibble treats and setting them aside.

      Reply
  7. Tenacious Little Terrier says

    September 26, 2014 at 10:01 pm

    I weigh Mr. N about once a week or so. He eats what the label says but he likes to invent his own exercise and is high energy.

    Reply
  8. Elaine says

    September 28, 2014 at 1:11 am

    I also feed my dog Haley less than the recommended amount and found she always maintained a good weight until she got about 6 years old started slowing down a little. It’s especially important when dogs get a little older to keep making needed adjustments to try to keep them at an ideal weight.

    Reply
    • Jen Gabbard says

      September 28, 2014 at 3:34 am

      I’ll keep that in mind as Laika gets older. I never realized how much I had been overfeeding until I saw the results of cutting down.

      Reply
  9. Dogs N Pawz says

    September 28, 2014 at 2:58 am

    Great post! I started feeding my dogs less about a year ago and it has made a big difference. I felt guilty at first, but not anymore!

    Reply
  10. HuskyCrazed says

    September 29, 2014 at 3:49 am

    Great informative post! This is so true!!! Obesity is a huge problem in the pet world, just as it is with humans.

    ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!

    Reply
  11. Pamela | Something Wagging says

    October 13, 2014 at 1:00 pm

    I’ve had the opposite problem. When I feed Honey the suggested amount on her food, she’s too thin. I’ve had to up her calories to keep her at her perfect weight.

    So I agree that recommendations on the back of food an be unhelpful. Besides the fact that some companies may not be able to resist the temptation to up the amount to sell more food.

    I also find that the suggested food amounts are higher in cheaper foods. Perhaps because it’s less nutritionally dense. Which probably means that cheap foods are not as cheap as many people think.

    Reply
  12. Chris from Boise says

    November 9, 2017 at 5:28 am

    I agree with keeping dogs on the lean side. For some of us with dogs that really love to eat, it can *feel* unfair/mean to cut the quantity of food. They just vacuum up that puny meal so fast. So…we now sprinkle that ‘puny amount’ through the whole house or back yard, and it takes them a lo.o.o.ng time to search it all out. Plus it’s great brain exercise. “Puny” mealtimes are now fun times!

    Reply
    • Jen Gabbard says

      November 9, 2017 at 2:56 pm

      I love the idea of sprinkling food around, and you’re right — it’s a fun brain game for them too.

      Reply
  13. Puppy Snuggles says

    November 21, 2017 at 9:23 pm

    My dog used to be slightly overweight – it’s so gradual I couldn’t see it. Thankfully my vet let me know during her yearly checkup, and I was able to get her weight down to a healthy level fairly quickly. If only it were so easy for me to lose weight as well!

    Reply
  14. Morehappawness says

    March 24, 2022 at 8:29 am

    Great post! Thank you so much

    Reply

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