By Dr. Byron McCall DVM
Misty, my 12 year old Australian Shepherd was having a little trouble getting up after lying down. My family and I had noticed this slowly progressing over time, but she never cried out or acted painful.. I knew that she was a little overweight like me and knew she should get some of the weight off. This fact is a little worse since I give "the overweight talk" to pet owners, everyday at Capitol Illini Veterinary Clinic in Chatham and Springfield, Illinois. I see dogs and cats everyday that are overweight and discuss reducing the amount fed, and increasing exercise in an effort to facilitate weight loss. But as all pet owners know, it is difficult to not give in to the sad eyes or begging when I was eating something, thus we were not getting the weight off.
In January 2013, I was at the North American Veterinary Conference (NAVC) and sat through a presentation by Hill's Pet Food about a Metabolic Diet they came out with. Approximately 88% of the dogs they tried it on had successful weight loss in real life households. I had seen many claims from various products that could aid in weight loss, but like many products, the weight would rebound once the medicine or the diet was stopped. I decided to try this diet on my dog first and see if she could lose weight, even with the occasional treat or cleaning up of any dropped morsels off the kitchen floor. I took the first bag home not long after returning home and instructed my son to fee Misty the recommended amount, which can be calculated by a member of our veterinary team using an application for the iPad.
Within 6 months, Misty had lost 10 pounds and was at what I considered a good weight. It was amazing during this time how much better she got up from lying down, how she would bounce around the house to get her fanny scratched, and greet us when she got home. She is now being fed a little more food at a maintenance amount and her weight is holding steady. If your dog is overweight, stop in and talk to any of our veterinarians at either Capitol Illini Veterinary location in Chatham or Springfield about helping your dog or cat lose weight. I can only hope that your pet has as dramatic response as Misty had.
