Weight Management

Weight management is more than supporting your pet’s weight loss. Ensuring your pet is at a healthy weight means decreasing the likelihood of contracting disease like arthritis, heart disease and diabetes. We’ll support you by giving recommendations about dietary and lifestyle changes you can make to improve your pet’s overall quality of life. If you’re interested in creating a weight management plan for your pet, please contact us at 902-865-6400.

Is weight management only about weight loss?

A component of weight management is weight loss but that isn’t the only focus. Ensuring your pet is at a healthy weight, based on their age, breed and other metrics, minimizes the risk of developing certain diseases. The types of foods your pet eats makes up a large component of their overall health. Our veterinary team will make recommendations for your pet, based on any gaps in their diet and which nutrient-rich foods are best suited for them. You should also be incorporating daily exercise and other physical activities, like play or walks, into your pet’s daily routine. It’s helpful to regularly weigh your pet at home so you can track their progress and share with us if any modifications might need to be made to their weight management program.

How much should I feed my pet?

It can be easy to overfeed your pet if you’re not closely following the guidelines shared by our team. The guidelines on the back of your pet’s food only gives a general idea of how much food you should feed an adult furry friend and isn’t specific to their health needs. Our veterinary team will establish a healthy daily calorie intake for your pet, which you can use to guide their meals. It’s also important to cut down any additional foods you’re using to supplement your pet’s diet, in between meals. For example, treats should only take up around 10% of your pet’s diet. You can swap processed, packaged treats for healthier options like popcorn or apples.

How often should my pet be exercising?

The amount of exercise we recommend for your pet might depend on their lifestyle, breed and if they have underlying health issues. For example, we might recommend your pet do at least 20 minutes of exercise, twice a day for an adult dog. We’ll provide potential activities that you can do with your pet. It’s important to slowly introduce new exercises to ensure your pet doesn’t overextend or injure themselves.