Weight Management

A Guide to Helping Pets Achieve and Maintain Their Ideal Weight

Why is your pet's weight so important?

Just like people, dogs and cats have an ideal weight. A pet that achieves and maintains this ideal weight can lead a more energetic, longer and healthier life.

When a pet's weight is up to 15% above its ideal weight, it can be considered overweight. If it is more than 15% above ideal weight, it is considered to be obese.

Problems associated with excessive weight
An obese pet is at an increased risk for a range of clinical problems including:
• heart disease
• diabetes mellitus
• breathing difficulties
• arthritis/joint problems

Achieving and maintaining a pet's ideal weight reduces these risks, improves its quality of life and may increase life expectancy.

Recognising the signs of a weight problem
• Ribs can't be felt
• Loss of an obvious waist
• Difficulty in walking
• Lack of energy
• Short of breath
• Bad tempered
• Sleeps a lot

Common causes of weight gain

Too much food
Overfeeding your pet through inadequate portion control and giving high calorie tidbits can cause weight gain.

Disease
Occasionally weight gain is associated with a medical disorder, which may require corrective treatment.

Neutering/spaying
Pets that have been neutered or spayed have a higher risk of weight gain because of their altered metabolism.

Age
Older pets are often less active and require fewer calories.

Limited exercise
Pets that are relatively inactive may be using less energy than they are gaining from their food.

Weight management with nutrition

Hill's Prescription Diet has products specially formulated to help your pet achieve and maintain its ideal weight.

Hill's Prescription Diet Canine r/d and Feline r/d High in dietary fibre and low in fat and calories to ensure that your pet feels satisfied while helping to reduce its weight.	Hill's Prescription Diet Canine w/d and Feline w/d Balanced nutrition that is low in calories and ideal for maintaining your pet's healthy weight.

Hill's weight management pet foods contain added L-carnitine, a nutrient that converts fat to energy and preserves healthy muscles.

Tips for successful weight control

• Make a commitment to help your pet lose weight.
• Follow your veterinarian's exact feeding recommendations.
• To help transition your pet, mix increasing amounts of new food with decreasing amounts of old food over a 7-day period.
• Do not feed snacks or table scraps. Reward your pet with affection rather than food.
• If your pet is not trying the new food, try warming canned product to body temperature, hand feeding or mixing dry food with warm water (dog food only).
• Use toys to encourage exercise.
• Ask your veterinarian to weigh your pet and assess Body Condition Score at every visit.
• Be patient and firm. Your pet's success depends on strict adherence to the new food.