So many pet lovers struggle with not only maintaining their own weight, but also their pet’s proper weight. Those beckoning eyes are so hard to resist when it comes to an extra treat….or two or three. How can you better manage your pet’s diet without feeling like you’re depriving them? According to BRACpet Fans, their secret seems to be green beans, among other things.

We asked our clients to share their weight loss success stories with you, and here’s how they were able to succeed:

• Carol C’s story starts with Caoimhe, who was relinquished at the age of 5. When Carol rescued her she had been diagnosed with anxiety and she was obese. She is now 30lbs down from 42lbs. A combination of good food and exercise cured the weight and the anxiety. That is a 28.6% loss in excess pounds. Way to go, Carol and Caoimbe!
• Dara N’s story began when at age one, Molly (Bull Mastiff/Newfie Mix) blew out her knee. She was 130lbs. Once she recovered from knee surgery, the weight needed to come off. Nice long walks turned into short runs for exercise. Dara also replaced half of Molly’s food with green beans and carrots. She was soon down to 101 lbs. and the knees are doing great! She is now five and running up to a mile a day and is keeping her girlish figure under control. Molly’s 22.3% reduction in weight not only has her feeling better, but Dara’s probably in great shape as well with those daily runs.
• Karen R. reduced her pet’s dog food and added green beans to each meal. She also found the Royal Canin High Fiber food to be a big help in keeping her full. Her dog lost about 20lbs…hmmm, are we onto something with these green beans?
• Jenny A. says she did the same thing…green beans!!! And lots of walking/running. Her dog lost 11 pounds!
• Victoria W. used another magical whole food. Under the guidance of BRAC’s Dr. Gardner, her dog Rufus lost 10 pounds with just a minimal change to his food volume. He also gets 1/4 cup of fresh organic blueberries each morning. He is in great shape now!
• Lisa P., who works with Beagle Buddies shared Hank’s (ACD/Beagle) story. Hank bulked up after surgery/steroids and mixing wet food in with the dry to get him to start to eat again in 2005. She lives near the Monon so she upped her walks with Hank from 2 mi/day to 3 or 4 mi/day. Additionally, she added  tossing his frisbee into a pond for him to swim to and running free in the woods, and put him on 3 Dog Bakery Lo-Cal Chicken (dry). He dropped from a roly-poly 56 lbs in May to a smokin’ hot 40 lbs. by mid-Sept. Another 28.6% weight loss…incredible!

According to Dr. Elizabeth Murphy, weight loss in dogs can be very difficult to accomplish for several reasons. Spaying is a very important thing to do for the overall health of female dogs, but it does decrease their metabolic rate by about 35%, and dogs naturally have a decreased activity level and decreased calorie expenditure as they become adults. Dogs don’t take these two factors into account, because, as dogs,they have a very strong food drive and have the natural instinct to acquire as much food as possible. This is a great instinct in the wild, where dogs have to hunt for food but, for domestic dogs, this can be a good instinct gone bad! Many dogs put on the appropriate number of calories for their size and activity level will still act as if they are starving and do whatever they can to get more food, by begging, getting into the trash, even eating feces! If you are unsuccessful in reducing your dog’s caloric intake or sating their hunger, one other suggestion is the weight-loss drug for dogs, Slentrol. Slentrol decreases the appetite, which really helps in cases where there is a food drive problem, and it decreases the absorption of some of the calories from the food. It can really get a dog to their weight loss goal over a few weeks or months, and then the dog could go to a lower, maintenance dose for a while. Once a dog is at the maintenance weight for a few months, he or she will very likely be able to be taken off the drug as eventually the food drive will match the dog’s new weight.

Of course, all overweight or obese pets need to be checked for any underlying health problems that could lead to weight gain, such as a low thyroid production or an adrenal gland problem – solving those problems would keep pets healthier and may keep them from needing the drug to begin with! Weight loss is hard work! Work with your veterinary team to help you and your pet meet your personal goals. We’d love to share more success stories to inspire other pet lovers, so please leave your stories in the comments section below:)