How To Keep Your Dog At A Healthy Weight

In this article, we are going to break down the way your dog processes calories and how they keep weight on during the colder months of the year when they are using these calories for energy. 

A Dog’s Metabolism

Metabolism is simply the body’s way of turning food into usable energy. This process includes interaction between every system in the body including the digestive, endocrine, muscle, and nervous systems. Every system requires energy and calories to operate. The number of calories needed to make all the systems work is called the basal metabolic rate, or the caloric requirement. If you add physical activity the body’s caloric requirement goes up. 

Aging / Other Factors To Slow Metabolism

If an older dog has osteoarthritis, they will begin to lose their muscle mass which will slow down their metabolism. Muscles are the main driver of metabolism since they help burn the most calories. Hormone disorders such as hypothyroidism (which affects the endocrine system) can lower the metabolism which if not treated and monitored, can cause weight gain. 

Although obesity doesn’t lower your dog’s metabolism, these issues above do and when your dog has a low metabolism it’s easy to pack on extra pounds by storing the extra calories that they aren’t burning.

This is why we recommend our Maintenance Plus 22/12 formula for older / heavier dogs that need to watch their weight. The Maintenance Plus 22/12 helps with:

– Weight management
– Joint health
– Immune support
– Skin and coat health

And like all our Joy Dog Food products, is American-made and has NO RECALLS! Find a dealer near you today!