The Side Effects of Not Feeding Enough Dog Food To Manage Weight

When Feeding Less Food Means Not Enough Nutrition

Trying to manage weight? Is your dog not eating consistently? When you simply feed less food volume than the bag suggests, big trouble can arise!

Friends, you know we’re not the biggest fan of kibble foods. But I understand many of you are not quite ready to make a change. I’m still here to help you and educate you as much as possible on canine nutrition.

If your dog is overweight, you may have been told or simply assumed the right thing to do is feed less food or substitute some % of your do'g’s food with Green Beans, veggies or something fresh.

Afterall, it’s what we things regarding our own weight — eat less, exercise more. Calories In, Calories Out.

Well, unfortunately, it’s not how it works for dogs who eat a fixed recipe of dog food every day. When you eat — you eat varieties of foods. Kibble and Canned Dog Foods are a “precision” recipe of ingredients that when combined meet the AAFCO minimum standards of nutrition for dogs.

The minimum standard is the lowest level of proteins, vitamins, and minerals needed to meet your dog’s basic nutritional requirements. These are NOT optimal nutritional levels. (Read AAAFCO Feeding Trials) These minimums are typically based on weight — so one might assume that as the dog loses weight the vitamin-mineral requirement may be reduced also. But that is not necessarily the case — especially depending on how much weight your dog has to lose and how long that will take, your dog’s activity level, growth & development period, age, health condition, etc.

Now, I need you to remember that in processed foods, the vitamins and minerals were most like processed out during cooking and added back as synthetic vitamins and minerals. Synthetics are less likely to be used properly or completely by the body.

So, if I’m feeding less than the minimum amount of nutrients based on a kibble recipe and what I am giving my dog is not fully digestible — I run a real risk of a vitamin-mineral deficiency.

As you reduce food volume, the food you need to feed must be even more nutrient dense.

This is going to be true and even more important for our senior dogs, unhealthy dogs, or dogs that are just not eating their food everyday. We must prevent them from becoming nutrient deficient to keep them healthy.

Nutrient deficiencies can have far-reaching effects on your dog's overall health. Some common deficiencies are vitamin A and E, as well as calcium and phosphorus. Deficiencies in these nutrients can lead to a variety of medical problems including poor skin and coat condition, decreased immune system function, increased susceptibility to eye diseases, joint pain, and even organ failure. In addition to vitamin and mineral deficiencies, dogs can also suffer from an imbalance or lack of essential fatty acids like DHA or EPA—which provide numerous benefits for your pet such as improved brain functioning and a better mood.

One way to make sure you are not introducing nutritional gaps is a whole food vitamin-mineral supplement like Endurance. Since kibble is typically formulated to the minimum requirements for your dog, you should consider adding it anyway! Weight loss goals or not.

If you find yourself wondering how best to feed your canine companion so that they get all the essential nutrients they need, consult with a canine nutritionist or veterinary nutritionist.

For what it’s worth — the best way to help your dog reach a healthy weight is fresh foods, less starchy carbs & grains, etc — and balance your diet to achieve optimal standards of nutrition not the minimums.