Research Communications of the 24th ECVIM-CA Congress

No conflicts of interest reported. Obesity is an increasing health problem in dogs. Success of weight-loss programs is often limited by compliance issues. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a new dietetic weight management food (NDWMF)* in achieving weight loss in overweight/obese, client-owned dogs, under typical household conditions. The objectives were 1) to evaluate weight loss parameters in dogs fed a NDWMF* and 2) to assess the owner's perception of the dog's quality of life. Overweight/obese, otherwise healthy, client-owned dogs (>3/5 body condition score -BCS) were enrolled in the study (n = 162). Initial veterinary evaluation included physical examination, nutritional assessment, determination of ideal body weight (IBW), and development of weightloss feeding guidelines. Daily energy requirement (DER) for weight loss was calculated as DER = 70 x IBW kg 0.75 . Initial and follow-up evaluations (monthly for 6 months) encompassed determination of body weight, BCS, body fat index (BFI), muscle condition score (MCS), and feeding practices. Quality of life assessment by owners included dog's level of energy, happiness, appetite, begging behavior, flatulence, stool volume, and fecal score. Statistical analysis comprised scatterplots, regression analysis, summary statistics as appropriate for the type of analyses performed (continuous or categorical variables, distribution), and a mixed model ANOVA to assess changes over time (with statistical significance at p < 0.05). Ninety four percent of the dogs lost weight (n = 153) with an average weight loss of 14.5% (SEM, 1.1%) over 6 months and an average weekly weight-loss rate of 0.73% (SEM, 0.04%). The mean duration of weight loss was 127 days (SEM, 4.3 days) with an average of 33 days (SEM, 0.7 days) between rechecks. Thirty nine percent of dogs achieved IBW (0.39, CI: 0.31-0.48). Fifty five percent of dogs ate more calories from NDWMF* than the recommended DER for weight loss (median fed above DER=8%) and 94% of these dogs (0.94, CI: 0.87-0.98) still lost weight. Thirty six percent of dogs received treats. BCS and BFI decreased significantly over time compared to baseline. Owners perceived a significant increase in energy and happiness in the dogs that lost weight without changes in appetite or begging behavior. In conclusion, this clinical study confirmed the effectiveness of the NDWMF* in achieving weight loss in overweight/obese client-owned dogs in spite of higher than recommended caloric intake. Owners reported significant improvements in dog's quality of life without negative side effects.