07/09/2025
When it comes to nutrition for dogs, there's SO many common questions that spur debate!
What's the best dry food?
Is grain-inclusive better than grain-free?
Should I schedule feed or leave food available all the time?
What do I feed my picky dog?
How can I raw-feed safely?
Now, I'm not here to debate these things! I think it's not difficult to agree that a fed dog is better than a starving one. But when it comes to training with food, I want to highlight a specific concern... Obesity in dogs! 😬
Yes, I use a lot of food in training. I'm generous with food rewards. It gets me a lot of motivation and strength in the skills I'm teaching to dogs and builds my value to them! BUT and it's a big 'but'... I'm using appropriate calories constructively! If a dog needs 500 calories a day to maintain a healthy, lean weight, I'm not feeding that 500 calories PLUS 200 treat calories. I'm feeding 300 calories in meals, and 200 in training rewards (just random numbers for example's sake).
Here's the extra fun bit... Most of the training rewards I use... Are just another complete and balanced HEALTHY dog food! Jerky style, freeze dried, air dried, cooked meatball style, heck just another brand or flavor of kibble, etc! Your dog thinks it's new and special and is happy to work for it, but it's not junk calories and it's not EXTRA calories! Though, yes, occasionally we will break out the cheese for extra motivation, but it's not all cheese all the time.
Excess weight is a HUGE concern. We prioritize the health of the dog (and their humans!) over all else in their training plans here at KBDB Dog Training LLC. Obesity contributes to joint pain, making exercise difficult and making it even harder to drop weight. An overweight dog on average will die two years sooner than a lean one. No one wants to think about that day with their dog, and no one wants to think they contributed to it happening too soon.
Take a look at your dog. Check their Body Condition Score. Can you feel their ribs? Can you see a waist from the side and from above? The best time to form a solid healthy feeding plan was the day your dog came home to you... But the second best time is NOW!
Your dogs will thank you for it with more happy activity, less pain, and more time earthside with you!
Perfectly Rawsome has a great Body Condition Score image, included below! Curious about fresh food diets and having more control and variety in a safe diet for your dog?? Give their page a look for more info!!
Brittni Hyzer CPDT-KA, FFCP, FDM
