Your dog is probably overweight, and it is not the food.
Nobody arrives at the clinic thinking their pet is fat. Half the dogs we weigh are above ideal — and the calories almost never come out of the bowl.
WRITTEN BY THE BOZO WAGS CLINICAL TEAM5 MIN READUPDATED APRIL 2026
1 in 2
Dogs we put on the scale sit above their ideal body condition score.
20%
Extra body weight a broad-chested breed can carry before a family notices anything at all.
2 years
Average life expectancy lost to obesity — plus the arthritis, the heat intolerance and the anaesthetic risk.
The scale we actually use
Kilograms are a poor measure across breeds; body condition is not. Nine points, and we want four or five. Every point above ideal is roughly ten per cent over target weight — so a seven is a twenty-five kilo dog carrying five kilos it does not need.
1
Emaciated
2
3
Thin
4
Ideal
5
Ideal
6
Overweight
7
8
Obese
9
BODY CONDITION SCORE · WHAT WE WRITE ON THE RECORD AT EVERY VISIT
The thirty-second check, at home
Do this on the floor, calmly, once a fortnight. Three questions, and if any answer is no, the portion is too big.
1
Ribs, flat palm
Run a flat hand along the side. You should feel ribs like the back of your knuckles, under a thin layer. Fingertips pressing in? Too much cover.
2
Waist, from above
Standing over the dog, there should be a clear narrowing behind the ribcage. A straight line, or a bulge, is a six or more.
3
Tuck, from the side
The belly should rise from the ribcage up towards the hind legs. Level or sagging is fat, not a deep chest.
Where the calories hide
A typical day for a dog whose owner is certain it eats nothing:
70%
12%
8%
6%
4%
Measured meals
Biscuits
Cheese, ghee, milk
Chapati & rice
Table scraps
Thirty per cent of the day’s calories arrive from things nobody thinks of as food. One cube of cheese to a beagle is a burger to you.
What we do instead of a diet
1
Weigh the food
Cups are not a measure. A kitchen scale, grams per meal, written on the container lid.
2
Cut by ten per cent
Not a third. Slow loss keeps muscle and keeps the dog from raiding. One to two per cent of body weight a week.
3
Swap treats, do not stop them
Carrot, cucumber, a piece of his own kibble counted out of the day’s ration. Training does not need cheese.
4
Weigh in fortnightly
Free at our reception, ninety seconds, no appointment. What gets measured is the only thing that moves.
Three things we hear every week
“He is a big-boned Lab.”
Breed sets frame, not fat. You should feel ribs on a Labrador as easily as on an Indie.
“He hardly eats anything.”
Almost always true of the bowl, and almost never true of the day. Write down everything for three days, including who feeds him at the gate.
“Walks will fix it.”
Weight comes off in the kitchen. Exercise keeps muscle while it does — and a heavy dog with sore joints cannot walk it off anyway.
FREE, ANY WEEKDAY
Bring him in for a weigh-in and a body-condition score.
No appointment needed at either branch. We will write the number on the record so next time there is something to compare against.