Healthy, low-fat meals for dogs

August 19, 2024
All about raw feeding

We understand that, for a lot of dogs, food is their passion and mealtime is their favourite part of the day. That’s why Big Dog Pet Foods provide 2 low-fat, all-natural recipes that use real ingredients to support healthy weight loss in dogs.

Our recipes taste so good, they won’t know they’re ‘on a diet’: low fat meal options for dogs.

Big Dog Pet Foods Kanga Kangaroo Low Fat Recipe

Kanga is our leanest recipe at only 5% fat. This single protein recipe can be enjoyed by all adult dogs. Being a wild game source, Australian kangaroo has minimal to no exposure to environmental chemicals, which also makes it a suitable option for dogs that suffer from allergies.   

Big Dog Raw Food Wellbeing Low Fat

Wellbeing is our most nurturing recipe at 7.5% fat. Wellbeing is a mixed-protein recipe that can be enjoyed by all adult dogs. Wellbeing was especially designed for senior dogs as a lower fat diet than our standard range of diets, and you will also find the protein has been reduced, not significantly, but reduced enough so we can include a more extensive range of ingredients that fight against inflammation and support the healthy ageing process.  

How to feed your dog?

Big Dog Pet Foods animated transition guide

If your pet has been eating a highly processed diet and they’re new to a raw diet, you’ll want to go slow with the transition. We recommend you do this over about two weeks, slowly swapping out their current food for their new fresh food.

We have a feeding guide calculator, which is a great starting point for you to use to work out how much your pet needs. Every pet is different, so you will need to monitor your pet’s weight to make sure you have the feeding amount right. To begin with, we recommend feeding them according to the weight they’re at, then once they’re fully transitioned to our food for a week or so, you can start to gradually reduce the feeding amount, nice and gently, so that you’re feeding them at their desired weight. Always monitor their shape, using our guide below, and keep your vet in the loop throughout the process to make sure they’re losing weight at a healthy rate.

A guide to healthy pet weight

Us pet parents can’t always see the weight on our pets. Here is a handy guide, which is used by many veterinarians, to help you check your dog or cat to make sure they’re in the healthy range.

The ideal body shape would ensure that there is minimal fat covering the ribs and that the ribs can be easily felt, but not obviously seen. When viewed from above your dog’s waist should be clearly discernible from their rib cage. Dogs should also have a visible abdominal ‘tuck’ when they are viewed from the side.

If you’ve got a fluffy dog aka ‘floofer’ and can’t see their body shape under all their fur, you can use the knuckle test:

the knuckle test - infographic for testing your dog's weight

Integrative Veterinarian, Dr Nicole Rous, discusses weight management with patients on a daily basis and provides her expert advice with lots of love and care, as well as realistic lifestyle changes that don’t take all the fun out of food. Check out the article here.  

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