Duke also had a history of lameness after a past injury - this has now resolved following his weight loss.  Duke received his weight loss achievement rosette - pictured here! 

He has been managed on Hills Metabolic Mobility prescription food - ideal for him, not only for weight loss but this also has joint supplement additives.  A good quality joint supplement is important for joint health for all dogs, but in particular larger breeds such as Duke - who is a German Shepherd x Rotti.  And he no longer has any need for medication for his lameness, which is testament to the importance of weight loss.

Our weight management programme is an important part of successful weight loss - regular weigh-ins every 3-4 weeks help us monitor progress.  Part of this is the pet's body condition score (BCS), which judges their appearance based on a score out of 9.  We aim for a nice slim, but not skinny, results - just like Duke's new waistline.  Have a look at the body condition chart at the end of this article as see where you think your dog is!  If you think your dog may be overweight then please give us a call.

He has loved the food and the plan at present is to keep him on this long-term at a maintenance amount.   While he has lost slightly more weight than his target of 34kg, he still has a great body condition score of 5/9.  We are now working on his ideal maintenance amount of food, to help prevent him becoming overweight again.

Our programme is free on our MVP Care Plan (click here) or if not on plan is a one-off nurse consult fee and includes all weigh-ins.


Duke's weight progress - great!



The same body condition score readings are used regardless of breed and age. This is also the case for cats. We do have a separate chart for pugs, again out of 9 but given their unique shape they have slightly different reading points. Need more information? Just ask a member of our nursing team.