Royal Canin Maxi Light Weight Care Dry Dog Food26–44 kg adult weight · adult

An overweight large dog has a compounding problem. The extra weight loads joints that were already working hard, the sore joints make her move less, and moving less puts on more weight. Labradors are the classic case — a genuine genetic variant means many of them never feel full.

Fat is cut to 11% while fibre runs high — cellulose and beet pulp add bulk without calories, so a normal-looking bowl carries far less energy and she still feels she's eaten. Protein is held at 27% deliberately: a dog losing weight on a low-protein food loses muscle alongside the fat, which slows her metabolism and makes the weight come back faster than it went. L-carnitine is absent here but the protein-to-calorie ratio does the real work. Expect slow, steady loss — that's what you want. This version adds glucosamine and chondroitin, which the Mini and Medium don't, and omega-3 at 7.5 g/kg — the highest of the three — because the joints are already under strain and the weight loss will take months.

• Weight Management
• Joint Support
• Lean Muscle Support
• Satiety

Ingredients

Dehydrated poultry protein, maize, barley, vegetable fibres, maize gluten, hydrolysed animal proteins, wheat, vegetable protein isolate (L.I.P. — protein selected for its very high digestibility), animal fats, maize flour, cellulose powder, beet pulp, fish oil, yeasts and parts thereof, minerals, fructo-oligo-saccharides, soya oil, hydrolysed crustaceans (source of glucosamine), marigold extract (source of lutein), hydrolysed cartilage (source of chondroitin). Additives (per kg) — Nutritional additives: Vitamin A 21,000 IU · Vitamin D3 900 IU · E1 (Iron) 35 mg · E2 (Iodine) 3.5 mg · E4 (Copper) 11 mg · E5 (Manganese) 45 mg · E6 (Zinc) 136 mg · E8 (Selenium) 0.05 mg. Technological additives: Clinoptilolite of sedimentary origin 5 g. Preservatives. Antioxidants.

Looking after it

Store in a cool, dry place, sealed. Use within six weeks of opening. Weigh her monthly and aim for about 1–2% of body weight a week; faster is neither safer nor more durable. Weigh her food on a kitchen scale rather than scooping — a heaped cup can be 40% more than a level one. Everyone in the house has to be on board, because a diet undone by one person's biltong is a diet that fails. Treats should come out of her daily ration, not on top of it, and carrot sticks work better than you'd think. Swimming is the best exercise for an overweight dog with sore joints, if you have access to it — all the work, none of the impact.