Royal Canin Mini Light Weight Care Dry Dog Food1–10 kg adult weight · adult

Over half the dogs in most South African practices are overweight, and small breeds are the worst affected because the margin is so fine. A 6 kg dog carrying 1.5 kg extra is the equivalent of a person carrying twenty — and on a small dog it is genuinely hard to see under the coat.

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 high 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. Omega-3 at 5.2 g/kg supports joints already carrying more than they should.

• Weight Management
• Lean Muscle Support
• Satiety

Ingredients

Dehydrated poultry protein, maize, barley, rice, vegetable protein isolate (L.I.P. — protein selected for its very high digestibility), maize gluten, hydrolysed animal proteins, vegetable fibres, animal fats, beet pulp, cellulose powder, minerals, fish oil, yeasts and parts thereof, soya oil, psyllium husks and seeds, fructo-oligo-saccharides, borage oil, marigold extract (source of lutein). Additives (per kg) — Nutritional additives: Vitamin A 22,000 IU · Vitamin D3 1,000 IU · E1 (Iron) 36 mg · E2 (Iodine) 3.6 mg · E4 (Copper) 11 mg · E5 (Manganese) 47 mg · E6 (Zinc) 136 mg · E8 (Selenium) 0.04 mg. 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.