Dog Weight Loss & Maintenance

Bernie’s Perfect Poop helps dogs lose and maintain weight

Dog obesity is a serious condition, and it’s not one you want to take lightly. When your dog is overweight or has trouble maintaining a healthy weight, a plethora of health conditions can set in. How can Bernie’s Perfect Poop help dogs lose and maintain a healthy weight?
Photo of Bernie's Perfect Poop grass bits up close.

A high-quality fiber is just what you need to help your dog lose and maintain a healthy weight. A premium fiber combination like that in Bernie’s Perfect Poop will help firm your dog’s stool up as it goes through his digestive tract. Fiber not only helps your dog feel fuller, but it also keeps food going through your dog’s digestive system at just the right speed. It helps balance your dog’s microbiome and healthy dog guts mean healthier weights for your dog.
Bernie’s Perfect Poop also combines prebiotics and probiotics to balance your dog’s gut microbiome. When your dog’s gut is healthy and balanced, it allows appetite-reducing hormones to be released in your dog’s body. These hormones also increase proteins that reduce fat storage in your dog’s body, and instead help excess fat be excreted in his poop. All of this happens when your dog’s microbiome is in check. The prebiotics and probiotics in Bernie’s encourage optimal dog gut health to keep your dog’s gut in shape and digestive health strong. Strong digestive health means better, healthier weights.
Every cell of your dog’s body needs nutrients. If your dog is not getting enough nutrition from his food, he may instinctively eat more to stabilize. Bernie’s Perfect Poop enzymes help break food down more efficiently, which means your dog’s body can absorb more nutrition. This will fuel their metabolism and give them more energy to get all the exercise they need. Proper exercise and nutrition are key factors in healthy weights for dogs.
Bernie’s Perfect Poop is a 4-in-1 combination of fiber, prebiotics, probiotics, and enzymes. Bernie’s helps bring optimal gut health to your dog, and this means their overall health is in tip-top shape too. When dogs have the right gut health, they’ll have better overall moods and energy to appropriately exercise and burn calories. This will keep them in their best physical shape too.

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IT WORKS

This stuff is FABULOUS. I bought it because I have a senior bulldog who has been having bad GI issues for awhile now. I’ve tried everything (vet prescribed probiotics, hydrolyzed food, medication, you name it) and Bernie’s is the first thing that has actually made a noticeable difference. My dog is so much happier, regular, and overall back to his normal self since I started giving it to him. I’m convinced it’s adding months, if not years, to his life – and for that I am so incredibly grateful!!! He loves the taste (of course, typical Bulldog, will eat anything – lol) and has not experienced any negative side effects at all. I also have a Frenchie who is very healthy, but I decided to put her on it as well (I figured why not, since it’s worked so well for my other guy.) She is typically a picky eater, but gobbles this down no problem. I can’t recommend the product highly enough. I am a new customer, but already “sold” and will be a loyal client for life!!! – Jackie D

What does an overweight dog look like and what are the signs?

Canine obesity is the most common preventable disease in dogs. Yes, we said disease because when your dog is overweight, he’s at risk for so many other health issues like cancer, diabetes, heart disease and more.

In a nutshell, if your dog is overweight, he is simply storing an excess of body fat. While most experts will use your dog’s weight to measure whether or not he is obese, it’s also important to note that there are other signs like how easy it is to feel around their rib cages and where they carry the most weight.

Generally speaking and using body weight as a guide, a dog is typically considered to be overweight if he’s 10-20% above his ideal body weight. If he’s over 20% more than his ideal body weight, vets consider him obese. Your vet is the best resource for your dog’s ideal weight. They will use what is commonly known as a body condition score that will help them determine if your dog is obese. To determine this score, they’ll look at your dog’s shape, rib cage, view from above, weight within breed limits and more.

It’s important to ensure your dog doesn’t have excess body fat because fat isn’t just excess tissue. Research shows more and more that fat tissue is biologically active and can put your dog at risk for more serious health conditions. Fat secretes inflammatory hormones and creates oxidative stress on your dog’s other body tissues, which impacts their overall health and even life-span.

The symptoms of obesity in dogs are:

Excess body weight
Excessive body weight gain
Excess body fat
Lack of motivation to exercise/play
Lethargy
Aches/limp in joints
High body condition score

Causes of obesity in dogs

Generally speaking, dogs are overweight because we feed them too much and they don’t exercise enough. Medically speaking, dog obesity is simply the imbalance of calories (energy) taken in and calories burned (energy spent). Your dog simply eats more calories than he burns, and those calories turn into stored fat.

Some dogs just love to eat. It’s their job, their hobby and their mission all in one. They’ll eat because it’s there, and that’s that. Provided these dogs get enough exercise to burn those calories they take in, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

But when they don’t—because they’re not motivated, too heavy to exercise comfortably or in pain because of excess weight on joints, it can be like a vicious cycle to get them to lose weight.
As dogs age, arthritis and other conditions that come with aging may prevent them from exercising as much, but they still want to eat what they always have. This is why many senior dogs have a little extra fluff in the rump.

And of course, humans are often the cause of their dog’s weight issues because they can’t resist puppy-dog eyes. When we offer high-calorie table scraps or treats on the regular, we can add to the problem of overweight dogs.

Possible causes of dog weight gain	Can Perfect Poop help?
Overeating	Yes
Lack of dietary fiber	Yes
Poor digestion	Yes
Poor nutrient absorption	Yes
Poor mental motivation	Yes
Hypothyroidism (low thyroid levels)
Lack of exercise
Cushing’s Disease (hypoadrenocorticism)
Spaying or neutering

Illustration of Bernie sitting and smiling.

If your dog seems to be adding weight excessively in a pretty quick fashion, you want to talk to your vet immediately. There may be an underlying health risk—cancer, diabetes or Cushing’s—that may be leading to the issues, and you want to find out why. It’s important to keep your dog at a healthy weight his whole life for longer life-span and energy.

More information about dog weight loss & maintenance

Good dog gut health is key to your dog being his healthiest weight. If your dog’s gut is healthy, they’ll have a healthy digestive tract. A healthy digestive tract means that food moves through quickly with all important nutrients absorbed, and this will fuel your dog to exercise and burn off excess calories. Dogs with balanced guts have healthier weights, and that puts them in a better position to avoid illnesses or diseases later.

Fiber may help your dog lose weight

Fiber is good for many reasons, but when it comes to weight loss? The bottom line is that fiber helps give your dog a feeling of fullness. When your dog feels satiated, they aren’t as prone to overeating and bringing in excess calories. More, a high-quality fiber like that in Bernie’s perfect poop will help balance your dog’s gut. This means he’ll be able to absorb all the nutrients he needs to give him the energy to burn off the excess calories he takes in. If your dog is not getting enough premium fiber, his gut may be imbalanced, and this means that he might not be in optimal health. Balanced microbiomes communicate with dog’s brains (the gut-brain axis) and give them a better mind frame. With that overall mood improvement, they are less prone to stress or anxiety eating.

A balanced gut can be encouraged when you supplement with a premium fiber. Bernie’s uses Miscanthus grass. It’s a healthier alternative to other cheap fiber fillers some supplements use, and is an all-natural, non-GMO, grain-free, gluten-free fiber that is sustainably grown. It’s grown without herbicides or pesticides and is good for the planet and for our dogs.

Prebiotics and probiotics may help with dog weight management

Prebiotics and probiotics are the stuff healthy dog guts are made of. Prebiotics and probiotics balance out your dog’s digestive tract bacteria and microbiome. They’re the protectors of your dog’s colon, and they play a role in weight regulation in several different ways.

Probiotics are the good bacteria in your dog’s gut. Adding that good bacteria through supplementation limits the growth and effects of harmful bacteria. When the good bacteria in your dog’s gut get the proper nutrition, they multiply and create a healthy environment. In this healthy environment, probiotics also release appetite-reducing hormones. These hormones can help your dog burn calories and fat, and help them not overeat.

In addition, healthy probiotic colonies can also increase protein levels in the digestive tract, which can decrease fat storage in your dog’s cells. They help increase dietary fat in your dog’s poop—meaning it leaves their body instead of hanging around and makes them heavier.

The prebiotic in Bernie’s is Inulin. Inulin acts as a fertilizer to feed the probiotics in your dog’s lower digestive tract. With the proper supplementation, the good bacteria thrive and keep your dog’s gut healthy and balanced. A balanced gut is the best way to help your dog lose and maintain a healthy weight.

Enzymes may help your dog maintain a healthy weight

Enzymes in Bernie’s Perfect Poop will help your dog’s digestive tract break food down better. When it comes to losing weight, Amylase and Lipase Protease are enzymes that play a key role. Along with three other enzymes in Bernie’s, they allow for better nutrient absorption for your dog to fuel his body and keep his metabolism burning fat. When food can’t be broken down appropriately, your dog’s cellular functions may be impaired and his metabolism can become slow. This is when you’ll see him gain more weight, but fat-burning enzymes like Lipase will not only help his weight but his mood too.

Dogs with better mental health don’t tend to stress/anxiety eat for comfort, which can also help them stay a healthy weight. The enzymes in Bernie’s help ensure your dog gets the most from the food you give and also help balance the calories taken in with the calories burned off.

Other ways to help

Limit treats/table scraps
Serve nutrient-dense food that’s not high in calories
Reduce portion sizes of your dog’s meals
Increase exercise opportunities

Additional reading

Related terms

Obese dog
Overweight dog
Fluffy dog
Hefty dog
Pudgy dog
Chunky monkey
Chubbs
Flabulous