Vizsla diet after activity drop

A Vizsla whose daily routine has shifted — that's a really common trigger for weight creep and low-grade lethargy, and it's worth sorting before bad habits set in. Choosing dog food is genuinely complicated because the right answer depends on age, size, breed, and health, and the priciest or most-advertised options aren't always the right fit. To give you a useful steer: what are you currently feeding, and has your Vizsla had any health checks recently — weight, thyroid, joints? And roughly how much exercise is he or she getting now compared to before you retired?

That all makes a lot of sense. Vizslas are lean, high-energy dogs and half a kilo on a breed that should sit around 18–25 kg is noticeable — you're right to catch it now. The issue isn't the food being bad, it's that Pro Plan Adult is calibrated for a more active dog. It's a decent kibble but it's calorie-dense, and at reduced activity it's easy to overshoot even when you're following the feeding guide. Before I suggest anything: is she eating the same portion size as before, or have you already tried cutting back?

Good — that tells me most of the work here is caloric, not nutritional. You have two levers: reduce the portion of what she's on, or move to a food that delivers better satiety at a lower calorie load so she doesn't feel short-changed. I'd lean toward the second option for a Vizsla, because they're a breed that does better feeling satisfied — hungry Vizslas get anxious and clingy. My recommendation is Lily's Kitchen Chicken and Turkey Adult Dry Dog Food. It runs around 340 kcal per 100g compared to Pro Plan's roughly 370, it uses named meat as the first ingredient with no maize or wheat filler, and the fibre content is higher so she'll feel fuller. It's not a 'light' food — which often just means watered-down nutrition — it's a properly balanced adult food that happens to suit a moderately active dog much better than a performance-oriented one. Feed about 10–15% less than the guide says to start, weigh her every two weeks, and adjust from there.

Yes on both counts. It's on Amazon UK — a 7kg bag runs around £30–35, which puts it in the mid-range, roughly comparable to Pro Plan per meal. The transition should be gradual: mix it in over seven to ten days, starting with about 25% new food and working up. Vizslas can have sensitive digestion and a sudden switch on an already slightly off-routine dog isn't worth the risk. If after six weeks her weight is stable and she's back to her lean athletic shape, you're done. If she's still gaining, the next step would be a vet weight check to rule out anything hormonal — but I'd be surprised if that's needed here.