Low-Calorie Food for Overweight Basset Hound

A vet flagging weight creep in a Basset Hound is really common — they're built low to the ground and those extra pounds go straight onto their joints and spine, which is the last thing you want. Before I point you toward anything, how much is he eating right now, and is it dry food, wet, or a mix?

That's useful to know. Supermarket brands tend to be calorie-dense and fairly low in protein relative to carbs, which doesn't help with satiety — so he's probably finishing his bowl and still feeling hungry. Is he getting many treats or table scraps on top of that?

Classic Basset Hound guilt-tripping — they're professionals at it. The good news is you don't have to cut treats entirely, you just need the main food doing more of the heavy lifting on fullness. My recommendation is Royal Canin Satiety Support dry food. It's specifically formulated to help dogs feel fuller on fewer calories — higher fibre, controlled fat, and it's one of the few weight management foods vets actually reach for rather than just tolerating. For a 2kg loss goal it's a solid starting point, and you can keep a small treat allowance without derailing progress.

Always phase it in — about 7 to 10 days, mixing increasing amounts of the new food with the old. Basset Hounds can have sensitive digestion and a sudden switch often causes loose stools, which nobody wants. Start at roughly 25% new food and increase every couple of days. Royal Canin's packaging includes weight-based feeding guides, but given his situation I'd go slightly under the suggested amount to begin with and adjust based on how he's doing over the first month.

That's exactly the right approach — the vet recheck is worth doing so you can see whether the portion size needs tweaking. Two kilos on a Basset isn't a huge amount to shift, and with a consistent food switch and modest treat reduction you should see progress within 8 to 12 weeks. Good luck to both of you.