4 Best Dog Foods for Overweight Rottweilers

More than 40% of dogs aged five or older are overweight. While that’s pretty bad, much worse is the fact that over a quarter of domestic dogs are obese, which reduces your dog’s lifespan and increases their risk for disease. 

Rottweilers are already big and heavy dogs, so carrying around more weight than necessary can be detrimental to their health. Luckily, you can help to reduce your Rottie’s weight with the right dog food. 

Because of their large size, an overweight Rottweiler will require special food. They need a weight management formula with fewer calories, less fat, and added supplements to help them burn off those extra pounds of body fat. 

Picking the right food for an overweight Rottie can be a bit complicated due to all these requirements. To help you weed through the countless dog food products on the market, I’ve put together this list of the four best dog foods for overweight Rottweilers. 

If you want to skip the reading and take my recommendation, you click here to check out Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large-Breed Perfect Weight dog food, which is my top choice that’s packed with precisely the nutrition your Rottie needs to get back to a healthy weight. 

But if you want to know how to best help your overweight Rottweiler, then keep reading because we’re going to discuss the specific things you should look for in a dog food for overweight Rotties, how to help your Rottweiler lose weight, and how to tell if your Rottweiler is overweight. 

Just interested in my recommendations? Then you can check out the list below of the four best dog foods for overweight Rottweilers. 

1. Best Overall: Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large-Breed Perfect Weight Dog Food
2. Runner Up: Eukanuba Fit Body Weight Control Large Breed Dry Dog Food
3. Best Budget Option: Iams Large Breed Adult Dry Dog Food for Healthy Weight
4. Best Premium Food: Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Weight Control Formula

How to Know If Your Rottweiler is Overweight

Before you start making big changes to your Rottie’s diet, it’s important to be certain that your dog is actually overweight. 

There are two main ways of determining this. 

First, you can base it on your Rottie’s weight. According to most standards for Rottweilers, males should weigh between 95-135 pounds and females should weigh 80-100 pounds. If your dog weighs more than the top of the healthy weight range for its sex, then they are most likely overweight. 

Of course, your dog doesn’t have to be that heavy to be overweight. Some male Rottweilers, for instance, should be just 95 pounds at a healthy weight. If your Rottie is on the smaller side, then they could be overweight even if their weight falls within the AKC’s guidelines. 

As you can likely tell, the major problem with using your Rottweiler’s weight to determine if it’s overweight or healthy is that each individual is different. Because of this, a more accurate way to tell if your Rottie is overweight is to start by referring to a growth chart that takes height into consideration and check your Rottie’s body condition score. 

When checking your Rottie’s body condition score, you’ll be assigning your dog a number on a scale based on factors such as whether you can see or feel their ribs or not. Your dog’s score on this test will help you to better understand just how overweight your Rottie is, as well as helping you to determine when they’ve reached a healthy weight. 

Thankfully, checking your Rottweiler’s body condition score is pretty easy. For instructions on how you can perform this test at home, check out this video:

Helping Your Overweight Rottweiler

At this point, you should be able to tell whether your Rottweiler is overweight or not. If you’ve determined they are, then there are some changes you’ll need to make to your Rottie’s lifestyle, in conjunction with changing foods to one of the weight management formulas recommended below. 

Don’t worry, we’re not talking about massive changes here. You can make the small adaptations we’re about to discuss without much hassle, though they can have a big impact on your Rottie’s weight loss. 

Increase Exercise

When a person is overweight, what is the first thing that most people suggest to help them get leaner? Exercise!

Pretty much everyone understands that exercising helps you to keep your weight under control. Well, the same works for your dog. 

That doesn’t mean you have to start taking your Rottweiler on five-mile jogs every morning. After all, your overweight Rottie would probably have a very hard time on such a run. 

Instead, you can simply add in a couple of short walks each day. Start with just one, then after a week or two, add in a second daily walk. The calories burnt on these walks will add up quickly, which will result in a body fat reduction for your pooch. 

Another way to exercise your Rottweiler is by playing an active game with them. Fetch is a great choice- and yes Rottweilers can be taught to retrieve! It gets your dog moving and Rottweilers almost always love to fetch whatever you’re willing to throw!

Swimming is another good option and most Rotties enjoy spending time in the water.

What’s important is that your Rottie stays active. They don’t need to perform vigorous exercise, but adding in some extra physical activity can go a long way towards helping your Rottie reach a healthier weight. 

Use a Measuring Cup When Feeding

Getting the right dog food for your Rottweiler is the most effective way to help them lose weight. However, it’s not going to work as well if you don’t measure out their meals. 

Many people eyeball their dog’s food. This is generally fine, but when your Rottweiler is overweight, guessing how much food you’re offering could cause you to overfeed them without even realizing. 

Instead, you should get a measuring cup out and use it to serve your Rottie’s food. You might be surprised to realize that you’ve been overfeeding them for a long time!

Limit Treats and Food Sharing

Rottweilers love to eat, and their tastes certainly aren’t limited to dog food! Rather, Rotties are always trying to get a table scrap or a treat- but what dog doesn’t love treats? 

As a loving owner, it’s natural to want to fulfill your dog’s desires and give them the treat they’re asking for, but these little doses of food can add up to a lot of extra calories throughout the day, causing your dog’s overall intake to be much higher than you might realize. 

This doesn’t mean you have to cease giving your pooch treats or table scraps altogether, but it does mean that you should limit how often and how much you give them. 

What to Look for in Dog Food for an Overweight Rottweiler 

So, what makes a particular food a good choice for an overweight Rottweiler? 

Glad you asked! 

Below are the five key factors to consider when comparing dog foods for your overweight Rottie. If you can find a food that meets all five of these requirements, then you can be sure that it’s a good choice to help your Rottweiler get back to a healthier weight. 

In general, you’re looking for a weight management formula, but all weight management dog foods are not created equally. You’ll want to investigate any food you’re considering for your pooch and ensure it meets the following criteria. 

Fewer Calories Per Cup

The more calories your Rottie eats, the more weight they’ll gain. By reducing your dog’s total caloric intake, you’ll be making it possible for their body to burn fat instead of food.

Most dog foods for large-breed canines like Rottweilers contain between 380-430 calories per cup of food. Weight management blends, on the other hand, have fewer calories, usually in the realm of 250-330 calories per cup. 

Since Rottweilers are generally consuming three to five cups of food per day, you’ll be feeding them 300-500 fewer calories each day by switching to a low-calorie weight management dog food, which will result in weight loss. 

Carnitine 

Carnitine and L-carnitine are supplements that are found in many weight-management dog food blends. 

Why is it in these recipes?

Because carnitine helps your dog’s body utilize fat for energy, making it easier for the pounds to melt off. 

Joint Health 

Fat loss supplements like L-carnitine are helpful in getting your Rottweiler back to a healthy weight, but you must also consider your pooch’s joints. 

Rottweilers are already susceptible to a range of joint and bone problems, including elbow dysplasia, hip dysplasia, and arthritis. Unfortunately, being overweight exacerbates the problem, making it more likely that your Rottie will suffer from one of these ailments. 

To help prevent that, you can feed your Rottie a dog food that contains supplements and nutrients that can protect joints and reduce the severity of existing joint and bone problems or help prevent them if your Rottie isn’t affected yet. 

Glucosamine and chondroitin are both commonly found in large-breed dog foods since they can help to prevent joint damage, protect cartilage, and reduce inflammation. 

Similarly, omega fatty acids can help to lubricate the joints and reduce inflammation, which can keep your Rottie out of pain and reduce the chances of them developing joint or bone issues. 

By picking food for your Rottie that contains these compounds, you’ll be helping to keep them out of pain and reducing the likelihood of joint or bone diseases common in the breed. This equates to a higher quality of living for your best friend, especially as they age. 

Quality Ingredients

It shouldn’t be too surprising that high-quality ingredients make for higher-quality dog food. Naturally, higher-quality food leads to a healthier pooch. 

What you’re looking for are mainly whole-food ingredients such as animal proteins, fruits, and vegetables. Generally, you’ll want to see a high-quality animal protein source listed first, such as chicken or salmon. 

When looking at the ingredients list, it’s vital that you understand how it’s ordered, which is from the most prevalent ingredient to the least. This means that you’ll find the highest amounts of the first ingredients and the last ingredient listed will be the least prevalent ingredient in the recipe. 

You can learn a lot about the overall quality of any given dog food by checking the first five ingredients on the list. If they’re primarily quality whole-food ingredients, then it’s a safe bet that the blend is healthy and quality on the whole. 

The 4 Best Dog Foods for an Overweight Rottweiler

Now that you’ve got a clear understanding of what to look for in a dog food for your overweight Rottie, it’s time to talk top picks. The following four dog foods are some of the best options available to help your Rottweiler lose weight. 

Best Overall: Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large-Breed Perfect Weight Dog Food

Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large-Breed Perfect Weight Dog Food

• Includes everything we look for in a great weight loss recipe for Rotties
• Great macronutrient profile to help shed the pounds

Check Price on Amazon

The Hill’s Science Diet Perfect Weight blend is my favorite dog food for overweight Rottweilers. It contains everything your Rottweiler needs to stay healthy while losing the extra pounds and returning to a healthy weight. 

Hill’s Science Diet foods are commonly recommended by Veterinary professionals, which does lend some credibility to their foods. This blend is also made in the USA using natural ingredients; another testament to the overall quality of the food. 

Let’s start with the ingredients list. The first ingredient is chicken, a whole-food animal-based protein source that provides high-quality protein for your Rottie. The second and third ingredients are cracked pearled barley and brown rice respectively, showing that there’s a preference for quality whole food ingredients in the entire recipe. 

Each cup of this food contains just 289 calories, making it much lower in calories than traditional dog foods. At 11% fat, it’s not the lowest of our top picks, but it still contains much less fat than non-weight-management blends. 

Here’s something you can be happy about though: this recipe contains carnitine, glucosamine, and chondroitin; all three of our recommended supplements. This means that it will help keep your Rottie’s joints and bones in good health while simultaneously aiding in your pooch’s fat loss. 

Plus, you’ll find ample omega fatty acids here as well, which will work in tandem with glucosamine and chondroitin to ensure your Rottie experiences joint health improvements. 

You can read more reviews and check the latest price on Amazon by clicking here.

What I love about it: This food contains everything your Rottweiler needs to lose weight and stay in peak health while getting lean. 

What I wish it had: A lower price! It’s not the most expensive food on the market, but it’s definitely pricier than many alternatives. Still, in many cases, you get what you pay for, and this is clearly one of those times. 

Runner-Up: Eukanuba Fit Body Weight Control Large Breed Dry Dog Food

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Eukanuba Fit Body Weight Control Large Breed Dry Dog Food

• Includes all the recommended supplements to keep Rotties healthy and active
• 267 calories per cup means you can feed more cups without weight gain

Check Price on Amazon

Here’s another great option you can’t go wrong feeding to an overweight Rottweiler. This weight control blend from Eukanuba offers everything your Rottie requires to help them lose weight. 

On the downside, the ingredients aren’t quite as impressive as those that make up the Hill’s Science Diet blend. That said, the Eukanuba blend is priced a bit more reasonably, making it more affordable for many Rottie owners. 

Things start out well on the ingredients list with chicken listed as the primary ingredient. In the top five, you’ll find several whole-food ingredients like wheat, corn, and barely. However, you’ll also see chicken by-product meal, which many consider to be a lower-quality inclusion. 

With just 9% total fat, your Rottie will be consuming far less fat eating this food than almost any standard blend. At just 267 calories per cup, you’ll also be reducing your Rottie’s total intake by a significant margin, ensuring that the weight starts to drop off with relative ease. 

Importantly, this food contains all three recommended supplements for overweight Rottweilers, though in lower amounts than in my favorite blend from Hill’s Science Diet. The L-carnitine helps your dog to burn fat more efficiently while glucosamine and chondroitin protect their joints and help to prevent or reduce the effects of bone and joint diseases that Rottweilers are highly susceptible to. 

You can read more reviews and see today’s price on Amazon by clicking here.

What I love about it: This blend is packed with precisely the nutrients and supplements to protect your Rottweiler while helping them lose weight. 

What I wish it had: It would be nice to see higher concentrations of the health-boosting supplements in this blend, but something had to be sacrificed to keep the price lower than other competing brands. 

Best Budget Food: Iams Large Breed Adult Dry Dog Food for Healthy Weight

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Iams Large Breed Adult Dry Dog Food for Healthy Weight

• Easy on the budget which is always good
• Plenty of whole food ingredients without breaking the bank

Check Price on Amazon

Honestly, this Iams dog food is one of my favorites for overweight Rottweilers since it contains everything you might hope for in a weight management formula but at a price that’s much lower than other blends made with the same goals in mind. 

For example, you’ll find glucosamine and chondroitin in this recipe, in similar amounts as the Eukanuba blend we just discussed. Furthermore, there’s plenty of omega fatty acids in here as well. When they’re all put together, it’s a recipe for improved joint and bone health, which is essential for Rottweilers because they’re so vulnerable to bone and joint diseases. 

If you take a look at the guaranteed analysis of this blend, you’ll also notice that it contains 50 milligrams of L-carnitine per serving. That is 15 milligrams more than the Eukanuba blend contains, even though this recipe from Iams is much more affordable. 

At 328 calories per cup, this blend is quite a bit more calorically dense than the others we’ve discussed so far, so you’ll have to be extra careful not to overfeed your Rottie on the Iams. However, it’s got just 9% fat, which should help to shed your Rottie’s extra pounds, despite the higher calorie count. 

Checking out the ingredients list provides more hope though as it’s made up primarily of whole-food ingredients. The first five ingredients in order are chicken, ground whole grain barley, ground whole grain corn, ground whole grain sorghum, and chicken by-product meal. 

Even though many consider by-product meals to be sub-par ingredients, they also provide lots of glucosamine and chondroitin, which are welcome inclusions. The rest of those ingredients are all whole-foods, which is exactly what you want for a healthy Rottweiler. 

You can check out more reviews and see today’s price on Amazon by clicking here.

What I love about it: It’s far easier on the budget than most blends that I’d recommend for an overweight Rottweiler, even though it’s got everything you could hope for in such a food. 

What I wish it had: Truthfully, at this price, I can’t ask for anything more. This blend ticks all the boxes at a price that should be attractive to almost any Rottie owner. 

Best Premium Food: Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Weight Control Formula

Buy On Chewy

This weight control blend from Royal Canin is incredibly expensive, but many online reviewers have agreed that it’s effective at helping large-breed dogs lose weight. It’s often recommended by veterinarians for overweight dogs, which does lend some credence to its effectiveness at weight loss. In fact, you have to get vet authorization just to purchase it!

This blend contains just 267 calories per cup, making it easy to keep your Rottie in a caloric deficit so it can lose weight. You’ll also see that there’s just 9% fat, which will further aid your fat loss efforts. 

Additionally, you’ll notice that there’s L-carnitine on the ingredients list, helping your dog to burn fat more effectively for faster weight loss overall. 

On the guaranteed analysis, you can see that this food contains tons of glucosamine and sufficient chondroitin to boost your buddy’s joint and bone health. 

Things don’t look quite as great on the ingredients list though. Corn is listed as the primary ingredient, and you won’t even find an animal-based protein until the third ingredient, which is chicken by-product meal. Still, at 26% protein, it does contain sufficient amounts to keep your Rottweiler healthy. 

If you’re the type who wants to provide your pooch with a premium blend and you don’t mind the higher expense, then you can check out current pricing on Chewy by clicking here. 

What I love about it: There’s a lot of glucosamine in here, and when combined with the chondroitin also found in this blend, it should offer an improvement to your Rottie’s joint and bone health. 

What I wish it had: More high-quality animal protein sources! 

Final Thoughts

There are many weight control dog food blends on the market, and while any of them could potentially help your Rottweiler lose weight, the four on this list contain everything that an overweight Rottie needs. 

With other weight management blends, you could be missing out on vital health-boosting ingredients like glucosamine, chondroitin, and omega fatty acids. Furthermore, not all blends contain fat-burning supplements like L-carnitine that can speed up your fat-loss efforts, but the foods on this list do. 

Hopefully, you’ve found a great match somewhere on this list for you and your Rottie. I’m confident that any of these foods will serve you both well, and I think you’ll agree after trying them.