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Expert Advice
How to Check Your Dog's Body Condition Score
Is your dog overweight, underweight, or ideal? Calculating a dog's body condition score can help you understand their health.
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/check-dogs-body-condition-score/
| February 11, 2026
Expert Advice
How Dog Food and Nutrition Can Affect Your Dog's Weight
According to a recent study by the Association for Pet Obesity (APOP), a whopping 59% of US dogs are overweight or obese.
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/nutrition/dog-food-weight/
| February 11, 2026
Expert Advice
Best Dog Food for Large Breeds: What to Know
Owning a large breed dog comes with large responsibilities, especially when it comes to choosing the best large breed dog food. After all, you want your dog to live a long, healthy, active life, and that starts with good nutrition. Feeding a properly formulated, high-quality diet is one of the most important things you can [...]
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/nutrition/large-breed-dog-food/
| February 11, 2026
Expert Advice
Monitor Weight to Improve Your Breeding Program
Canine reproduction is a complex physiological event. Even if you provide a nurturing environment and a proper diet, there are no guarantees of success. Fortunately, by monitoring and optimizing the weight of your breeding females, you can increase the success of your breeding program.
Breeding Program Checklist: When and How to Monitor Weight
Evaluate Body [...]
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/dog-breeding/monitor-weight-improve-breeding-program/
| February 11, 2026
Expert Advice
Preventing Obesity in Senior Dogs
Like the humans who care for them, older dogs are not exempt from gaining weight. Here's how to prevent canine obesity in senior dogs.
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/preventing-obesity-in-senior-dogs/
| February 11, 2026
Expert Advice
How to Spot a Sick Puppy: Signs and Symptoms to Look For
With so much to do like training, socialization, and more, it can be hard to catch the beginning stages of a sick puppy. Knowing the warning signs can help.
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/sick-puppy-symptoms/
| February 11, 2026
Expert Advice
How to Tell if Your Dog is Underweight
Dogs can be underweight due to diet or underlying health problems. How do you recognize if your dog is underweight and what do you do about it?
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/nutrition/is-my-dog-underweight/
| February 11, 2026
Expert Advice
How to Tell If Your Dog Is in Shape Or Overweight
If your pooch is looking a bit more pudgy than usual, it's actually quite common. The battle of the bulge isn't just something people face — so do pets. In fact, according to a 2018 survey conducted by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, 55.8 percent of dogs in the United States are overweight or obese. And that [...]
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/how-to-tell-if-your-dog-is-fat/
| February 11, 2026
Expert Advice
Proper Puppy Nutrition Nourishes Rapid Growth
Puppies grow rapidly. At times during their rapid growth and development from weaning until approximately 4 to 6 months of age, puppies, depending on the breed, require about twice as much energy, or calories, per pound of body weight as adult dogs of the same breed and a higher nutrient intake to support their growing bodies.
"The [...]
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/proper-puppy-nutrition-nourishes-rapid-growth/
| February 11, 2026
Legislative Alerts
Illinois Info: Amendments to State’s Animal Welfare Act Regulations Proposed
The Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) recently published proposed amendments to the regulations that carry out the state’s Animal Welfare Act. These regulations would apply to all state licensed breeders, which in current law is anyone who raises and sells dogs they have bred, and have more than five females “capable of reproduction.”
The [...]
https://www.akc.org/legislative-alerts/illinois-info-amendments-states-animal-welfare-act-regulations-proposed/
| February 11, 2026