How long will it realistically take my dog to lose weight?

Slower than you'd like, honestly. Safe weight loss for dogs sits at roughly 1 to 2 per cent of body weight a week, so a dog who needs to drop 3kg is looking at a few months, not a few weeks. Crash diets do more harm than good, and the weight tends to bounce straight back on anyway.

The exact timeline depends on how much your dog's carrying, their age, breed and how active they are. An older, low-energy dog will shift weight more slowly than a young springer who's bouncing off the walls. Your vet can work out a healthy target weight and a sensible weekly rate for your dog, which is worth doing before you start so you know what you're aiming at.

The bit most people underestimate is portioning. It's dead easy to overfeed when you're eyeballing a scoop, and treats add up fast. Weigh the food with kitchen scales, count treats as part of the daily total, and do a weigh-in every couple of weeks so you can adjust. Small, steady changes beat dramatic ones every time. If the number on the scale hasn't budged after a month of doing everything right, that's a conversation to have with your vet rather than just cutting food harder.