This study investigates the impact of limiting food consumption on radiographic evidence of osteoarthritis in 48 8-year-old dogs that were paired by sex and weight at 6-weeks-old, randomly assigned to control feeding (CF) or 25% diet restriction (DR) with the same diet from the age of 8 weeks. Radiographic signs of OA affecting multiple joints were significantly more common in the CF group. Lesions in the hip and shoulder joints were less prevalent in the DR group (3/21, 12/21) than in the CF group (15/22, 19/22). Severity, but no prevalence, of OA in the elbow joint was also lower in the DR group. Therefore, food intake can have a great impact on development of OA in dogs.