7 Facts About Your Overweight Dog

This morning you woke up and as you walked to the kitchen for coffee, you could hear your overweight dog snuffling and waddling along behind you. Whereas, what seems to be just a few short days ago, the overweight little mutt would beat you to the kitchen and be sitting there waiting on you with a wagging tail. Finally, you wake up to the fact your beloved pet needs your help. The information below will help you learn how to help your fat dog lose weight.

FACT 1:

You, the owner, are primarily responsible for your “best friend” being obese, irregardless of the reason for the dog being fat.

You as the owner face the responsibility of feeding your canine and the quantity of its intake. Studies have shown that the majority of dog owners will over feed their pet by at least 20% and often times the percentage is much higher. To add to this burden of overfeeding, the food fed to the animal is often the wrong kind of food.

FACT 2:

Table scrapes are not the right kind of food for your favorite beloved canine.

The food you serve your family is often times loaded with a high calorie count. In addition much of the food contains extra fat, starches and sugar, which is not only harmful to your family, but it is doubly dangerous to the health and well being of your animal. Often times, one small portion of table scrapes fed to your dog, depending on the dog’s size, will have way more than enough calories to sustain your K-9’s energy level for a full day.

FACT 3:

The unburned calories will be absorbed into your pets body and turned into “fat”.

Just as in humans, unburned calories, lead to an overweight dog. The way to avoid unburned calories is for you to keep your dog active. It is very important to keep your animal active every single day. A side benefit to an active dog is that it is generally more alert and may not eat as much because of being bored or stressed out.

FACT 4:

Your local veterinarian should be consulted before putting your dog on a diet.

The local vet will be able to determine if your pet is indeed over weight. Canines in one breed, e.g. Labs, just as humans, have different shaped skeletons. Although the Labrador Retriever breed will have the basic characteristics noted in all Labradors, one may have a heavy boned skeleton while another one won’t have the same size bones and density.

This in turn can cause a major difference in the “perfect weight” of the same size Labs. Whereas one that weighs 90 pounds with large bone density, is a perfect weight and the one with less bone density that weighs 90 lbs. would be considered overweight.

The expert advice of your vet will quickly determine this for you.

FACT 5:

Certain breeds of dogs are predisposed to being overweight.

Studies have shown that genetics, which contribute to forming fat in lab rats also, may play the same role in canines.

Unfortunately, there are different breeds of K-9’s which have a propensity to become overweight because of genes. Just a few of these breeds are, Collies, Bassett Hounds, Shelties, Labrador Retriever, Dachshunds, Cockers and others. Please understand this doesn’t mean every dog, in the breeds mentioned, is going to get fat. However, it does mean that you should be on guard for the possibility, if your dog is one of these breeds, because it may be one of the ones affected due to genetic inheritance. Once again a call to your vet will quickly reveal if the breed you own is predisposed to obesity.

FACT 6:

Age is a factor in overweight dogs.

A great many dogs begin to put on weight starting around the age of two years. This is generally around the age where they begin to mature and become somewhat less active. You will see this tendency to gain weight right on up into the twelve year range. As the dog becomes older this “weight gain” tends to level off and in fact will decline with proper diet and exercise.

FACT 7:

Medications can contribute to obesity in your pet.

Just as in humans, meds “man’s best friend” is on, may well increase their appetite and even cut down on the metabolic rate. Thus the meds may lead to eating a lot more food and depressing the burning off of calories through the natural process of converting it to energy. Again keeping your vet advised as to your pet’s weight gain, may result in a change of the meds to help decrease the added pounds.

I hope these 7 facts will give you the information you need to know to help your overweight dog. Your local veterinarian will have additional information that will help you keep your dog healthy and give you and “Fido” many years of companionship together.