Care and raising

What to do if your dog is overweight

Just like with people, being overweight can have a negative impact on a dog’s health. Preparing the right diet and amount of food to give them can sometimes be, however, like pure alchemy, and so your dog can start to become obese. If this is the case for your pet, there are a couple of tips to help you fight this condition.

A month ago I wrote how you can tell if your dog is overweight. As I promised, today I want to take a closer look at how we can fix this problem. We certainly don’t want to underestimate it. Whether for people or dogs, obesity is more common with advancing age and more pronounced in females than males. For prevention in these groups, we should be more rigorous in determining the correct proportion of receiving and expending energy.

In addition to restricting movement, being overweight affects the vitality of a dog, which can lead to the onset of various illnesses. These include inflammation of joints, ligament damage or hotplates in the spine, and the animals are also at risk from circulatory and respiratory problems or heart disease. The possibility of cancer and skin diseases also appreciably increase. Having an obese four-legged companion is nothing to shrug off.

When you notice your dog is obese and decide to tackle the problem, it’s best to first visit a veterinarian before changing their diet and regimen for a complete examination to rule out any damage to internal organs – obesity can be mistaken for the retention of fluid in tissues that accompanies heart and kidney disease or hormonal imbalances.

Again, just like with people, this problem in dogs needs to be handled individually. Generally, however, it requires a reduction in the intake of fats and carbohydrates (sugars and starches) and replacing them with indigestible fiber (this accelerates the movement of the contents of the digestive tract, thus reducing the absorption of sugars) and high-quality, easily digestible proteins (which in turn accelerate fat burning).

These days, there are lots of feeds aimed at weight reduction, generally designated as WEIGHT LOSS or LIGHT. Makers are also thinking of the increased risk of obesity in older dogs and so are adapting contents for seniors. Such food has a balance of nutrients, vitamins and minerals, so these do not need to be further supplemented. This balance and the desired results from it would be seriously undermined.

But don’t worry about your pet suffering from a diet, as the modified food is produced in both dry and moist form. Dietetic sweets without sugar and other stodgy substances are available and do not interfere with the diet when given reasonably.

Individuals, however, can vary in the degree of intensity of metabolism and utilization of food, so the portions of special feeds should be adapted to each dog. The quantity indicated on the product, calculated for the average dog, is a good starting point for determining it. Over time it’s not a problem to figure out whether to increase or decrease it. What’s important is to follow the new regime and not give in to those “puppy dog eyes”.

Of course, movement is part of weight loss. Gradually add to the frequency of walks and store of games and activities to play. But it’s really unhelpful to overwork a dog. Their bodies must get used to movement. Imagine you had to run a marathon every day (when you’re not an athlete).

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