Happy Dog Obedience

Fat Dogs

What is a fat dog, why does it matter and how do you know if your dog 
is overweight?

Obesity is one of the most often seen medical conditions in dogs 
today. Many vets have given up trying to counsel owners on the 
importance of their dog’s weight and perhaps the only people who will 
pay attention to this article are those whose dogs are not overweight, 
but here goes.

Extra pounds can lead to the early breakdown of your dogs joints.  
Think how you would feel if you had to carry a 50 pound sack of dog 
food on your back 24 hours a day with no relief. Obesity can 
contribute to Cancer and other types of organ failure. It certainly 
inhibits your dog’s endurance. I’m sure this isn’t what you want for 
your best friend.

Sometimes, when you live with someone, it is hard to see them 
objectively. Back off, take a critical look at your dog and see if it 
still has a waist  line like it did when an adolescent. If not, 
proceed to do the rib test. Try to feel your dog’s ribs using a 
gentle touch. If you can’t, your dog is overweight. There are some 
breeds who put the weight on behind the ribs so, although you can feel 
the ribs, the dog is still overweight. Your vet can advise you 
definitively and help you decide if the problem is too much food and 
too many snacks or is another medical condition. Most obesity is 
caused by overeating.

Many people equate food with love. Food, as enjoyable as it may be 
for man and dog, is not love. Food provides the nutrients you and 
your dog need to stay alive and healthy, but more is not better.  
Instead of quantity, it is quality that counts, as discussed in a 
previous article. One of the excuses for overfeeding that I have 
often come across is: “When I feed my dog the recommend amount, when 
its finished, my dog acts like it is still hungry, so I just have to 
feed a little more”. This comes from our dogs’ wild ancestry. Wolves 
scavenger and hunt for their food. They don’t often get to eat every 
day like our dogs do, therefore, when a good meal comes along, they 
eat as much as they can hold so it will last until the next meal comes 
along. This kind of thinking is still with the domestic dog, even 
though a dog may have never missed a regular meal. It is up to us to 
say enough is enough no matter what  you would like me to believe.

Snacks are another cause of obesity. Some dogs can handle lots of 
dog treats without gaining weight but others can’t. I had one 
Chesapeake who was never fed too much regular dinner, but started 
gaining weight anyway. It turned out the culprit was two small gum 
drops before bed. Once the gum drops were eliminated, her weight 
returned to normal. There are many suitable treats for your dog.  I 
use carrots, which my dogs like better than dog treats. Little cat 
treats are very popular with most dogs. They are inexpensive and have 
very few calories. Your dog isn’t going to measure the size of the 
treat, but the tastiness of the treat. Dogs’ tastes vary a lot so you 
can experiment to find low calorie snacks and then use them to reward 
your dog for doing good things.

Dogs’ dietary requirements change as they age. Normally, as your dog 
ages, it needs less to eat. There are also senior dog diets.  Again, 
you must assess your dog. I started feeding two older dogs the 
suggested amount of a quality senior food and they started to blow up 
like balloons. I reduced the amount, but nothing changed.  I went 
back to what they had previously been eating and they returned to an 
ideal weight.

If you love your dog, you will watch its weight. Whether you believe 
it or not, your dog will love you for it too, and for a lot longer.