Saving and Weighing in on Your Pet

Good Morning Friends!  I have had so many ideas on what to write, I can't write!  This is a combo pet savings/pet health day!

Our pets, like our nation, are facing an epidemic.  Many are overweight.  In fact, a recent survey by the APOP states that 54% of our pets are overweight.  Like us, overeating and lack of exercise are generally the reasons why.

Being overweight puts your pet at risk for some common weight-related conditions such as:

• Osteoarthritis
• Insulin Resistance and Type 2 Diabetes
• High Blood Pressure
• Heart and Respiratory Disease
• Cranial Cruciate Ligament Injury
• Kidney Disease
• Many Forms of Cancer
• Decreased life expectancy (up to 2.5 years)

So, you ask, what can I do?  Well, putting your dog on a diet is easy!  Much easier than putting yourself on a diet.  First of all, the easiest thing you can do today, is read the food bag.  On the side or back of the bag, they have a recommended feeding guideline.  Start there!  Choose your pets ideal weight, ex. if your dog weighs 100 pounds, but should weigh 80, feed it the 80 pound recommendation.  Second, consult you veterinarian.  Feeding it at the 80 pound limit may only help it maintain its current weight, you might need to go less for awhile.  Also, each food varies in the amount of calories per cup.  If you are changing foods, you may be over, or under feeding your dog.

How you feed your dog is up to you.  Once a day, twice a day, three times a day.  It is also up to the dog.  Gracy will only eat about 3/4 cup of food at a time, no matter the calorie content.  Keys, well, I think she might eat the whole bag if I put it out!  How many pets you have also comes in to play.  Then you have the risk of them eating what is left behind.  Most pets can be trained to eat at certain times of day.  They key is to only give them what they should eat in a day.  They will learn to eat when food is available.  It might take a while to retrain them, but, it can work.  If they are hungry, they will eat!

Here is a fact that can put things in a bit more perspetive for you.  A premium pig ear (231 kcals) fed to a 40-pound dog is the equivalent of an adult human drinking six 12-ounce Coke Classics™ (840 kcals).  So, if you give your pets lots of treats, you may need to cut back on the treats and food a bit to accommodate their calorie limits.

What you are feeding your dog is important too.  I wrote an entire blog on that, and here is the link for it.  What are you feeding your dog? 

You can save money simply by feeding your dog what it should be eating.  If you are feeding it twice as much as it should be eating, than cutting back will make the bag last twice as long.

Feed your dog (as best you can) what it should be eating in a day.  Consult your vet if your pet needs to lose weight so that you can come up with a weight loss plan.  Doing all of this can help you save money now and in the future.