Obesity and overweight problems are not just sweeping through the human line. Our pets are having problems too. The thing with pets is, we have control. I laugh at that, because of my situation with two dogs with food allergies and two different foods. Feeding time is stressful, as I have to keep my eye on the ever curious two dogs who continue to want the other dogs food.
At our last visit, Keys had gained about 10 pounds since the last time she was on the scales. I thought she was doing good. I thought I had been feeding her an appropriate amount of food to maintain her 87 pounds and possibly even shed a few in the process. Low and behold, I was wrong! She wouldn't sit still on the scale (shocking), so she got the benefit of the doubt of 95 pounds. Wow!
Exercising them can be troublesome, but, I have made the commitment to start walking them again. No matter what! I have used a couple of calculators to determine a good amount of food to feed her each day, which I will include links to below. Limiting what your pet eats is mostly in your control. At least what you give them. Of course, there is always the things they find in the yard, etc.
Even if your dog grazes, you should never put out more food than they should eat in a day. Set a time each day that you restock their bowl. Let's say 6 p.m. is your dog food bowl filling time and your dog should eat 2 cups of food per day. At 6 p.m., measure what is left in the bowl, if anything, and add only what will make it 2 cups. If there is a 1/2 cup left, then only add 1 1/2 cups. Simple enough. Make sure you include the calories of the treats you give them, as well. Depending on the size of you dog, one treat can make a huge difference in calorie intake.
Having more than one pet can cause its own problems. A possible solution is to separate them at feeding time and only allow them a certain amount of time to eat, and then put the food up until the next feeding time. Trust me, if they are hungry, they will let you know. But, to create a new habit, don't give in to their begging. Of course their will be exceptions to this.
Your pet will soon learn this new regimen and be fine with it. Weight loss should be gradual. A pound or so a week, just like us. It takes time and patience but their are so many benefits for your pet to be at a healthy weight. Just like us, disease and health conditions creep into overweight pets.
Financial benefits are less trips to the vet for check-ups and medications, as well as possibly less food eaten.
The best online dog food calculator I have found is at Dog Food Advisor. They also review most every food on the market, without prejudice. I also found an iphone app, Best Doggone Diet, that will help you track your dogs weight and help you with amounts of food. Check out their website for more info. I am not totally sold on the app vs. price, but, we all like our gadgets and it is full of information! And most importantly, consult with your veterinarian for the proper course of action with your pet.
Don't put it off! Get your dog on that diet today!
Great post. Pet obesity is a huge problem (sorry for the pun). But what you said is right...we control what they eat, so it should be easy to keep them fit and trim, right? Umm, not so much, we all like to spoil our pets. That's why we developed our iPhone app - SlimDoggy. Not only does it tell you the calorie counts for over 2,000 foods & treats, but it lets you monitor your dogs activity level and calorie burn as that is really important to keep fit. Our website, slimdoggy.com has tons of info too - check it out.
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