Mary Allen
If the dog has a few extra pounds on the ribs, this is by no means a disadvantage. Obesity is bad for your dog’s health. Too much weight can lead to joint damage, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, it promotes cancer and shortens life expectancy. Meanwhile, various studies say that about 28-40 percent of dogs are overweight.
Muscles are Also Heavy
But when is the dog too fat? Just looking at the scale is not enough: to find out if an animal is overweight, a so-called body condition assessment (abbreviated as BCS) is used. A muscular German Shepherd male can weigh ten kilograms more than a slender female of the same breed. Thus, the BCS does not estimate the absolute weight of the dog, but a figure based on body height. The BCS scale ranges from one (significantly underweight) to five (significantly overweight). In an ideal weight dog, the belly line runs slightly upward from the chest to the pelvis. If the owner is looking at the animal from above, a small waist should be visible. In addition, the ribs should be easily palpable through the thin layer of fat.
Overweight in Dogs – Now What?
If your dog is consuming more calories, he stores them in the form of body fat and gains excess weight. Too much food or dog food with too much energy leads to obesity.
A dog that is too fat should be switched to a zero diet only in extreme cases and under medical supervision. Failure to do so may result in health damage. Eat half is also not recommended: it not only gives the dog less energy but also fewer nutrients such as vitamins and minerals, which in turn is unhealthy.
If your dog needs to lose weight, the weight loss must be slow and gradual to keep the dog healthy in the long run. This so-called reduction diet is carried out using low-calorie and low-calorie foods. This specialty food contains more fiber than a complete food for normal-weight dogs. Important for the diet: despite the lower energy supply, there should not be a lack of nutrients. The food must be tailored exactly to the needs of the dog and help it reach its ideal weight.
Patience is also required when dieting for weight loss: depending on your starting weight, it may take several weeks to reach your ideal weight. With the loss of extra pounds, the joy of movement, health, and well-being returns to the dog. To avoid further weight gain, later on, attention should be paid to feeding according to needs with sufficient physical activity even after reaching the target weight.
This Will Help Prevent Excess Weight
Regardless of how balanced the diet is, if the dog is generously rewarded in between, it cannot lose weight. Treats, snacks and too little exercise – the owner is usually to blame for being overweight. Constant rewards that are not part of your daily diet can easily lead to excess energy. A piece of sausage can have as many calories as your dog’s entire daily diet. If you want your dog not to be overweight, you should avoid feeding errors by determining the exact energy and nutrient requirements of your dog. This should include all the nutritional characteristics of the dog, such as the breed. Age and activity level are taken into account and the food is adapted to the needs of the dog.
An older dog is less active and sleeps more, which reduces the need for energy. Hormonal changes can also lead to obesity. Accordingly, the feed must be adapted to the needs of the aging animal.
Castration Also Often Leads to Obesity
Due to hormonal changes, a neutered female is twice as likely to be overweight as an unsterilized female. After spaying, males often become less active and gain weight as a result.
In general, regular exercise is crucial: if the dog is only lying on the couch, the energy absorbed through the food cannot be burned off. A very active, athletic family dog also uses up energy in a very different way than an animal that does not walk for more than 30 minutes a day.
Determine the Energy Requirement
Therefore, the energy requirements of each animal must be determined and taken into account in the diet in order to prevent obesity. The exact requirement for energy and nutrients can be determined using so-called diet calculations. Veterinarians who specialize in nutritional counseling offer customized nutrient calculations. The software queries all data about the dog, including age, weight, activity level, disease, or allergy, and calculates the required values. In addition, there are now online solutions that allow you to calculate nutrients at home on your computer.