Recognizing and helping overweight and Obese dogs

Hey Dog Lovers,

Today we talk about recognizing and helping overweight and obese dogs. Honestly, growing up I never thought I would worry about my dogs weight or why it was important. As I started to learn more about dogs and animal care I started to learn the importance and want to share that importance with you. The sooner you know about this issue and to be aware of it from day one, the more you can be prepared to control it and not let it get to overweight or obese.  Kodiac my black lab was slightly overweight towards the end of his life when he started to slow down. This was our fault, we should have accounted for the lack of exercise and cut his food down. He was too cute though, which is the common excuse people use. People food is never ok in great amounts, I am not a vet but I do feed Aussie small amounts of people food every once in awhile just to spoil her. If you are not sure if something is safe for a dog to eat, check out one of my previous emails on poisonous foods for dogs.

56% of dogs, 60% of Cats in America are overweight or obese!

Why: 

• Owners often incorrectly believe their overweight pets are at a healthy weight 
• Reducing weight should always be done with your vet’s guidance
• Weight reduction in pets is accomplished with a decrease in the calories consumed and an increase in activity 

33% of dog owners in a 2009 study believed that their overweight pooch was actually at a healthy weight. 

Why should you care?

Doesn’t just worsen their arthritis and slow them down, it can have a financial and medical implications in the event of an emergency or illness as well. 

Common Illnesses or Emergencies that can be worse in Obese or overweight dogs:

• Pancreatitis 
  • Inflammation of the pancreas
  • Results in decreased energy and appetite, with concurrent vomiting and diarrhea 
  • Can be fatal in obese/ over weight animals 
• Hepatic Lipidosis
  • Associated with cats who stop eating for any reason (pain, dental pain, stress, etc.) 
  • Influx of fat into liver which damages the normal liver cells and prevents the liver from performing many of its vital functions 
  • Exclusive to overweight and obese cats 
  • $4,000 or more is a typical vet bill 
• Heat Stroke
  • Insulating properties of their excess fat and the additional strain such as excess weight put on the joints, overweight and obese pets are at increased risk of developing this debilitating, expensive and often fatal emergency condition.
• Urethral obstruction (in male cats) 
  • Where an animal cannot urinate because of some obstruction within their urinary outflow tract (urethra) 
  • Painful and fatal without treatment 
  • Most common in overweight cats 
  • Treatment and Management includes the placement of a soft, indwelling urinary catheter and a multiple day stay in the hospital.
  • Costs are typically $750-1,250 range and can go above $3,000 if surgery is needed 
• Diabetes 
  • Especially in Cats, obesity is a predisposing factor for the development of diabetes mellitus. 
  • Require lifelong management and frequent monitoring at your vet, but it also carries with it the additional risks of a severe metabolic emergency condition called ‘diabetic ketoacidosis’, recurrent urinary tract infections and a few others. 
• Others 
  • Recurrent skin and urinary tract infections 
  • Worsens pain associated with arthritis and other orthopedic conditions 
  • Increases likelihood that a pet with a pre-existing respiratory or heart condition will suffer emergency related to their condition. 

How to tell if your dog is at his ideal weight:

• Your pet should have a discernible ‘waist’ 
  • When you view your pet’s abdomen from the side it should tuck up as it approaches the back legs 
  • Sausage figure means they are overweight or obese 
• You should be able to feel the ribs easily 
  • Without having to press to hard through too thick a layer of fat. 
• Your pet’s back should not be perfectly flat 
  • Should not be a large fat pad along their sides or near the base of their tail. ‘Love Handles” are a dead give away for obesity in pets 

How to help your pet achieve his ideal body weight?

• Rule out any underlying medical conditions that can make it harder to lose weight 
• Decrease your pet’s calorie intake
  • Monitor treat intake 
  • Don’t feed your pet table scraps 
  • Decrease the quantity of food your feeding your pet or change the type of food given to them   
• Increase the number of calories your pet ‘burns’ each day 
  • Increase your pets level of daily exercise – start slowly and gradually increase 
    • Cats- laser pointer and other toys 
    • Dogs – longer, more frequent walks (not in severe weather), swimming 

Make sure to check back weekly for Training Tuesdays and Thursday Thoughts