Doggie Weight Loss
Dog obesity can cause or complicate many other conditions, such as arthritis, diabetes, and cardiopulmonary disease, by adding more stress to the already injured body systems.
The most important fact to remember when pursuing a weight-loss program for your dog:
Calories burned must exceed calories eaten. You can reduce food, fat and calories or increase exercise. Ideally, it is best to
combine the two approaches.
Eliminating calories:
Remove all extra calories - no treats, table scraps, handouts from the neighbors, cat food, or extra food in the bowl.
Next reduce the calories in the primary diet. You can do this by switching to a lower-calorie version of the food or to a diet food recommended by your veterinarian. Many diet foods have high levels of fiber to maintain a similar volume to non-diet foods and make the dog feel full with fewer calories.
Try feeding two or three small meals each day, rather than one large meal; this may help reduce begging.
Note* Some dogs will need vitamin, mineral and fatty-acid supplements to maintain coat quality and appearance while eating diet foods, so check with your veterinarian.
Increasing Exercise:
Brisk walking, jogging and running off-lead (in a safe place) are best. Encourage exercise whenever the dog begs and seeks attention; assume he wants activity, not food.
What's the best part about increasing exercise in your furry friend is that it transcends into maintaining our health as well. So when you think about it, it's a two for one job. If you're looking for a social club in which poochie can get a bit of extra exercise, try
www.meetup.com. You'd be surprised how many other health minded owners there are out there.
Adapted from: Michael Abdella, DVM- http://www.dogchannel.com/dog-health/dog- weight/article_3374.aspx----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
