Pet diet and weight management for dogs

Last year, there were some pretty shocking statistics that emerged regarding the number of dogs across the world that were obese. While these should hopefully force people to think carefully about weight management for pets, it’s also a sad reminder that many may have already done serious damage to their animals’ long-term health. One particular study took place over the course of 14 years in the US, looking at 48 different dogs that had been separated into two different groups according to the amount of dog food they eat. All of the animals were given a full and nutritionally complete daily diet. But those that were fed the recommended amount lived a longer and much healthier life, while those that were fed more were more prone to the onset of certain conditions, illnesses and a shorter lifespan. There are a whole host of risks associated with over feeding your dog, many of which can lead to multiple trips to the vet and a great deal of discomfort for your faithful friend in later life. According to the Association of Pet Obesity Prevention, the most common of these are osteoarthritis and poor joint health, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, cranial cruciate ligament injury, heart and respiratory disease, kidney disease and cancer. Like humans, there are two main ways to help keep your dog or cat at their ideal weight if they have perhaps gotten a little too heavy and may be at greater risk of all the above. The first would be to alter their diet to make sure they aren’t having too much. This can be done gradually to avoid upsetting your dog and should not be too dramatic. If you do feel the need to change the type of food you give your pet, remember that changes in diet can trouble their digestion, so try to do it only once. The second thing to think about might also be beneficial to you! More walks, trips to the park and outdoors time will encourage your pet to burn off calories, so you have no excuse to break out the lead a little more often! We all love our pets, and their wellbeing is something we are all extremely keen to preserve. But if we want them to be around for as long as possible, we have to make sure they get the right food and enough exercise. A good diet and a healthy lifestyle can make sure our animals are as happy as they make us, so let’s do our best to give them it.