Obesity on Dogs: A Lurking Treat To Our Buddies

Dog obesity is certainly one of the biggest health issue in raising and caring for our dog buddies. Due to our hectic schedules, we pet parents and caregivers often neglect and forget to watch on our pet diets. And because members of our household tend to also pamper our pets so much, we may have overlooked about things in our pets’ nutritional intake. Like us humans, lack of exercise and bodily activities as well as uncontrolled and unmonitored food consumption lead us to health conditions like obesity, dehydration, high cholesterol, high fat intake, high blood pressure, high sugar count, etc. Our pets likewise can suffer with the same condition. But since our pets greatly depend on us for care, non-monitoring therefore lead their condition to get worse which when left untreated could lead to fatality.
In order to prevent health risks on our dog buddies, weight management, diet and activity monitoring must be well kept and maintained. In a recent study by the Association of Pet Obesity Prevention, 44% or approximately 33 million dogs in the US canine population were overweight. An alarming number indeed. Below are some of the revelations of canine obesity in the US:
Lack of exercise
Improper/abnormal diet
Hypothyroidism
Dog breed genetics
Obesity is a lurking risk and dangers to our pets since this condition could lead to the following health issues:
Cardiac arrest
Diabetes mellitus
Orthopaedic injuries such as limb fractures, kneecap dislocations and other types of limb injuries and abnormalities.
Hypertension
Osteoarthritis
Respiratory diseases
Other cancerous forms
The signs are often unnoticeable since our pet dogs have a natural tolerance to pain and since they can’t talk like us humans we may never know they are suffering in silence. They often continue to wag their tails, play with us, snug and rub their heads and bodies on us as if everything seems A-Okay. Thus, we pet parents must always be on the look out to monitor and care for them. Their lack of activity, exercise intolerance, laziness, anxiety, unusual behavior are just of the symptoms barely noticeable to us. It is important that our pets get to be examined by a Vet once every 6-12 months. Something not so hard to squeeze in from our busy schedules. To help you determine your pet’s weight check, try to do these simple tests yourselves to them:

A. Rib Scan. Try to run your hands softly along your pet’s ribcage. You should be able to feel the ribs in thin layer of tissue and fat. If you can’t feel the rib structure and felt only bulk of tissues underneath, chances are your pet is a candidate for obesity.
B. Tuck View. In a side view angle of your dog, you must be able to view a tucked abdomen.
C. The Curve. Viewing from above your pet, you must be able to view a moderate narrowing or hollowing at the waist just passing from the ribcage. If it’s a straight or bulging belly-like curve, indicates an excess or overweight condition.
Managing your pets’ weight will not only result in keeping them healthy generally but greatly help in preventing the onset of diseases and injuries that could lead them pain and suffering. A happy dog is a healthy and lively one that fills our homes with pure happiness and endless joy to us.

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Thank you for this! My grandmother had a corgi once. He died because he was obese. We tried putting him on a diet, and taking him for longer walks. I guess those measures were a little too late because we just found him dead one day. He was maybe 9 years old. My grandmother became very sad when he died.

Some dogs seem to gain weight easier than other dogs; but even taking that into consideration, the main reason they seem to gain weight is lack of exercise and too much food to eat. Low quality food that is full of corn is also a main reason for dogs gaining weight.
Corn is what we feed pigs to fatten them up for market; so obviously it is not going to be helpful for keeping your dog fit and trim. Mot dog foods have corn as one of the main ingredients; so finding a better quality of dog food will help a whole lot to keep the dog's weight where it belongs.
Exercise is also important, and they need to either be out in the yard to run and play, or to go for a nice walk every day.
Of course, older dogs are not able to be as active as younger dogs; just like people can't do as much when they get older; so it is a lot more likely that they will gain weight. Senior dog food is a great thing for your older dog, and will given them the higher nutrients without the grain products what tend to make them gain weight.

(09-08-2014, 10:52 AM)helaofthenorns Wrote: Thank you for this! My grandmother had a corgi once. He died because he was obese. We tried putting him on a diet, and taking him for longer walks. I guess those measures were a little too late because we just found him dead one day. He was maybe 9 years old. My grandmother became very sad when he died.

OMG! So sad to hear about your corgi dog and the grief it brought to your grandmother. Hope she is now well and have recovered. I really wish her well.

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(09-17-2014, 07:35 PM)Christian Wrote: Informative read, agree with you and like to say to deal with dog's obesity, we must give them high quality food, fresh water and engage them in daily exercises.

Yeah. Pet obesity is really a threat and I agree the right food diet and exercise will greatly help in the combat of this threatening health condition.

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(09-19-2014, 11:23 AM)Happyflowerlady Wrote: Some dogs seem to gain weight easier than other dogs; but even taking that into consideration, the main reason they seem to gain weight is lack of exercise and too much food to eat. Low quality food that is full of corn is also a main reason for dogs gaining weight.
Corn is what we feed pigs to fatten them up for market; so obviously it is not going to be helpful for keeping your dog fit and trim. Mot dog foods have corn as one of the main ingredients; so finding a better quality of dog food will help a whole lot to keep the dog's weight where it belongs.
Exercise is also important, and they need to either be out in the yard to run and play, or to go for a nice walk every day.
Of course, older dogs are not able to be as active as younger dogs; just like people can't do as much when they get older; so it is a lot more likely that they will gain weight. Senior dog food is a great thing for your older dog, and will given them the higher nutrients without the grain products what tend to make them gain weight.

Indeed. The food our pets eat and their daily routine of exercises would benefit them most in keeping them healthy and with the loving care of us pet parents we will help our beloved furry children eat the healthiest and get the needed exercise for them to maintain fit, trim and always happy.

Since a lot of the food that we eat is not healthy for us, and most of the dog food is made from leftovers and scraps from manufacturing people food; it is not surprising that the dog food is not very healthy for them either.
We have an epidemic of overweight people , at least here in the United States where we all eat so much processed food rather than fresh food that we grow ourselves.
Most of the animals that are raised for meat are also fed growth hormones to help them grow faster and get larger. These hormones are also in the meat when it is processed, and we and our animals eat it, unless we buy home-raised grass-fed beef and chicken. All of that growth hormone and other added chemicals that make the pig or cow get fatter, also make our pets gain weight easier.

(10-05-2014, 10:01 PM)Happyflowerlady Wrote: Since a lot of the food that we eat is not healthy for us, and most of the dog food is made from leftovers and scraps from manufacturing people food; it is not surprising that the dog food is not very healthy for them either.
We have an epidemic of overweight people , at least here in the United States where we all eat so much processed food rather than fresh food that we grow ourselves.
Most of the animals that are raised for meat are also fed growth hormones to help them grow faster and get larger. These hormones are also in the meat when it is processed, and we and our animals eat it, unless we buy home-raised grass-fed beef and chicken. All of that growth hormone and other added chemicals that make the pig or cow get fatter, also make our pets gain weight easier.

I agree with you Happyflowerlady! What we and our pets need are naturally grown and organic food that are definitely healthy.But quite sad since even those food items we buy that sometimes are labeled 'all natural' are not really true or is guaranteed 100% natural unless we ourselves plant or raised them.

Thank you for sharing this. I really learned some great information on pets and obesity. It is so important to keep your pet in good health and weight is a huge factor. I have 4 pets and I must admit, I get a little crazy with the treats from time to time. I think I'm doing something amazing for them but too much can be very harmful.

Some great info... thanks again!!

Danyel [/font]

(10-08-2014, 01:35 AM)Danyel72 Wrote: Thank you for sharing this. I really learned some great information on pets and obesity. It is so important to keep your pet in good health and weight is a huge factor. I have 4 pets and I must admit, I get a little crazy with the treats from time to time. I think I'm doing something amazing for them but too much can be very harmful.

Some great info... thanks again!!

Danyel [/font]

You're welcome Danyel and thank you too for reading my article.