Should you wish to have your dog reach a weight that’s healthy, consult a veterinarian so as to eliminate hormonal problems, establish your dog’s correct weight and design a meal plan that will attain that weight causing the least amount of stress for your dog. Certain companies manufacturing dog foods offer a formula which contains less calories.
Should your dog be rather hungry, you could offer him a high moisture diet because this will offer more volume. Regarding dog treats, there are quite a number of commercially manufactured biscuits for dogs which can be offered as snacks or rewards. Also on offer are lamb or beef based meat products that are preserved and packaged in rolls which you can slice into little bite-sized treats.
Dogs that are overweight or obese often suffer from blood pressure that is too high called hypertension. In 2012, a scientific report was published that opined that in excess of forty percent of dogs suffering from hypertension were also overweight.
Another risk factor for overweight dogs is having an anesthetic. This is due to the fact that overweight/obese dog’s lungs and heart have to function harder when they are given an anesthetic. This could give rise to a struggle for the dog to breathe due to problems in trying to expand their chest. Dogs can sleep either too deeply or also not sleep deeply enough. An added factor is that an overweight dog may take a much longer period of time to come around after being given an anesthetic.
Just as in humans, pets who are overweight/obese face the risk of health problems and often don’t live for the same period as trimmer dogs do. As well as having a bigger risk of heart disease, overweight dogs also suffer from a greater prevalence of pancreatic problems, liver disease, arthritis, etc.
Vegetables such as baby carrots or green beans that have been rinsed may be fed to dogs that are overweight. Depending on the amount of weight loss required for your dog, you can offer either of these vegetables to replace a few of his feedings.
First off you should work out the initial calorie amount your dog consumes on a daily basis. Your veterinarian will be able to calculate this for you. A different approach for dogs that are overweight/obese is to reduce their daily calorie intake by approximately one-third.
Obesity is caused by excess body fat being accumulated. More body weight as well as more body fat appear to go together, which means dogs who are overweight have extra fat on their bodies. Should a dog have a healthy weight, they will more than likely possess an hourglass figure. Their hips and shoulders will then be broader than their stomach. Looking at a side-on view, their stomach will be seen to be higher up than their chest. The ribs should also be able to be felt and counted when patting your dog. Dogs that are overweight will struggle more to hop on or off furniture or to hop in or out of bed as well.
