WEIGHT MANAGEMENT

How to make sure your dog maintains a healthy weight.

Ensuring that your dog maintains a healthy weight is extremely important to their overall health and wellbeing. Unfortunately, canine obesity is becoming increasingly more common in pet dogs, and it is known to increase the risk of developing health problems such as diabetes, heart disease and arthritis to name a few. Being overweight can also decrease the lifespan of dogs and will usually make them lethargic and reluctant to exercise. It is therefore extremely important to ensure that your dog does not become overweight, and there are lots of things you can do to prevent your beloved pooch from gaining those extra pounds.

Prevention is better than cure

Like with any health problem, if we could prevent it from developing in the first place then surely, we would? Unfortunately, many pet owners fail to notice the signs of obesity until it is too late, and that is when problems usually start to arise. One really simple way of evaluating your dog’s weight is by running your hands down both sides of their body, you should be able to feel their ribs, but not see them, and they should also have a nice even waistline. If you can see that your dog has a saggy tummy, no definable waistline and you can’t feel their ribs and spine, then unfortunately your dog is probably overweight. Also, they might show a reluctance to exercise and may struggle to get up. If you are noticing these signs, then it is important to start making a plan to reverse the effects of being overweight and give your dog the best chance of avoiding further health complications that are linked to obesity.

Firstly, seek advice from a vet who will be able to examine your dog and provide information on the best course of action to take. This would usually include assessing your dog’s condition and developing a bespoke weight-loss plan for them. With enough care, support and regular weigh-ins at the vets, your dog should be able to drop the excess weight fairly quickly!

What you can do

In order to ensure your dog is losing weight efficiently, it is imperative that you monitor their diet and amount of exercise they do. It is extremely important that you are not tempted to overfeed them as well as it will just have an opposite effect. Also, ensure that you follow the feeding guidelines that should be suggested by your vet and if you want to feed treats, opt for healthier choices such as small pieces of carrot or apple.

You also need to make sure that your dog is getting the correct amount of exercise each day as this will ensure the weight loss is consistent and maintained over time. Exercise doesn’t just have to be restricted to outdoor walks though, you can play games with them inside as well, which will help burn calories and also stimulate their minds to make them more energetic and alert.

If you need to monitor your dog’s weight, and are not sure on diet choice, then please feel free to get in contact with us and we would be more than happy to help answer any questions you might have.

  • DRY

    Our range of dry dog food is manufactured in the UK and is an incredibly high-quality, grain-free and complete diet for dogs of all life stages. Our incredibly tasty varieties of dry food are packed with vital nutrients that are essential for maintaining great overall health.

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  • RAW

    Our raw dog food range has been specially formulated to provide natural, wholesome nutrition for your dog by using fresh, quality ingredients that provide essential minerals and vitamins. Our raw food uses human graded fresh meat, and it is manufactured in the UK.

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