Did you know that over 50% of dogs in the US are overweight or obese?  Did you know that if your pet is just slightly overweight, it can take up to 2 years off their life?

In the last 2 years, my boys and I have gone on road trips, taken birthday photo shoots and family photo shoots , adventured to the coast and dipped our toes in the Gulf of Mexico and we romped through Texas Blue Bonnet flowers. We bought a house, where my boys love their new back yard!  We’ve snuggled, watched movies, played games, learned how to use a wheelchair (for Kato), learned new tricks, made new friends, fought cancer, heart disease and degenerative myelopathy and we’re still here to tell the stories!  Think about all the things you have done with your dog in the last 2 years.  Make a list, write it down and really think about the joyful times you have had… imagine if you had missed out on those last 2 years! Those memories and adventures!

Being overweight can have so many detrimental effects on your dog’s health.  Senior pets are particularly at risk because they may already have some degree of arthritis or joint discomfort, extra weight on those joints can be very painful. A common injury in dogs is tearing the cruciate ligament (one of the knee ligaments in the back leg), this injury is much more likely in overweight pets and can involve an expensive surgical procedure to correct.  Surgery is also more risky in obese pets and more costly due to the extended anesthesia time and increased amount of drugs required.  Pets who are carrying extra weight can even have problems grooming and caring for themselves, they may have trouble getting up and down, or even being able to do normal daily activities.

The great thing about being overweight – it’s probably one of the easiest health conditions that you can help your pet recover from!

The first thing to do is schedule an exam with your veterinarian to have them rule out health conditions for being overweight, this may include bloodwork to check for medical conditions (cases will vary).  At your exam, your veterinarian will assess your pets body condition and give them a score out of 5 or 9 – depending on the scale used.  Check out the image below and see what score you’d give your pet! 

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It’s important to work with your veterinary team to manage your pets weight loss journey.  Sustainable weight loss must happen gradually, I recently saw an elderly dog who was about 25 lbs overweight and we expect it to take up to a year for her to get to her goal, with lots of weight check visits scheduled along the way.  Dogs needing a diet can’t just be fed less food; that is part of it – but their daily calorie needs, also called resting energy requirements, need to be met.  This can be different based on your pet’s life stage, if they’re spayed or neutered, and if they’re working or just working on putting a fluffy shaped dent in the couch!

Checking how many calories are in dog biscuits is one of the easiest ways to reduce calories.  Dog biscuits and some popular dental chew bones can contain as much as 1-200 calories – for a small dog this could be as much as 50-100% more calories than they need per day! Imagine if a person ate 3-4000 calories a day!

Limiting table food can not only help your dogs’ waist line, but it can help avoid more serious issues too.  Dietary upset, GI imbalances or even something as serious as pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas often causing severe vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, usually requiring hospitalization for treatment).  In the long run, you’ll also save money helping your pet be leaner due to feeding them less food and needing less monthly preventive medications! And who doesn’t like to save money!

Exercise is a great way to help pets lose weight but just like a person can’t go from being a couch potato to a marathon runner, your pet can’t either.  Exercise needs to be introduced very slowly and as part of a total weight loss plan in partnership with your veterinary health care team!  Here in Texas, we need to be concerned with the extreme temperatures we get in the summer.  Hot weather and unfit pets outside, make for medical emergencies! Walking is best done in the wee hours or after dark (as long as it’s safe to do so) when the pavement is cooler, and the sun is not blazing.

If one of your New Years Resolutions was to be healthier, lose weight or eat better, consider including your pets in that resolution too.  Food does not equal love – pet’s would much rather have your time, affection and attention, and they’d rather have a ball than a treat thrown in their direction.  Well most would anyway.   Next time your dog begs or looks at you with those  big, sad, puppy dog eyes, consider taking them out to play, throwing a toy, grooming or even just snuggling them.  All those are calorie free and they increase your bond with your furry friend too!

If you have any questions about weight loss in pets, ask your veterinary health care team at your next appointment. 

Links provided for informational purposes only and to credit sources used for fact finding.

http://www.pethealthnetwork.com/dog-health/dog-diet-nutrition/7-reasons-why-dog-obesity-dangerous

https://www.aaha.org/pet_owner/lifestyle/obesity-in-pets.aspx