Fat Dogs

Okay, I said it. There are definitely fat dogs out there. Today I want to talk about 1) how to figure out if you have one of those dogs, and 2) some things you can do about it.

First, just because your vet hasn't told you your dog is fat doesn't necessarily mean your dog isn't fat. Vets, like the rest of us, don't want to offend anyone, and certainly don't want to lose a client because they've told that client something they don't want to hear. At Dog Days, we will sometimes try to let you know (in the nicest way possible) if your dog has put on a few pounds, or could lose some weight. We love our clients, and a heavy dog can suffer from so many more health issues than a trim dog. They also don't live as long, and we don't want to lose any of our furry friends to a fixable health problem. So if we do happen to mention this to you, please don't take it personally - we are concerned for your dog's wealthfare, and dogs, like people, have all kinds of reasons for being heavy.

So, how do you tell if you have an overweight dog? Sometimes it's pretty obvious. Sometimes it's not. Your dog should have a waist (right in front of the hips) when you're looking down on your dog from above. Your dog should also have an abdominal tuck, which, if you're looking at your dog from the side, is where the chest narrows under the hips (right before the back legs). In addition, you should be able to feel your dog's ribs if you run your hands over their ribcage. And finally, if your dog is sitting, and you look at your dog's rear end and back from behind, you might notice a pudge of fat right above the tail (if your dog is quite overweight, they don't even have to be sitting to see that fat roll). Although you might think your dog is better looking with some meat on their bones, in most cases, a slightly thin dog is more healthy than a slightly heavy dog. For some breeds, it can be difficult to tell if your dog is overweight. For example, if you have a golden retriever, or a shih tzu or another long or heavy-coated dog, you really have to FEEL your dog, you can't just look at him. You can always ask your vet the next time you go in for a visit as well - if you bring it up, most likely your vet will be honest with you.

So now you've decided you have an overweight dog. What do you do? First and most obviously, you need to cut back on their food. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't follow the feeding instructions on the back of the can or the bag of dog food. Remember dog food companies want to sell more food, so your dog's health isn't in their best interest. Growing puppies do need a substantial amount of food, but depending on the breed, you should start cutting back the amount when the dog becomes an adult (at a year). For example, my Lab puppy Leeloo started off eating 4 cups of food a day - 2 in the morning and 2 in the evening. When she was a little less than a year old, I started cutting her back to 1.5 cups two times a day. When she turned two and had finished filling out (she's weighs about 53 lbs), she dropped to 1 cup two times a day. She's now almost 2.5 years old, and will stay at 1 cup two times a day for the forseeable future. Murphy, my 6 year old, is actually eating 3/4 cup two times a day and he's 57 lbs (and needs to lose a little weight).If I followed the back of the dog food bag, I should be feeding Murphy about 4 cups of food a day! So think carefully about how much you're feeding your dog - they don't need as much as you might think they do. You can always supplement their kibble with pumpkin or green beans (which are relatively high in fiber and are therefore filling).

Also, think about the number of treats you're giving. Some people have no idea how many treats they give their dog. Treats should never amount to more than about 5% of the dog's total daily calories. So only give treats occasionally. Perhaps you can swap out their treats for things that are healthy and low-fat, such as carrots.

Finally, just like people, the best way for your dog to lose weight is to burn more calories. So in addition to cutting back on their food, you need to exercise them more. This means walking them, or playing ball with them, or running with them. If your dog isn't used to exercising,  you'll want to start slowly and work up. And just because your dog comes to daycare several days a week, that doesn't mean you shouldn't exercise your dog. I walk my dogs at least once (and usually twice) every day, regardless of whether they've been to the daycare or not. Exercising is good for you too, so you can both benefit from a daily walk or run. A walk also helps you re-establish yourself as the alpha dog, and lets you work on obedience commands while exercising. So get out there and walk!

So if you are one of those people who has an overweight dog, you know what you need to do: feed them less, and exercise them more. It's simple. And your dog will thank you for it!