Obesity amongst domesticated canines is a rapidly growing health concern seen in most pet dogs today. The cause of concern is that obesity usually triggers a host of other medical complications in dogs or aggravates existing medical conditions. There could be a host of reasons as to why dogs become overweight .
the most popular and common ones are an imbalanced or incorrect diet and lack of sufficient and regular exercise depending on the dog breed. Additionally, along with these factors, there are also certain breeds of dogs that are genetically programmed to gain weight faster than the others namely English bulldogs, Beagles, Pugs, Dalmatians etc
Every responsible pet owner should be very judicious about the amount and quality of food being fed to fat dogs and the physical activity the dog is being exposed to. An obese dog weight loss diet mainly begins with banning all table scraps and junk foods, mostly human foods from your dog’s daily meals or snacks.
Additionally although doggy treats may encourage your dog to perform well during training, they are also high in calories and should be used sparingly or substituted with low fat/low fibre treats such as small pieces of carrots and apples which are equally well enjoyed by dogs. Treats should never constitute more than 10% of the dog's diet, and in case of an obese dog, and then this percentage should be reduced even further. There has to be a structured diet plan and exercise routine in place for the weight loss program to be successful. The main area of focus to tackle dog obesity is to help increase the metabolic rate of the obese dog. This will ensure that the nutrients can get well digested and the fat can be burned into energy. This has to be coupled with feeding it a low calorie but nutritious diet/food specially designed for fat dogs to actually see some positive results.
Then again while exercise is vital to ensure your dog is in perfect health and physical condition, care should be taken as excessive and sudden exercising may put added pressure on the dogs underused muscles, heart and lungs. There should be Short sessions of low or moderate activity scheduled for the dogs at the start such as a stroll around the block, daily obedience classes. A close eye should be kept on overweight dogs while they are exercising, especially in hot weather to ensure that they do not have trouble while breathing.
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