Overweight is...

• The most common and easiest-to-fix dog health danger^1,2

• Caused by owners (except in rare instances)

Your Dog's Look & Feel

The simplest way to check your dog's weight is by looking at her profile and overhead view. Dog's with thick coats are easily checked by feeling her body with your fingertips.

Weight Wisdom

Abuse

Overfeeding your dog is animal abuse.

• • To see what this abuse looks like, search Google Images for 'overweight dogs.'

Target Weight

Each dog has an ideal [target] weight that may change slightly with season and age. My senior dog’s weight increases about 2-3 pounds during winter because she exercises less. I decrease her food quantity slightly to manage her target weight.
Thin dogs typically live longer healthier lives than overweight dogs. Isn't that what you want for her?

Senior Dogs & Arthritis

Senior dogs often develop arthritis in front and rear leg joints. Excess weight puts added and unnecessary pressure on these joints. This added pressure means more pain.

• • The first and most important step in caring for a dog with arthritis is to reduce her weight.

Causes of Overweight

Humans

The #1 cause of fat dogs is – Humans!

Why? Dogs no longer must work to find their own food. They merely find their food bowl. And, the food bowl is filled with processed carbohydrates (manufactured kibble) rather than the real meat and bones a dog’s body evolved to thrive on. If this causes you to reflect and compare to your own food choices—you’re getting it!

Simple Math:

Calories In > Calories Out = Overweight

(more calories consumed than burned = fat dog)

Results of Overweight

Increased disease risk to immune, cardiovascular, respiratory, skeletal, etc., systems.

Statistics & Data

Over 33% of USA dogs are overweight³ – exceeding weight appropriate for their body structure. Some surveys indicate that upwards of 80% of dogs seen by veterinarians are overweight.

What Constitutes Overweight?

• Overweight = 10-15% above ideal weight.

• Obese = over 15% above ideal weight⁴. Body weight beyond skeletal and physical limits caused by excess body fat.

Dogs Prone to Overweight

Cairn Terriers, Dachshunds, Scottish Terriers, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Beagles, Cocker Spaniels, Basset Hounds, Labrador and Golden Retrievers, Rottweilers, Bernese Mountain Dogs, Newfoundlands, and Saint Bernards.

How Overweight Happens

Wrong Food

Feeding poor quality kibble, high in grains and processed carbohydrates, rather than real meat protein.

Feeding to Present Weight

Feeding to present weight rather than ideal weight⁵.

Grazing

Leaving food out more than 15 minutes often leads to fat dogs. Referred to as 'grazing.'

Treats

Unhealthy Treats

Healthy treats are as important as healthy food. Avoid unhealthy treats loaded with carbohydrates. I treat the Golden Girls with Orijen Six Fish. They get no more than a dozen or so per day.

Not compensating for treats

Feeding too many treats, without a corresponding reduction in meal size, will lead to an overweight dog.

Insufficient Exercise

Dogs need enough exercise to burn up the food calories they consume or they get fat (like us).

Medical

A very small percent of overweight dogs are the result of medical problems. Therefore, a visit to your vet to rule out medical problems is important.

Age, Stress, & Overweight

Age

As they age, dogs work and play less and therefore burn fewer calories. Unless food quantity (not quality) is reduced, older dogs get fat. Feed less and encourage gentle exercise for older dogs.

Senior dogs need as much, if not more, high quality protein in their diet than they did as adult dogs. Do not feed ‘senior’ or ‘lite’ kibble to older dogs. Instead, feed premium quality meat-based, high protein (30%+) diet to maintain ideal weight, or switch to real food.

Stress

Stress causes body systems to behave abnormally and frequently leads to fat accumulation (like us).

What to do

Medical

First, have your veterinarian check for possible medical conditions.

Feed Less

If feeding kibble (manufactured dry dog food), select a premium quality product (usually NOT one heavily advertised or sold at veterinary clinics). Feed to gradually reduce weight 3-5% per week; then 1% per week as dog nears ideal weight⁵. If feeding Real Food, simply gradually reduce amount fed.

Exercise

150 minutes minimum of exercise a week (20-25 min/day) for healthy adult dogs. Adjust for individual dogs.

Snacks & Treats

Stop! Don’t do it! Ignore the ‘begging’. Train your dog not to beg by training yourself not to feed - don't reinforce the dog's behavior. Feeding a begging overweight dog is animal abuse! Nothing less!
However, if you feed reward treats, you must also reduce quantity of mealtime food.

Bottom Line:
Overfeeding your dog is abuse,
not love.

NOTES:

1 Kidd, Randy, DVM, PhD. Too Much Love, The Whole Dog Journal, August 2006

2 No More Fat Pets, Tara, Estra, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine

3 Banfield, The Pet Hospital. Report of 2.5 million dogs seen in 2016.

4 My 50 pound female Flat-Coated Retriever would be overweight at 55 pounds and obese at 58 pounds.

5 If my dog weighed 70 pounds and should weigh 60, I should gradually decrease food quantity until she was eating to her 60 pound ideal weight. This will take many months; be patient, consistent, and avoid excess treats.