It’s clear that we love our pups. I have never doubted that and frankly, I have come to measure the character of a person by how he or she treats the furry roommates.
I shower Karma with all kinds of things – belly rubs, toys, treats, playtime and more. But one thing I am mindful of is food. As our faithful readers know, Karma is an active boy and earns lots of treats when we are training. But obesity in dogs is a HUGE (no pun intended!) problem and we all have to be careful of over-showering our pups with too much food.
Pets encounter many of the same problems humans do when they are overweight – osteoarthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and cancer – all of which shortens their lifespan (which is already too short!).
So how can you tell if you dog is packing on the pounds? First, take a trip to the vet and pay attention to the scale. Ask your vet about Fido’s weight and really listen to the answer. You should be able to easily feel ribs when you run your hands along his sides. When looking at your dog from above, he should have a discernible waist.
If your dog could stand to lose a few, here are some things to keep in mind:
Read the label of your dog food. Again. | Make sure they are eating a quality food free of by-products, corn and other fillers. Also check the calorie count as most “recommendations” in the instructions are geared to selling more food, not maintaining optimum weight.
Be honest about the amount of snacks and treats your dog gets. | When training, Karma gets all kinds of healthy treats, but that means he gets a little less breakfast and dinner as I’m looking at his total calories for the day. Be sure to educate everyone in the home!
Rethink your rewards. | Karma is very toy-motivated so sometimes a game of tug is the only reward he needs. Other times we use apples, blueberries or other healthy choices to mark good behavior.
Get moving. | It’s really not that different for dogs than it is for people: eat less, move more. Unless your dog has a physical issue, your dog needs to be walking and playing and running.
Like people, like dogs. | Dogs need variety in their workouts just like humans do or their bodies can “plateau,” or get used to the exercise. If you only ever walk your dog around the neighborhood for 20 minutes in the morning, consider mixing in some more active cardio to raise their heart rate; add some strength training like having them wear a pack or working in a bunch of hills; do a super-long walk once a week to build stamina … you get the idea.
Very good advice! I remember the first time an instructor told me my dog was overweight. I was crushed. I went to talk to my vet and even my vet didn’t think he was as overweight as he actually was. I ended up taking nearly 25 pounds off of him and 6 years later he is still happy, healthy, and very active. I can’t imagine what he’d be like now if he had been carrying that extra 25 pounds around for those 6 years, but I’d imagine he wouldn’t be nearly as active and would have more health problems. I had quite a few people tell me I probably added a year or two to his life when I took the weight off of him. That alone made it worth it.