Healthy Weight Loss for Dogs

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We’re sharing some tips or healthy weight loss for dogs as keeping our dogs happy and healthy also includes ensuring they don’t become obese. We love our dogs and like many dog families sometimes we find it easy to spoil them. Our dog Luna as she’s started to slow down and is not as active started to gain weight. This in turn had the potential to cause her other health issues such as putting more stress on her joints.

Naturally, we didn’t want to Luna to develop health issues because of her weight but we found it challenging to change some habits. We were used to being able to take her out for regular exercise which had always helped to keep her weight down. Fortunately, we had always had her on quality dog food which always played a crucial role in keeping her healthy. We had to learn to adjust and with the help of our vet came up with healthy weight loss plan for her.

Did you know that 22-44% of pets weigh more than their ideal body weight? Obesity can contribute to major health problems for your pet including diabetes in cats and decreasing the lifespan of your dog. The negative side effects of being overweight can start to appear within just a few weeks of the onset of obesity. As pet parents, it’s our job to keep our furry kids happy and healthy, especially if that means helping Fido shed a few pounds. Here are some helpful tips from Petcurean on how to manage your pet’s weight.

Here are some great healthy weight loss for dogs tips that we can all refer to:

• Evaluate your pet’s current weight: Weigh your pet at the vet’s office or with your home bathroom scale and check it against this Body Score chart to help you determine the current status of your pet’s weight.
• Diet: An important rule you should keep in mind when managing your pet’s weight is restricting treats and resisting the urge to give them table scraps. These items make it hard for you to regulate what your pet is eating. For dogs, you can feed them a weight loss recipe with reduced calories. This option allows your pup to eat the same volume of food they’re used to eating, but with fewer calories. Petcurean’s GO! Fit + Free makes a great diet feeding option with a protein-rich, lower carb recipe. Alternatively, you can simply cut back on the amount of food you’re currently feeding. To ensure your dog still feels full after these smaller meals, you can add canned pumpkin or green beans as a fiber-rich and healthy topper. Cats do the best on low carb canned recipes since the wet food not only promotes weight reduction, but also helps cats feel fuller. GO! Fit + Free also offers canned recipes for cats.
• Physical activity: Decreased food intake should be accompanied by increased physical activity. Track your pet’s weight through weekly weigh ins. A rapid decline in weight can be harmful to your pet. As you monitor their progress, continue to check them against the body score chart. That will tell you when your pet’s weight goals have been reached!

For our healthy weight loss for dogs plan was that we had to be strict about measuring Luna’s food to ensure we weren’t giving her too much. We had never been in the habit of giving her table scraps so we didn’t have to worry about that. We did also have to watch how many “treats” we gave her. While they were healthy dog treats they were still extra calories for her. Don’t worry we didn’t stop giving her treats, we just track how many we give her and don’t go over the daily limit.

For Luna with her ageing and having stiffer joints, increasing her activity was something we really had to be careful about. We had to adjust the activity to suit her physical needs and limitations. Instead of the long walks, we used to take or going hiking, we instead take her out for short spurts of play. We try and do these at least 3-4x/day to keep her active. She can’t-do long periods of play but these short spurts keep her happy and gives us some quality play time together.

Managing your pet’s weight is an essential part of loving your furry friends. If you’d like help in developing a weight loss plan for your pet, I’d also be happy to coordinate an interview with Petcurean’s pet health specialist Dr. Jennifer Adolphe or Michele Dixon to speak on this health issue further.

Make sure to check out our Pet section for other great tips on how to care for your cat or dog.