Obesity in dogs is a relatively common phenomenon, it may be due to a number of reasons for dogs to become obese, weight loss is not easy, this article today to talk to you about those things that obesity in dogs, how to prevent it, how to lose weight healthily and so on.
What is obesity?
Obesity refers to a certain degree of obvious overweight and fat layer is too thick, is the body fat, especially triglycerides accumulation of too much and lead to a state. It does not mean simple weight gain, but the state of excess accumulation of adipose tissue in the body. Excessive body fat accumulation due to excessive food intake or changes in body metabolism causes excessive weight gain and causes pathological and physiological changes in the body or latent.
When eating more calories than calories consumed, excess calories are stored in the body in the form of fat, and when there is excessive accumulation of fat in the body and/or abnormal distribution, weight gain is a multi-factorial chronic metabolic disease.
What are the dangers of dog obesity?
Bad 1: suffer from diabetes
Obese dogs are more likely to suffer from diabetes than healthy dogs, and this disease is incurable, dogs can only take long-term drugs to maintain blood sugar, will bring a lifetime of pain to the dog.
Bad 2.
Suffering from pancreatitis is a relatively common disease in dogs, obese dogs are more likely to suffer. Pancreatitis is divided into acute pancreatitis and chronic pancreatitis, will make the dog abdominal pain, vomiting, and blood in the stool, and very uncomfortable, if not timely treatment, the dog is likely to die.
Bad 3: long fatty tumor
If it is benign, it can be controlled by taking anti-tumor drugs, but if it is malignant or affects the normal life of the dog, it needs to be removed surgically.
Disadvantage 4: burden on the joints
Dogs are animals walking on all fours, if the body is too obese, it is like four toothpicks on top of a large winter melon, toothpicks bear too much, will not be able to hold on. The weight of the body will make the joints wear badly and eventually cause arthritis, or even paralysis.
Bad 5: Causes heart problems
Dogs are overly obese, plus usually do not like to exercise, too much fat will oppress the heart and lungs, resulting in a heavy burden on the heart, lung gas storage capacity becomes smaller, lung ventilation is not smooth, it will directly lead to dog breathing difficulties, the situation is serious, it will also lead to dog suffocation death.
Bad 6: urine loss problem
Obese female dogs are prone to the problem of urine loss, the dog’s urethra is originally short, if too much abdominal fat, resulting in long-term bladder compression, it is difficult for the dog to store urine normally, followed by the phenomenon of uncontrolled urination.
Bad 7: do not like to exercise, physical deterioration
Once the dog is obese, it will become less and less active, and finally lazy to just want to lie down at home, go out to walk not two steps to stop to take a break. Lack of exercise will only make the dog more and more fat, poorer and poorer physique, causing other complications.
The symptoms of dog obesity
- 1. The whole body looks round. It will look more plump than normal dogs, rich in subcutaneous fat, poor physical strength, easy fatigue and heat resistance.
- 2. When a dog is obese, it may also have indigestion dermatitis and other conditions.
- 3. Dog obesity may lead to breathing difficulties and abnormal heartbeat, which is mainly due to the relatively thick visceral fat.
- 4. Obesity dog blood cholesterol and blood lipid elevation. Because the blood circulation is impaired, can be secondary to the dysfunction of the liver, kidneys and pancreas.
The causes of dog obesity
1. Thyroid disease
The most likely cause the dog weight gain thyroid disease is hypothyroidism, in the middle / large elderly dogs is particularly common.
If it is overweight obese and often lethargic, dry fur, itchy skin or coat color is not lustrous, then it is best to conduct a comprehensive medical examination to rule out potential diseases.
2. Diabetes
This is a chronic metabolic disorder that involves an imbalance in the sugar content of blood sugar. Diabetes can affect dogs of all ages, breeds, and sizes, and weight gain and loss are symptoms of this disease, as well as lethargy, thirst, and increased urination.
3. Genetic susceptibility
Although any dog can be overly obese, some breeds have an increased chance
Labradors, Basset Hounds, Beagles, Rottweilers, Spaniels, St. Bernards, Bulldogs and Dachshunds, for example
If you have dogs of these breeds at home, it is recommended to have a regular medical check-up.
4. Lack of exercise and overeating
These two types of conditions can lead to gradual weight gain, a cause that is often difficult to reverse, and they need more exercise than other dogs. Another thing to be aware of is older dogs, they are also when it comes to consuming calories because of their slowed metabolism.
5. Medication
There are a variety of medications that can stimulate weight gain in dogs. If they suddenly gain weight after using a new prescription, then they should promptly go to the hospital and consult a doctor to see if the medication needs to be adjusted.
Which dogs are most likely to be obese?
1. Labrador
Labrador is also known as “Labrador pig”, because it not only eats a lot, but also pulls a lot. It is really a dog that eats a lot of food. The most painful thing is that it has a fat body. If it does not control its diet, it will become a pig.
2. Pug
Don’t look at the ugly pug is very cute, it is cute heart oh, in fact, it is not only very lazy do not love exercise or a snack, and especially love to eat sweets, but eat too much sweet food is not good, easy to gain weight, and will lead to other diseases, so you must control the pug’s sugar intake oh.
3. Dachshunds
One hundred years ago, Dachshunds were actually very uniform in size, with not too long bodies and not too short legs. Because of the non-pure breed planting, their inbred line caused a lot of genetic problems. Obesity was among them. In addition, because they are too fat, very easy to occur spinal problems, they usually, in addition, manipulate of rest their weight, but also must feed some children calcium tablets to fill the calcium, strong human bones.
4. Pine dogs
Pine dogs are also known as pine dogs, fat hair dogs, do not think it fat surface on just puffy hair, in fact, it is a solid core, and it can eat, eat too much naturally will be very fat, too fat in the case you can not even see its short legs oh.
5. The fifth kind: Corgi
What makes people impressed is his short legs and mini electric butt. Because Corgi is also a dog with short legs and long body, so the probability of Corgi growing meat is too high. It is recommended that owners should pay attention to the amount of food they feed in general, otherwise Corgi tends to get too fat.
People who have fed Corgi understand that Corgi is a very hairy puppy, usually in addition to often help Corgi hair, but also pay attention to the Corgi diet with the best meal to dog food parts, more balanced nutrients, try to choose some taste light low salt, natural dog food containing fish oil, can reduce hair loss and other conditions.
How to determine if my dog is overweight
Here to introduce you to the Nestl Purina Pet Care Center R & D body shape standards, standards for short-haired pets easier to measure. 1 to 3 too thin, 4 thinner, 5 ideal, 6 to 9 too fat.
- 1. Ribs, lumbar vertebrae, and pelvis are visible distally, no fat is palpable, and there are visible signs of muscle loss.
- 2. Ribs, lumbar vertebrae, and pelvis easily visible, no fat palpable, traces of slight muscle reduction.
- 3. Ribs are easily palpable and may be visible. The top protrusion of the lumbar spine can be seen. The pelvis is slightly protruding. There is a distinct waistline and a tight abdomen.
- 4. The ribs are easily palpable and have a small amount of subcutaneous fat. The waistline is easily visible from the top. The abdomen is clearly constricted.
- 5. Ribs are palpable and without excessive subcutaneous fat. The waistline can be seen from the top. The constriction of the abdomen is visible from the side.
- 6. The rib cage is palpable and there is a slight excess of subcutaneous fat. The waistline can be seen from the top but is not obvious. The constriction of the belly can be seen in dogs, but a flat belly is not visible in cats.
- 7. Ribs are harder to feel and have a lot of subcutaneous fat. The lumbar vertebrae and the root of the tail have significant fat accumulation. The tightness of the dog’s belly may be visible, and the cat has a lot of belly meat:.
- 8. Ribs cannot be palpated or require a lot of pressure to palpate, with a lot of subcutaneous fat. There is a lot of fat accumulation at the lumbar spine and tail root. There is no waistline. Dogs do not have a tight belly and cats have significant belly flesh. The shape of the abdomen may be enlarged.
- 9. Extremely large accumulation of fat in the chest, spine, tail root, neck and extremities. The dog has no waistline or constricted belly, and the cat has a very large belly. Significantly enlarged abdominal shape.
How to treat obesity in dogs
- 1. lower your dog’s daily caloric intake by changing dog food products (choose some commercially available diet recipes) or changing the amount of food fed daily.
- 2. sometimes it may be necessary to increase fiber or water intake.
- 3. Increase physical exercise activities. To enhance the exercise, there are a variety of leashes and toys available.
Home Care
Weight loss is not only your dog’s task, it should be your task as well. All family members must take responsibility for your dog’s weight loss. It is helpful to closely monitor your dog’s intake and body weight. It is best if one person is responsible for feeding your dog. In addition, all members should help him to exercise or exercise with him.
In order to achieve significant weight loss, your dog’s food must shift to a therapeutic diet designed specifically for weight loss. If you simply reduce the amount of your dog’s daily food, then weight loss is usually very difficult to achieve. In addition, you as the dog owner must measure food portions accurately and minimize food rewards. If necessary, you can also offer some low-calorie snacks, such as some vegetables (e.g., carrots).
Because of the frequent need to adjust the feeding schedule, it is advisable to take your dog for a review every 4-6 weeks to monitor weight loss. As your dog approaches his ideal weight, it is important to still further reduce caloric intake to maintain continued weight loss.
Most dogs typically require an 8-12 month weight loss program to reach their ideal weight. Most dogs do reach their ideal or near-ideal weight when owners and family members are committed to improving their pet’s health, after which most dog owners choose to continue feeding their dog diet meals, but at a higher food dose, to maintain their pet’s ideal weight.
Treating obesity through diet
1. Reduce the intake of snacks: most snacks are quite high in calories in the process of making, for the sake of deliciousness. Of course, the moderate use of snacks can help train dogs to learn simple habits. However, when used in the wrong way, it can have unmanageable consequences. Many owners because they can not stand the beloved baby dog begging for food when the poor eyes, have to give again and again, the result is often caused by the dog’s partial diet and unbalanced nutritional intake, and the phenomenon of obesity.
2. Change the diet: change the pet-specific food, in the early stages of changing food, perhaps for owners and dogs are very tormented, therefore, you can change to a gradual approach. Generally speaking, switching to pet-friendly food slowly over 3 to 7 days is a milder approach. If your dog is cooperative, you can also use pet-friendly diet food.
Obesity treatment through exercise
Exercise does not have to be strenuous running and jumping, but rather sustained. Walking and jogging can also burn a lot of calories. Especially for spayed and neutered dogs, exercise can be stimulated through games or companionship activities. Of course, it is important to be aware of degenerative joint disease in older dogs, as it often causes dogs to be reluctant to exercise. In addition, if in the process of exercise, the dog appears any regular walk or jogging with the dog, can reduce fat accumulation. Any physical discomfort should be stopped immediately and checked by a physician.
How to prevent obesity
1. Control the diet is recommended to feed regularly and quantitatively, in strict accordance with the weight table on the back of the dog food package to set the daily amount of food do not replace the main food with snacks, but also to choose balanced nutrition of the proportion of carbohydrates will not be too high dog food. Dog food inside the “crude fat” commonly known as “oil content”, preferably not more than 16%. Because the long-term feeding of high-fat dog food is easy to lead to fatty liver, pancreatitis, soft stool, and obesity problems.
2. Walking or jogging
Increasing the amount of exercise for dogs, and regular walks can reduce common disease problems, not only can burn calories, but also improve physical fitness to increase muscle.
3. Swimming
Swimming is an integrated exercise that is especially beneficial for dogs with arthritis.
It is a low-impact exercise that builds muscle, improves endurance, and enhances cardiorespiratory fitness.
However, not all dogs like to swim and can be encouraged with toys or snacks (chicken jerky).
Pay attention to the dog’s physical condition when exercising, if it breathes too fast, panting excessively, or stops in place, it may be overworked, so be sure to relax and rest.
