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Fat Dogs

Fat dogs are far too common! Nearly 1/3 of all dogs seen by vets are overweight dogs. Dog obesity will shorten your pet's life and may lead to severe medical problems. Is your dog overweight? Do you really know how to recognize an obese dog? What can you do about it?

Fat Dogs

Photo by Thomas Tringale/flckr

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Fat dogs don't get overweight overnight. Their weight gain occurs over time, and dogs are usually too heavy because of three things: too much food intake, too little exercise, and, sometimes, the complications of old age.

In addition, to be fair, some breeds are definitely more likely to produce obese dogs than others. Knowing if your dog has a genetic disposition toward obesity can help you to prevent him from gaining too much weight.

Keeping your dog's weight within a healthy range is critical to his good health and to his having a long life span. Here's the first step in making sure that your dog is within a healthy weight range:

How to Recognize Overweight Dogs

Did you know that a dog is considered to be obese if he is just 15% heavier than his ideal weight? That really doesn't seem to be that much! For example, a Labrador retriever, who should weigh about 75 lb (35 kg), is obese if he weighs 86 lb (39 kg).

If you have a pure-bred dog, it will be easier to determine if your dog is too fat because the “ideal weight” is included as part of the breed standard (used as part of the judging standards at dog shows). If you have a mixed breed dog, you may have to have the vet help you with this.

fat dogs

Photo at bottom of overweight dog by Bethany L King/flckr

Target Weight

This is your dog's healthy and ideal weight. If you find the following, your dog is just right!

You can feel your dog's ribs without difficulty.
You can see or feel a narrowing behind his ribs—this is his “waist”. It will be harder to see his waist if he has long hair, so you may have to feel for it.
You can feel the top of his hip bones at the base of his tail.
Your dog's abdomen (tummy) feels tight.

Overweight Dogs

If your dog is a fat dog, but not yet an obese dog, you will see the following:

You can feel some fat on your dog's ribs.
Your dog doesn't have much of a “waist.”
You can still feel his hip bones, but they are covered with fat.
Your dog's abdomen looks a little paunchy, or it has some “give” to it.

Obese Dogs

If your dog is obese, he is at risk for many medical problems like canine diabetes and will most likely have a severely shortened life span. If your dog is obese, you will find that:

Your dog has so much fat that you cannot feel his ribs.
You cannot see or feel his waist.
Your dog's hip bones are hidden by fat, and you can't feel them.
When you look at your dog from the side, you can see his stomach hanging down. There is a “paunch”.

Help Fat Dogs Lose Weight!

If you found that your dog is overweight or obese, there are some simple steps that you can take to remedy the situation. By helping your dog to lose weight, you will be increasing his chances of having a long, happy and healthy life with you. There are numerous medical benefits, and your dog will be much more fun to have around if he is healthy and fit!

Some veterinarians recommend weight reduction dog food, but you don't have to buy expensive prescription dog food. You can simply decrease the amount of dog food that you give to your dog.

In addition, simply decrease the size of dog treats that you give to your dog (and the number). You may want to try making your own homemade dog treats . I suggest trying my recipes for Mini Bones or Pepper's Training Treats to get you started.

In addition, your dog needs more exercise. The benefit of this to you is that you might just get into shape and lose weight, as well.

The bottom line is that fat dogs can lose weight. The process will take some patience on your part. And you will have to use restraint in resisting the temptation to give your dog extra treats. But, given persistence, you will be successful. And your dog will live a long and happy life with you!