How is your Dogs Weight?

At the beginning of every year we all are prone to take a look at our lives, access the state of things, and many of us make resolutions to better our lives in one way or another. After all, we as humans have been doing this every 365 days or so for a millennium, and it is a good thing.

So you are looking at yourself, looking at what improvements you can make, and it is a high probability that are now working on your weight. GREAT! Getting healthier is always a noble goal, and losing weight is very high on the list of annual resolutions, but I have a question for you:

How about your dog’s weight?

Obesity in dogs is a problem that is on the rise in America. We as humans are eating more and becoming less active, therefore our dogs are also eating more and exercising less. Just like in humans this increasing over-eating and inactivity can lead to a HUGE number of very real health issues such as:

• Diabetes
• Damage to joints, bones and ligaments (especially in large dogs)
• Heart disease
• Increased blood pressure (yes dogs too, can suffer from high blood pressure)
• Decreased liver function
• Difficulty breathing
• Decreased stamina
• Heat intolerance
• Increased anesthesia risk
• Digestive disorders
• Immune dysfunction
• Skin hair and coat problems
• Increased risk of cancer
• Decreased quality and length of life

I love my dogs (sometimes more than my children) and I want them to have long and healthy lives. I want their lives to be filled with running and jumping, not IV’s and pills and being drugged all the time. This is why we are very diligent about the feeding of our dogs. This leads to one of the biggest questions a dog owner will have:

How much SHOULD I be feeding my dog?

This can be a more difficult question to answer than you might think. If you have a medium to low energy dog it gets even more difficult. Did you know the ‘recommended feeding suggestions’ on the back of dog food is aimed at an “intact, male working dog?” Since your dog is NOT intact (and if it is you need to get it altered now, but that is another article) and it is probably not a working dog (meaning herding or pulling all day), this means that if you are following these suggestions  you are over feeding your dog, and potentially by a large amount.

A dog that is healthy should  always be hungry. This is a behavioral throw back to the wild dog days. Since they never knew when or where their next meal might be, they would eat anything they found when they found it. Since your dog is NOT a wild dog foraging for food, they should be on as schedule. Whether once a day or twice a day is up to you, but you need to be consistent. Same amount, same way, every day.

As far as making a recommendation goes I will only tell you what we are doing for our dogs. For the new reader we have Hondo, a 2 ½ year old Shiba Inu who is 19 pounds, and Jethro, a Pit Bull that is about 78 pounds. We feed them twice a day, and Hondo gets 2/3 of a cup and Jethro gets 1 ½ cups at each feeding. We feed them a good quality dry food (no corn of gluten please!) and put a little hot water on top of the dry food to make a little gravy in the bowl. We will occasionally mix in with this some drippings or other scraps.
Exercise is also a very important part of the equation, just like for you. “The Boys” and I walk generally at least once a day, and we walk at least a mile or so up and down hills. On top of this we have a large yard that they use and run around in during the day, so they get a decent amount of exercise.

If your dog is obese or overweight or you feel it may be, the first step is of course to consult your Vet. They are the first and best source for information on the health of your dog. However, here are a few suggestions:

• Start a weight chart, and begin to track your dogs weight.
• Exercise! Exercise! Exercise! – Not only will this help your dog’s weight, but will have a surprisingly positive effect on yours (I am down about 30 pounds in a year!)
• Feed a better quality food, in smaller amounts, twice a day. We have found this better than a big meal every morning
• Limit treats, and make sure they are GOOD treats. You would be surprised at how bad some of the commercial treats are for your dog. Make sure you read the packages, and find a good quality treat. Honeycomb cereal is one of Jethro’s favorites, but then again, he eats everything

I will bet a lot of these things sound surprisingly like the same things that YOU should also be doing for you weight. So, make your resolution, but include your dog.Work on your eating and your weight, but help them to work on theirs also. They would like to look slim and hot this summer too!