Obesity – the Most Common Nutritional Disease in Dogs
Posted on 2010 under Dog Obesity | No Comment7 Mar
One of the top nutritional diseases in dogs in the US today is obesity. Obesity is the direct result of a dog taking in more calories than it is burning. Dogs naturally only eat until their hunger has been satisfied, this is due to a built-in control mechanism that tells a dog when they have taken in enough calories required for their daily needs. Although, this mechanism can be upset or thrown off balance due to feeding the dog foods that are highly palatable, a dog will then eat to satisfy its appetite instead of his hunger. One of the best ways to move this unwanted fat is by reversing the process in which the weight was put on, which is to feed the dog less calories than it will use for energy that day.
Once you do this, your dog’s body will start to burn up the stored energy to obtain what it needs. Coincidently, fat is one of the most efficient energy sources that will be used the greatest amount, to provide the dog with energy as it is needed. You cannot just reduce the caloric intake by cutting back on the amount that you feed your dog. A huge cut in the amount of food you feed to your dog will only cause other, perhaps more serious problems for your dog, even worse the obesity, which is nutritional deficiency. One thing this can cause, is your dog may feel as if he is starving! You should replace fats and carbohydrates, which contain the highest calories, with foods that are lower in calories and less digestible.
A dog that is on a diet should never take in more than 1,500 calories per pound of dry dog food. A dog should only take in about 1,300 to 1,350 calories per pound of dry food, or if the dog is being fed canned food this should drop to about 340 to 360 calories per pound.
You can also, check with a vet about getting a reduced diet they recommend that was specifically designed to help dogs lose weight.
You can use portion control to help your dog start reducing his weight if he is around 12 to 15 pounds above his idea weight. You need to start out by limiting his food to about 2/3 of what he is used to eating. During this time, you should cut out any treats or supplements to keep from sabotaging your desired results. Once your dog is getting to where his weight needs to be, you can slowly start upping the calorie intake until you find a happy medium.
Dogs that are prone to gain the weight back, needs to have their food intake closely watched to keep them from putting the weight back on.
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