4 Sneaky Ways To Keep Your Pup In Shape!

How heavy is your pup? A fur ball carrying even a bit of extra weight is more prone to diabetes, joint and ligament injuries, and heart and respiratory issues.

In addition, older pups who are above a healthy weight can suffer from chronic pain from arthritis. A fur ball at a good weight will have an abdomen that curves inwards behind the ribs (when you’re looking from above), and his ribs should be easily felt – but not seen! If your fur ball doesn’t fit this description or is generally heavier than he should be, it’s time to try getting rid of that extra weight! Here are some small ways to do that.

1. Feeding

Although most adult pups don’t need to be fed twice in a day and may overeat if they are, it’s helpful to give your fur ball two smaller meals per day because digesting uses up energy. Once your pup is done eating, put the food away and don’t leave uneaten food out. You can also try feeding using a treat ball (or a bottle with the lid removed) so that your pup gets some exercise during mealtimes and eats less in one go.

2. Food substitution

Buy a bag of frozen mixed veggies, remove the onion and potato, and mix it in with your fur ball’s normal food – you can microwave them or just serve them frozen! You can also steam sweet potato and add it into your pup’s food. These options are low in calories and makes your pup feel full faster!

3. Treats

Make it a habit to read ingredient labels carefully, and cut out high fat treats. A lot of pups will actually happily take regular dry food as a treat, too! For a healthier option, you can use chopped raw carrot, which is low in calories and loved by many a pup. If your fur ball doesn’t like carrots, mix them with some liver treats first so that they’re seasoned with extra goodness.

4. Be strict!

Don’t give your fur ball food when he begs for it, and make sure the whole household knows not to feed your pup food from the table – even if he begs really hard! I know it can be hard to resist, but it helps make a healthier fur ball.

Those were some small ways to help your pup lose a bit of weight! Do like and share this with other pup Mommies and Daddies!

Feature Image Source: Pixabay