Being overweight is never a good thing for dogs. It could lead to diseases such as Diabetes, Arthritis, and joint complications.
While it’s true that staying home, for the most part, means healthy eating and more walks, right? Well, yes and no! Staying home may also mean more table scraps, more snacking, and more chilling on the couch watching your favorite shows together. This can wreak havoc on your dog’s weight.
How to Know That Your Dog is Overweight
First, make a clapping gesture. Now separate your hands and run them palms down across both sides of your dog’s rib cage. Apply gentle pressure so that you can feel the dog’s ribs. If your dog’s abdomen slopes up lightly where it meets their hind legs and then tapers just past the rib cage, your dog is overweight.
Tips to Help Your Dog Lose Weight
The ideal first step would be to consult with your vet so that they can lay up a weight loss plan for your dog. But, you can also take some steps to help with your dog’s weight loss. These are:
- Determine the amount of food your dog consumes every day and reduce calorie intake by 10%.
- Reduce the level of intake for treats and table scraps. You don’t realize it but a small treat here and another one there add up to more calories consumed at the end of the day.
- Keep your dog busy. Some suggested activities include playing fetch, using tugging toys, and also going for walks and runs. You can also use puzzle feeders instead of serving the food on a bowl. This way your dog has a job to do during mealtime.
Do these things repetitively and you will notice your dog start to shed weight.