Controlling Obesity

One of the most common problems seen in dogs is obesity. Basically, people are slowly killing their dogs through kindness as they do not notice the risks associated with overfeeding their dog. Once aware of the issue, dog owners need to understand that reducing the dog’s intake is not cruel. The obesity diet has its part to play by enabling the owner to feed a low calorie diet to the dog, which will satisfy the hunger while reducing his intake of nutrients.

This table indicates a suitable intake of calories for an overweight dog with a target weight indicated in the first column. The diet needs to be balanced by sensible variations of other nutrients.

From this, you can see just how few calories, and consequently how little food portions, a dog really needs to lose weight at a satisfactory rate to fall within the healthy weight range of that breed. Scale 1 will cause reduction in body weight at a fairly slow rate, and even with ordinary foodstuffs your dog should not become too overly hungry.

Scale 2 is necessary when a more rapid reduction in weight is required. It is still not a drastic diet regime. You will need to keep in mind that your dog will want more with either weight reduction scale, however, your dog will be receiving enough nutrients to get by and will adjust to the feeding changes until at the desired weight.

Disclaimer:  Although great care has been taken to ensure accuracy and completeness in this information, no legal responsibility can be accepted by Hypro (Aust) Pty Ltd for the information and opinions expressed. The table above should not be used as the sole source for weight reduction in obese dogs, this simply serves as a guideline and for further information we recommend seeking advice from your local veterinary.