You Think a Chubby Dog Is Cute? -Pet Obesity is No Laughing Matter

​Of course, your dog is cute! But if they are overweight they could be in real trouble!
Okay, so your dog is big-boned, a little heavy for his height and probably has a bit of puppy fat on him- what’s so alarming about that? The truth is it’s definitely something to be alarmed about. Pet obesity is a very real problem that has slowly become more of a national trend, rather than an exception. If your dog is obese, he/she is at risk of disease, illness or death even.  

It’s not uncommon to find pets that are way beyond their ideal weight limit and the consequences of pet obesity are no laughing matter. Let’s take a detailed look at what these are and how they impact your dog: 

​Pet obesity- the consequences

• Reduced lifespan- Just as in the case of human obesity, there are a number of negative health risks to your obese pet. Excess weight can reduce your pet’s lifespan by almost two and a half years. These dogs can suffer from various health complications that get aggravated due to the excess weight. Obese dogs are unable to play actively and move around comfortably; they also have difficulty breathing and tend to be more irritable.
•  Increased cancer risk- Studies have shown there is a direct connection between obesity and certain cancers. A dog that’s obese at the age of one year will have a higher probability of developing mammary tumors. 
• Skin, hair and coat issues- When your pet is overweight, its skin tends to fold into itself. The pockets that get created provide the ideal environment for oil accumulation and infections.
• Reduced immune function- Obese pets have lower resistance levels. Occurrence of canine distemper and salmonella infections are higher and more severe in obese dogs.  
• Digestion problems: Overweight pets are at a higher risk of constipation and flatulence. 
• Reproduction problems- Obese female dogs generally suffer from birthing difficulties (dystocia) and a vet’s intervention might be necessary. 
• Intolerance to heat- Fat acts as an insulator; when your pet has too much of it, your dog is less capable of effectively regulating its body temperature; this can make it particularly miserable in the summer months. 
• Drop in stamina- Since an overweight and obese dog carries a lot of excess weight around that reduces its stamina and endurance levels. Its muscles, respiratory organs and its heart system aren’t designed to carry around all that excess weight. 
• Difficulty with breathing- The extra fat in your dog’s chest area restricts lung expansion. Added fat on the abdomen area also prevents the lungs from expanding to their full extent; the excess weight adds to the body’s oxygen demands which aggravates the problem. 

​Aside from all these problems, obese dogs are also at risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. The best way to avoid all these problems is to make sure your pet is getting the right nourishment and regular exercise like playing, walking and swimming. 

Don’t Overfeed Your Dog, Spoil Them The Healthy Way

People tend to spoil their dogs by overfeeding them and giving them lots of unnecessary tasty treats. Dogs are always ready to eat those treats and who doesn’t love to spoil their dog. Those big beautiful eyes looking at you, who can resist. But you don’t have to feed your dog to spoil them.

Here are our 7 top tips to spoil your dog the healthy way:

1. Incorporate treats into the amount of food you are to give daily
2. Spread meals out- divide their daily ration into 2-3 meals. This gives them the feeling on being full as well as stimulating their metabolism
3. Don’t feed a big meal at night, do it during the day so it fully digests
4. Use fruit or vegetable pieces for treats
5. Make bone broth and freeze into ice blocks and let them chase the ice block around and lick the ice
6. Use treat balls and put healthy low fat treats and make it a game- don’t forget these treats are a part of their daily allowance
7. Instead of food rewards use a toy or a pat.

Services Available at K9 SWiM Which Help Your Dog Lose Weight

K9 SWiM we care about your dog’s health, fitness and happiness. You are always welcome to book any of our services to improve your dog’s fitness and weight over time.
We offer:

• swimming in  our indoor canine pool
• under water treadmill sessions
• walking machine
• vibration board
• core strengthening equipment and exercises

all of which can help your dog lose weight. If your dog is obese then swimming is a perfect exercise as its non weight bearing and creates fitness quickly if done consistently. Once a week and you would see results along with a controlled balance diet. 
The doggie gym with walking machine, vibration board and core strengthening equipment, are low impact easy exercises to do on balance disks, balls and pads that help tone and strengthen. 
We would design a circuit for your dog to do once or twice a week.
Contact us or call us on 1300 787 064 to discuss your needs for your dog to get into shape. 

A Personalised Weight Loss Program for Your Dog

​We offer a weight loss control program where we give your dog a health check, weigh in , measure and plan a diet and exercise regime for you and your dog to follow. This goes for 8 weeks and is monitored weekly. It is done safely and slowly so your dog is comfortable and happy enough to lose weight.  

Back in 2015 K9 SWiM was thrilled to have Dr Harry from Better Homes and Gardens come in and film our weight loss program for dogs last year. The dogs loved Dr Harry too!
Dr Harry was so happy to see the progress the dogs made in those 8 weeks and he was super impressed with one of the owners that lost 5 kilos as well exercising with his dog!
Dr Harry even got in the pool to swim with the dogs.

Not Sure If Your Dog Is Overweight?

Dogs can easily put on weight and you don’t notice straight away but then you start asking yourself “Is my dog overweight?” or maybe you notice other changes in your dog like they have less stamina and their interest in physical activity have decreased. 

The Body Condition Score will help you recognise if your dog is overweight. But if you are unsure then K9 Swim or your dog’s veterinarian can weigh your dog and determine your dog’s Body Condition Score (BCS) for you.