Oh, you chubby dog! Overweight in dogs

Oh, you chubby dog: more and more dogs are overweight. Even if a „little chubby one“ sometimes looks cute, the excess weight is nevertheless often a serious health problem for the affected dog. That is why the motto is: recognise the causes, resolve the problems and make sure that the dog gets the healthy and active life it deserves.

Dieting alone is not a solution

If a dog is fat, you just have to reduce the daily food portion and the problem is solved – so some people think. Unfortunately, it is not quite that simple. Because the causes of being overweight often lie deeper.

The choice of food

One reason is often unsuitable food: if the food is not tailored to the animal's needs, for example due to too high a calorie content, or because table scraps are given instead of dog food, then the dog quickly gains weight. Yet at the same time it can suffer from a lack of important nutrients. So simply reducing the food does not solve the problem of the nutrient deficiency. Instead, it makes sense to determine a realistic nutrient requirement for the dog together with a nutritional adviser (vets generally lack this important additional training) and then to implement it consistently. It depends, among other things, on the activity level, the breed and the size of the dog.

How is the feeding done?

If the dog is too fat, there is usually a further problem on top of this: the manner of feeding. For although it is in principle irrelevant in most cases whether a dog is fed once or twice a day, with irregular feeding routines it is often harder to keep track of a suitable amount of food. In addition, out of misguided affection, far too many dogs are all too often slipped food, a treat here, a treat there, plus a little titbit – and this kind of feeding is the fastest way to an overweight dog. Should weight problems arise, it is therefore best to introduce set feeding times (and of course amounts!) and to replace reward treats with small sessions of play or petting as a reward. When feeding, please also bear in mind that the recommended quantities on the food packaging are rather theoretical values and are not necessarily appropriate for every dog.

Exercise on offer

Just as with humans, though, with dogs too it is not only about nutrition when the subject of losing weight is on the agenda. Because the second important factor in weight control, in animals too, is exercise. Of course, how much exercise a dog needs depends on many different factors: breed, size and the need for activity are just a few aspects. Generally speaking, a normal dog with no health restrictions should have at least 2 hours available for walks each day. While with short-legged dogs and toy dogs several short rounds of 15–30 minutes should rather be done, with larger breeds it is quite appropriate to plan in 2 long walks of at least an hour. Particularly walk-loving types, such as huskies, sighthounds or hunting dogs, should be exercised even more and, above all, faster, ideally with a bicycle, a dog scooter or while jogging. Alongside the regular walks, playing together should also be part of the exercise on offer: it is fun, improves fitness, strengthens the bond and makes the pounds tumble not only for the dog. But please bear in mind that exercise can be very strenuous and damaging to the joints for a severely overweight dog: at the start you should therefore increase the exercise sessions only slowly, so that the health complaints that being overweight brings with it are not intensified by overly vigorous training.

Health consequences of being overweight

Being overweight also brings health restrictions for the dog. The bodily bulk puts a strain on the cardiovascular system, the musculoskeletal system and much more. Common secondary diseases of being overweight in dogs are:

• Canine diabetes (diabetes mellitus in dogs)
• Cardiovascular disorders
• Joint diseases and diseases of the musculoskeletal system
• Intervertebral disc problems
• Disorders of liver function

In the long term, this multifaceted health burden can only be permanently prevented through consistent weight reduction. However, since too sudden a weight reduction and extreme diets can likewise have health-endangering effects, it is advisable to approach the path to the ideal weight step by step.