Strategies & Tips for Overweight Dogs
Losing weight can be challenging for overweight dogs, but the health benefits are well worth it. At a healthy weight, your dog will be more resistant to disease, feel better, and live longer. No one get’s excited about cutting calories, (especially when you’re a hungry dog) but we have a few tricks to make dieting simple, effective and a little fun.
Set a Goal and Start Counting Calories
Determine both your dog’s current weight and his ideal weight. Talk to your vet about what your dog’s weight should be or bring your dog into The Happy Beast and we can make a suggestion. The easiest way to determine the calories in your animal’s current and ideal diet is…. to let us do it for you! Once you have a target weight, we can factor in age, breed, and activity level to help determine how many calories your dog needs. As a general guideline, look at the feeding suggestion on your dog’s food to find your dog’s IDEAL weight and feed 75% of that amount. For example. If your dog’s goal weight is 30 lbs and the label of his dog food recommends 1 cup of food, feed him only ¾ cup.
Treats are OK!
Cutting out treats is a foolproof way to reduce calories, but it’s definitely not necessary for success. In fact, a couple of treats during the day may help your dog feel more satisfied. Just make sure to factor treats into your dog’s daily calorie “budget.” Look for treats with the calories printed on the label. Fruitables’ Crunchy Treats and Boulder Dog Food Co.’s Bison Cubes have just 8 calories per treat. Decide how many treats you want to give your dog each day, and subtract the calorie-equivalent from his normal meals.
Chewing on bones and tendons also provides important dental care. If chewing is part of your dog’s routine, choose lower-calorie options and feed your dog less on days he gets a treat. Marrow bones and bully sticks have enough calories to replace a whole meal for a medium size dog. A tendon or cow cheek would replace fewer calories.
When I’m Bored… I Eat
Make dinnertime a game! Dogs have a natural instinct to forage for their food. Instead of feeding your dog out of a bowl, make him work for it! Fill a puzzle toy like the PetSafe’s Magic Mushroom with a serving of kibble and let him knock it around until the food falls out. If you’re feeding canned or raw food, stuff it into a Kong or spread it out on a large, flat plate. All of these will force your dog to slow down meal time and enjoy smaller bites (instead of gulping down everything at once) leaving him more satisfied. Feeding this way also provides mental stimulation and reduces boredom.
Add Fresher Foods
Besides their basic nutritional benefits, fresher foods help your dog feel more satiated. Kibble is typically very calorie-dense so it doesn’t take up much space in the stomach and can leave your dog feeling hungry. Because of their high moisture content, dehydrated, canned, and raw foods can help your dog feel full. Replace some or all of your dog’s kibble with a fresher food. Try Steve’s, Primal and SmallBatch frozen raw, Grandma Lucy’s, Sojo’s or The Honest Kitchen dehydrated.
Get moving!
Exercise doesn’t need to be a lofty goal. Thirty minutes a day is a good starting point, especially if your dog isn’t very active. Divide that time up into a few ten-minute walks or five-minute games of fetch.
Ready to start your dog on a healthy weight program? Stop by The Happy Beast and we’ll lay out an easy-to-follow plan for you and your dog!
My dog is a difficult personality. he is very moody and wants to eat all the time. I don’t know why but he is always hungry and he play very less and sleep all the time and eat because of that he gained weight although he looks more cute and fluffy after gaining weight, on other side it is also not beneficial for his health. thank you so much for sharing this awesome article. this is going to be very useful to me…
I think finding dogs that are food-driven is a blessing in disguise. As someone who has trained a dog that had almost zero food drive made it impossible to do any training. It took a big shift in changing what time the dog ate at, to make it wait a little bit before getting it’s meal. Even with hunger kicking in, it was tough. For an overweight dog, it might be easier to get them moving using this method.
Excellent, whаt а weblog it іs! This weblog presents valuable information to us,
kеep it ᥙp.
Stop by my blog post; lotto (Lorie)
Quality posts is the main to interest the visitors to pay a visit
the website, that’s what this site is providing.
Hey therе! This post couⅼԀ not Ьe ѡritten any bettｅr!
Reading througһ thіѕ post reminds mе of my good olԀ roоm mate!
Hе ɑlways kept talking ɑbout this. Ι will forward this page to hіm.
Pretty sսre he will have a ɡood гead. Thɑnk yоu for sharing!
Feel free t᧐ visit mү blog :: Onsportbet – Onsportbet.com –
Here is my homepage :: evolution gaming singapore [8.ly]
I loved as much as you will receive carried out
right here. The sketch is tasteful, your authored material stylish.
nonetheless, you command get bought an edginess over
that you wish be delivering the following. unwell unquestionably come more formerly again as exactly the same
nearly a lot often inside case you shield this increase.
My web-site; https://studydance.me/
918kiss is the ultimate online slot gaming experience.
With its fast-paced, captivating gameplay and a wide selection of games, you’ll find yourself
transfixed in front of your device for hours. Join now to get started and
double your win
Look into my blog – discuss
Hey I know this is off topic but I was wondering if you
knew of any widgets I could add to my blog that automatically tweet my newest twitter updates.
I’ve been looking for a plug-in like this for quite some time and was hoping maybe you would have some
experience with something like this. Please let me know if you run into anything.
I truly enjoy reading your blog and I look forward to
your new updates.
Hey I know tһis is off topic but I ᴡas wondering if ʏоu қnew
of any widgets I ϲould аdd to my blog that automatically tweet mʏ newest twitter updates.
Ι’ve been ⅼooking foг a plug-in ⅼike this fοr quitе ѕome time and was hoping
mɑybe you wоuld have ѕome experience witһ somethіng likе thiѕ.
Pⅼease lеt me know if уoᥙ run into anything.
I tгuly enjoy reading ʏouｒ blog and I look forward to youｒ new updates.
Hеre is my web-site :: slot; Joeann,
Greetings from California! I’m bored at work so
I decided to check out your blog on my iphone during lunch break.
I love the info you provide here and can’t wait to take a look when I get home.
I’m amazed at how quick your blog loaded on my cell phone
.. I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyhow,
excellent blog!
Why users still make use of to read news papers when in this technological globe the whole
thing is presented on web?
I all the time emailed this web site post page
to all my associates, as if like to read it then my contacts will too.
What’s up everybody, here every one is sharing these kinds of know-how, therefore
it’s good to read this web site, and I used to pay a visit this web site all the time.
Hey there! Someone in my Myspace group shared this
site with us so I came to look it over. I’m definitely
enjoying the information. I’m book-marking and will be tweeting this to my followers!
Fantastic blog and great style and design.
Look at my webpage; https://studydance.me