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A chubby dog may look cute and cuddly; however, the extra flab is a warning sign of an impending health problem lurking around the corner. Weight gain can stress your furry friend’s internal organs and bones, resulting in irreversible health conditions. If your dog has put on weight, now may be a good time to help them get back in shape. To help you and your pooch ring-in the New Year with a bang, we, in this post, impart a few tips that you can follow to ensure your dog is fitter than ever before. Take a look.
- Watch what you feed your dog
Avoid feeding your pooch foods rich in carbohydrates. Watch out for weight-loss foods that include high amount of carbohydrate and lesser amount of fats and proteins. Instead, look for high protein dog foods that can help build lean muscle. Add high fiber foods to your dog’s diet.
Look for foods with added glucosamine, chondroitin, and L-carnitine that helps develop lean muscle mass. Replace unhealthy treats with healthier snacks such as broccoli, carrots, celery, and apples. At the end of the day, your goal should be to meet your furry friend’s nutritional requirement while limiting their caloric intake.
- Feed smaller portions at regular intervals
Decreasing the amount of food that you feed your dog every day in one go is a bad idea, as it can impact their metabolism, making it difficult for the canine to lose weight.
Instead, introduce changes gradually. You can, for instance, try cutting your furry friend’s food by five percent. If your dog starts losing weight after a week, stick to the diet plan or reduce the amount of food by other five percent. Instead of treating your dog to larger portions, divide the total amount of food into small parts, and feed your dog two or three times a day.
- Exercise your dog regularly
In addition to limiting your furry friend’s daily caloric intake, you need to design a fitness plan to help them burn extra calories. If your dog is morbidly obese, take it easy at the beginning. Start by talking the canine on a 20-30-minute walk. As your furry friend starts developing stamina, increase the intensity of the walks. To avoid boredom, introduce new toys and games into the workout routine. Take out time from your routine to play fetch or any other game that your dog likes.
- Restrict the canine’s access to food in your house
Overweight dogs often try to steal food. To address this problem, store food in places that are out of reach of your furry friend. If you have more than one dog, feed them in separate bowls. In households with cats, it is advisable to store cat dishes away from the reach of dogs.
Healthy Food For Over-Weight Dogs
Every dog owner in the world loves pampering their canine friends so that they are happy and joyful for the rest of their lives. It’s hard for dog owners to say no when their canines look at them with their puppy eyes. However, it is quite common for dogs to become overweight because they never feel full. According to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, 54% of the dogs residing in the United States of America are overweight.Every dog owner in the world loves pampering their canine friends so that they are happy and joyful for the rest of their lives. It’s hard for dog owners to say no when their canines look at them with their puppy eyes. However, it is quite common for dogs to become overweight because they never feel full. According to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, 54% of the dogs residing in the United States of America are overweight.
What Will Happen When Your Dog Is Overweight?
Now you might be wondering what the big deal is if dogs are overweight. Well, when the weight of canines is more than normal, they will face a large number of health problems. Overweight dogs look unhealthy and are vulnerable to the following problems:
- Bone problems
- Diabetes
- Heart disease
- High blood pressure
- Joint problems
- Lower immunity
- Mammary tumors
- More prone to heat stroke
- Reduced life span
- Skin conditions
What Kind Of Food Can Encourage Weight Loss?
When purchasing commercial food products for canines, make sure that they don’t have any ingredients such as sugar, soy, corn or any other type of commercial fillers. Also, make sure that there is plenty of vegetables and fruits in your canine’s diet. Also, your canine’s food on average should have more protein, less fat, and fewer calories. If you cannot make homecooked meals then choose a product that provides balanced nutrition like the Purina Pro Plan All Life Stages Chicken Rice dog food as per recommended.
Healthy Food That You Can Give Canines
- Wellness CORE Reduced Fat FormulaOne of the best healthy commercial dog food that you can get at the moment is Wellness CORE Reduced Fat Formula. Your canine will get 38% protein and 13% of low fat per meal. All the nutrients come from healthy ingredients such as ground flaxseed, turkey meal, chicken meal and chicken. On top of that, your canine will also get kale, parsley, spinach, and broccoli, which are high in fiber.
- Premium Edge Healthy WeightPremium Edge Healthy Weight is another good alternative for overweight canines. However, do note that this dog food has a very high level of protein content, which is 49%. It also has 13% fat, which is ideal of canines. The protein comes from fish meal, chicken meal and chicken while the fat comes from fish. There are also healthy additions to this food such as tomatoes, apples, berries, carrots, and kelp.
- Avoderm Natural Chicken And RiceLast but not the least, you can also feed your canine AvoDerm Natural Chicken and Rice on a daily basis. Although the protein content isn’t as high as the ones above, it is still above average at 29%. Salmon meal and chicken meal are the two main sources of protein. While the fat content is only 11%, it comes from the flax-seed and fish. There is also a small amount of avocado in this product.
These are the healthy food for overweight dogs. If you have any queries regarding this topic, feel free to leave a comment below!
