Managing your dogs weight.

This post is so important that I can't believe that I didn't bring it up sooner. Your dog's weight!

Most dogs are obese these days and this is a serious issue. We love our pets and we want them to live for as long as possible. But obesity cuts the dog's life short. It can get diabetes, blindness, early arthritis from the compression of the joints and even heartdisease.

Picture borrowed from: http://ottawavalleydogwhisperer.blogspot.com/2011/12/v-behaviorurldefaultvmlo.html

This chart above shows you a guideline on how to tell your dogs weight status. You should be able to feel the ribs with light pressure but with a fluffy dog this might be difficult for an inexperienced owner. A better tell sign is to keep an eye on the waist. Does it dip in after the ribs? Do you feel where the ribs end and is it easy or hard to tell? Does your hand back right into the thigh muscle or has the waist and thigh started to merge? Does the underline (belly) curve up? Keeping an eye on the waist is the best you can do since the scale can lie. Muscles weight more than fat and a dog should be well muscled to be healthy and last longer.

 Note: Some breeds are stockier than others. A sighthound will naturally be thinner than a bulldog that has a very special body shape.

Below shows a beautiful Labrador Retriever with the ideal weight illustrating the waistline in a dog that struggles with easy weightgain. 

Image borrowed from: http://puppydogweb.com/gallery/labradorretrievers/e.htm

Some examples of breeds that are prone to easy weightgain are dachshund, labrador retriever, golden retriever, beagle, corgi and pug, to mention a few. However, neutered or older dogs gain weight easier.

If you have decided to try to diet down your dog, here's a few tips for you. 

• Use a tapemeasure around the waist and behind the elbows once a week in the morning before the dog's breakfast and write down the date and measurements. You can also use a scale but measuring the waist if it shrinks or not is more accurate if your dog is gaining muscle during the diet.
• Choose a rich diet and dilute it with boiled (or overboiled into a paste) rice rather than buying diet dogfood. The dog will not get the nutrients it needs from diet food and will simply not get satisfied and this is not a healthy way of dieting. Dilute it 2-3 parts dogfood and 1 part rice. You can also give carrots if your dog enjoys carrots.
• Increase the exercise. If your dog is very big and shows sign of jointpain then I recommend swimming. Very small dogs can swim in the tub as long as you hold them to make sure they are safe. Hold the front leg to stop the swimming reflex when lifting out or to give the dog a break. 
• Play! The healthier your dog gets the more active, joyful and playful it will get. Play also strengthens the bond between dog and owner. 
• No treats or low calorie treats. If you have to treat your dog, try to split it into a really small piece to just give the flavor. 
• Patience. Healthy dieting doesn't happen in a week. 

When your dog seems more playful and active and doesn't show signs of pain (stiffness, limping, bad temper, etc) you can start the real exercise to build muscle to keep everything in place. You can bike and let the dog trot. You can play fetch (but not with sticks! Dogs have died from stick accidents.) or swim with the dog. You can walk in hills or mountains to let the dog climb or maybe begin a sport. As soon as your dogs life is more active you can stop diluting and give more of the food since it will burn more calories.

Not only will your dog get healthier, you will too! And what better friend to work out with than your best friend?