Six Tips to Help Your Dog to Lose Weight
When you love your furry friend, it can be easy to spoil them to the point where they start to get a little pudgy. Of course, when your dog carries extra weight, it can damage their overall health. As such, you will no doubt be keen to help them lose their extra pounds.
During your dog’s weight loss journey, you may find these tips to be helpful:
1. Go easy on the treats
Giving your dog too many treats is a sure-fire way to make them gain weight. Many dog treats are high in fat and calories, so giving your dog too many of them will make them pack on the pounds. According to most veterinarians, treats should make up no more than 10 percent of your dog’s calorific intake. If you want to help your dog lose weight, reduce this percentage to 5 percent or less to create a calorie deficit.
2. Bring out the leash
Gradually increase the intensity and duration of your daily walk to help your dog lose weight. As with humans, exercise helps your dog cut calories – in addition to helping them become stronger and fitter. Start by adding a few minutes to each day’s walk and slowly build this up to an hour walk per day. For even quicker weight loss, increase your speed to a brisk walk or even a run. These longer and quicker walks will help to make you a little fitter as well.
3. Change up their diet
The internet is a great resource for weight management tools for your pet. Among these are nutritional calculators that show you how much your pet should be eating on a daily basis. There are also daily meal plans for both maintenance and weight loss diets for your dog. Use these to calculate how much you should be feeding your dog to ensure weight loss and to determine what foods are best for this purpose.
4. Stock up on supplements
There are a number of supplements that are both safe and effective to help your dog lose weight. These include L-carnitine, omega three fatty acids and white kidney bean extract. They help by blocking the breakdown and absorption of carbohydrates and moving more fatty acids to the cells so that they can be burned faster. As always, consult your vet before using supplements on your pet in order to avoid overdosing them.
5. Plenty of Fresh Water
A well-hydrated dog will eat less, using an Automatic Dog Waterer like the Perpetual Well will ensure your dog has access to fresh water all the time. Being well-hydrated will also help with the circulation of blood, digestion, and removal of waste.
6. Check for underlying health conditions
Certain health conditions such as hyperthyroidism and Cushing’s disease can cause weight gain in dogs. Getting these diagnosed and treated properly will help your dog lose and maintain a healthy weight.
In Closing
Helping your dog lose weight can be a bit challenging at times. However, as long as you carefully follow the advice contained in this article, your dog will soon lose those unwanted pounds.
