Obesity and pets
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- May
- 4
A story on MSNBC’s Web site about the rising number of pets (dogs, cats, rabbits and horses) that are obese, the reasons why and what can be done struck a chord since I had to take our Lab Maggie to the vet yesterday. As always, they had her hop up on the scale. I knew she had gained some weight since we didn’t get out for our morning 2-mile walks as much during the winter. But I wasn’t prepared to see the big red “95” that popped up. Of course, it probably didn’t help that I was waving a small biscuit in front of her nose to get her to sit still on the scale.
Let me point out that Maggie is a “field-type” Lab, which means she’s bigger and taller than the typical “British” Lab, which is shorter and stockier. Fighting weight has always hovered around 85 pounds, a couple more in the winter. In fact, people seeing her for the first time are always surprised Maggie’s a she because she’s so big.
Sure enough, when our vet was reviewing her chart, I got a gentle reprimand that Maggie could stand to lose a few pounds. We started cutting back slightly on her food that night; Maggie & Otis only get dry kibble anyway so no fancy stuff to cut out. “People food” isn’t really an issue in our house since the only table scraps the dogs ever get is the occasional leftover pizza crust or trimmings when I roast a chicken or turkey. Even then we mix it into their bowl and cut back on the dry food. So it comes down to the lack of recent exercise, which we’re getting back into now that the weather is nicer.
With a little effort, those pounds should be off in a few weeks, which is a good thing because we have a follow-up appointment in a month. The reason we were there in the first place is because Maggie was limping and stiff getting around. Turns out she has a tick-borne bacterial infection. But more on that later.
Check out the full story on MSNBC
So how are your pets? Could they stand to lose a few extra pounds or do you really watch what they eat and encourage exercise? What are your favorite types of exercise to do with your pets?
This entry was posted
on Friday, May 4th, 2007 at 12:45 pm by Tracey Princiotta.
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Beagles are notorious for getting fat. so i keep an eye on my lazy bones.
I’m a raw or natural feeder of my dogs. I have four and they’re all perfect weight and maintain it and have not been fed kibble. With the pet food recalls and deceit in the food industry going on, pet owners should be looking at home preparing food. It’s not that complicated and there are many good books for raw or home cooked meals created by vets and nutritionists.
the grain in the kibble makes dogs fat and it’s a filler—people need to learn to read dog food labels and understand that there are really varying quality kibbles out there for your money if that’s what you want to feed
there’s plenty of research now about older dogs and fat dogs that owners can learn that kibble for older dogs takes away the protein they need to live, and kibble for dogs on diets cuts back on nutrition as well
put your dog on a raw diet or start cooking and you’ll see the weight fly off and be replaced by muscle – and in addition your dog’s coat will glow
I’d post sites and books but I don’t know if it’s allowed
Very useful info..
You may also find it useful to visit my website: http://www.petsmixonline.com