For many dogs, the best way to feed will be by offering a diet food fed several times per day. It is vital that you count calories when entering into a weight reduction program. Feeding too much will result in no weight loss and feeding too little can potentially result in serious consequences such as hepatic lipidosis.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you're not seeing desired weight loss within 90 days, change daily calories, pet food brand, increase protein, change formulations -- change something!
The Art of Changing Diet
When you are introducing a new diet to your dog, allow several days for the transition. In general, we recommend gradually adding the new diet over a one week period. Start by substituting one-quarter of the diet for one to two days, then increase to one-half total volume of food for another two days, then three-quarter new food for a final two to three days before completely switching to the new diet.
Exercise the Right Way
Based on our studies of observations of people walking with their dogs, the average pace is 20 to 25 minutes per mile. That is a slow troll with frequent pauses (on average every 1 to 2 minutes!) to allow their dog to smell an interesting object or mark territory. Were here to shed pounds, people! Walking for weight loss is very different than walking for pleasure. Make your objective to walk briskly and focused on the out leg of your walk and then you can smell the roses on the back leg. We recommend starting the activity with the brisk or hard effort first. Too often if we try to start slowly with the dog, allowing them to sniff and smell everything, we may have a challenging time getting them up to speed when were ready. People often ask veterinarians, Shouldnt we do a warm up before you walk them? The simply reply, Have you ever seen a fox take a few warm-up laps before an all-out sprint to capture its prey? Our dogs are built to go from 0-100 miles per hour with very little risk of injury. And besides, were going nowhere near an all-out sprint when were walking for fitness. If our dogs forefathers could see them now, what would they think?
Draw your leash close generally within two to four feet of your body pull them close to your left or away- from-the street side and set off at a pace you feel comfortable sustaining. This should be about a 12-15 minute per mile pace. It should feel like a brisk walk and you should break into a light sweat. The key is to keep it up! Dont stop. Dont look down at your dog when they inevitably want to stop and smell something or mark a hydrant. Continue staring straight ahead, tighten the leash (dont jerk) and give a command such as No stop. Come. or Here.
It is important that your dog understands you have places to go and that this is different than your usual casual walk. Head halters are a great method for training dogs to heel during a brisk walk and to retain their attention on the effort at hand. If they sit or refuse to walk, you may have to return home, crate them or put them in a quiet space without your attention and try again another time. We have yet to encounter a dog that didnt take readily to brisk walking.
Some additional simple tips for getting your dog to move more are:
Move the food bowl upstairs or downstairs and rotate it so that the dog always has to walk to get to its food bowl. Dogs are smart, and if the food bowl moves upstairs, theyll start relocating upstairs, too.
Move the food bowl as far away from your dogs favorite locations as possible to encourage movement.
Use toys, balls, laser pointers, squeaky toys, anything your dog finds interesting to chase and initiate physical activity. Try to engage your dog in aerobic activity for at least ten to fifteen minutes twice a day. There are numerous toys that move and squeak that may also be interesting to your dog. Experiment and understand that what is exciting today may be boring tomorrow. Rechecks and Weigh-Ins After youve put your dog on a weight loss program, its critical that you determine if its working for your dog. Each dog is an individual and may require many changes in diet or routine before finding the correct approach. In general, your dog should be weighed every month until the ideal weight is achieved. If there is no significant weight loss in one month, typically about one pound, then a new approach should be pursued. There is nothing more frustrating than persisting in a behavior pattern that is not achieving the results we desire when a slight change could deliver significant improvements. Work closely and actively with your veterinary healthcare team to reach your goals faster and more safely. Reluctant Patients What about the dog that wakes you at four in the morning to be fed or the dog that stares at you during dinner or television time until you give in and feed them? Our dogs have trained us well and know exactly which buttons to press when it comes to getting their way. Here are some tips for handling the pleading pup:
Do not use a self-feeder. While this seems obvious, auto-feeders are nothing more than an unlimited food machine to a dog. If you must, use an automated feeder than dispenses a set amount of food several times per day.
Pet your dog or play with it when it begs for food. Many dogs substitute food for affection so flip the equation and you may find that playtime displaces chowtime.
Walk your dog or take it outside when it begs. The distraction and interaction may be just enough to make it forget its desire for food.
Feed small meals frequently especially give a last feeding for those dogs that like to wake you up in the wee hours asking for more divide the total volume or calories into four to six smaller meals whatever you do, dont feed extra food
When the bowl is empty and your dog is pleading, add a few kibbles to the bowl. By a few, try ten or fifteen not a handful.
Give vegetables such as baby carrots, broccoli, zucchini, celery and asparagus. Dogs love crunchy treats so make it a healthy and low-calorie choice.
Offer fresh water instead of food. Many dogs love fresh water so when they are lurking near an empty food bowl, try filling up the water bowl with fresh water instead.
Multi-Dog Households
What do you do if one dog is normal weight and the other is diagnosed with obesity? While there are countless creative solutions to this problem, here are a few weve found successful:
Feed separately this is the ideal solution for multi-dog households. Feed the dog with obesity its diet in one room while feeding your other dog in another location, preferably out of view from the other dog. After a prescribed time, generally 15 to 30 minutes, pick the food up until the next feeding.
Do not leave food out while youre away. In this scenario, you cant be sure who ate what.
Most dogs will achieve their ideal weight within six to eight months. If the process is taking longer than this, something needs to be changed.
A healthy weight loss is typically 1 to 5 pounds per month based on your dogs size and current condition (weight loss of 3 to 5+% of body weight per month based on age and current physical condition). Some dogs may need to lose weight slower while others may reduce excess weight more quickly.
Always remember that the reason for your hard effort is to help your dog live a longer, healthier life. For most dogs, the secret to weight loss is a dedicated, committed and concerned family member. Our dogs dont understand that their excess weight is killing them. Its up to us as good stewards to protect them from harm and not inadvertently contribute to their premature death or development of debilitating diseases. Together veterinary healthcare team, you and your dog we can help your dog achieve its weight loss and fitness goals safely and successfully.
Follow this link:
Dog Weight Loss Association for Pet Obesity Prevention
