Three Top Tips To Get A Handle On Your Pet’s Weight
Just like humans, dogs perform at their best when they are a healthy weight. Most owners wonder at some point ‘is my dog overweight?’, so here are our tips to ensure your dog’s weight doesn’t hold them back.
How to tell if your dog is overweight
Firstly, you need to check whether you can feel your dog’s ribs through their skin and coat. It might seem wrong, but you should be able to easily feel your dog’s ribs regardless of breed, size, or thickness of coat. If you can’t, it might be time to think about your dog’s diet.
Check out the healthy weight range for your dog breed here.
Visit your vet
Before you start trimming back on Fido’s treats, you should pay a visit to your vet. Sudden or unexplained weight gain or loss could be a sign of an underlying problem, so you should always check this out with your vet, just to be safe.
Your vet will also be able to confirm if your dog is overweight and help you create a plan to deal with it. There are specialist diets to look at, but it might be as simple as eliminating the high calorie treats and increasing your dog’s exercise.
Get some exercise
A new exercise regime could be just the thing your dog – and you – need. Remember to take it easy though, especially if your dog is more than a little overweight and build up to longer, more frequent walkies.
Regular Monitoring
Finally, as with any good weight loss programme, monitoring is key. Regular weigh-ins will help you monitor your dog’s progress, and most vets are happy for you to pop in and let your dog jump on the scales – it’s a great habit to get them into as soon as you can, and encourages good behaviour at the vet.
You could also invest in some new technology to keep an eye on your dog’s weight. A good quality Smart Kennel for pets is a great way to monitor all kinds of indicators of your dog’s health from weight and temperature to the sounds they make and how much they sleep.
So, if you find yourself wondering “is my dog overweight?” just follow our top tips and your dog will be trim and loving life in no time.