A survey by the PDSA found that 1.4 million pets have gained weight since March 2020, on top of a growing pet obesity epidemic. Is your dog overweight? We all know that to lose weight your dog needs to eat less, which is fairly easy to implement– after all, you are in charge of what they eat.
How I need to remove piled on pounds
I’m on a diet. A good friend and I are trying to lose weight as both of us are having health issues because we’re too fat.
Last week my aim was to keep to the same weight rather than lose any. I was being realistic – we had Himself’s birthday to celebrate then we spent the weekend away with my parents going down to visit Daughter no 1. (Gus stayed at home with Daughter no 2)
Losing weight is hard, really hard. But it’s important for health and for my joints so I need to knuckle down – and having my friend supporting me helps.
How I noticed that Gus’ harness was getting tight
Both our dogs are joining us on the diet, too. I noticed I had to loosen Gus’s harness last month and my friend’s dog has had some health issues which will only be helped by losing weight.
We’re not alone. There have been several studies and reports showing many people gained weight over lockdown. And so have dogs. A survey by the PDSA found that 1.4 million pets have gained weight since March 2020, on top of a growing pet obesity epidemic.
The survey showed that excessive food consumption and a couch-potato lifestyle over lockdown has had drastic consequences for pets. From the 4,500 pet owners surveyed, they found the most common factor preventing pets from losing weight was owners giving in when their pet begs for food (29%).
(I’m guilty as charged on that one as is my friend. Ah, those deep brown eyes….)
Do you give your dog lots of treats?
Also contributing to the problem were owners who like feeding treats to their pets (19%), pets who are fussy with food (19%), and owners feeling that giving treats shows their pets how much they love them (15%).
But the biggest problem was that many owners didn’t even realise their pets were overweight – vets estimate that at least half of all pets are overweight or obese. And this leads to illness. Overweight pets are more likely to suffer serious illness such as arthritis and diabetes, which can knock a couple of years off their life.
Is your dog overweight?
Do you need to take action to help them?
The bottom line is that to lose weight you need to eat less. Which is fairly easy to implement to help your dog – after all, you are in charge of what they eat.
I love giving Gus treats and I give him lots during the day, but I follow our own Down Dog advice and I measure out his food (minus 10% while he’s losing weight) and use that – and, unsurprisingly, his harness fits better and he’s losing weight.
I also make sure I’m walking him more, too, which helps both of us, but is only incidental to losing weight. But, as a famous supermarket says, every little helps.
Now if only I could find someone to measure my food out for me, I might have more success….
Keep training and stay safe,
Carol
PS As a result of the survey, PDSA have launched their #WeighUp campaign, which offers online videos and a free downloadable guide to help owners get their pets in shape. Have a browse!
