food for thought

By Dawn Price, Registered Dietitian Owner - The Natural Dog Newburyport, MA Winter Weight

During winter, our dog’s activity level may be decreased compared to other times of the year. Exercise restrictions means lower caloric expenditure and less food to meet their dietary calorie needs. If the same dietary calorie intake is maintained during less active months, this will result in winter weight gain.

Shorter daylight hours cause changes in your dog’s metabolism. Shorter days signal to the dog brain that winter is coming. This sets off hormonal changes to slow metabolism and conserve calorie expenditure. Typically, the domestic dog is not subject to the harshness of winter. A decreased metabolism will mean they gain weight if fed the same as other times of the year. Dogs protected from the harshness of winter need less food to compensate for this hormonal metabolic change. In some cases, dogs that are housed outside or spend a lot of time exercising outdoors during the winter months may require additional calories to maintain weight. In these dogs their metabolism will increase in order to burn more energy to keep warm.

How much food your dog requires depends on age, sex (if lactating), breed and exercise levels. The level of food consumption in winter to maintain the same weight can be greater or lesser depending on if you…reduce walks, leave your dog outside or even if your house temperature is significantly lower.Monitoring a dog’s weight is vital to its health.

16 seacoastbarkmagazine.com How to Identify Ideal Weight Ribs are palpable, without excess fat covering them. Waist can be observed behind ribs when viewed from above. Abdominal tucked up when viewed from side. How to Help Your Dog Maintain a Healthy Weight Know How Much Food Your Dog Needs Most kibble (dry food) contains a lot of calories in a small quantity of food. It is very easy to over feed kibble and pack the weight on quickly. Not all have the same number of calories. Most range from 350-500 calories per cup. Though one brand could have almost double the calories of another. Kibble can pack on the weight quickly by just overfeeding as little as ¼ cup extra per day. For this reason, it is important to know how many calories your dog requires to maintain a healthy weight and to measure each serving to avoid over feeding. Choose the Right Nutrient Mix Dogs have no nutritional requirement for carbohydrates. They are carnivores who can tolerate grain, but they should have 80% plus animal-based food for optimum health. Not only is a meat-based diet better in quality and digestibility, it’s also much less calorically dense than kibble. Therefore, it is more difficult to pack on the weight as quickly. For this reason, a meat-based diet is a good choice when considering healthy weight maintenance.

Adjust Calories When Necessary As routines vary, adjust dietary intake accordingly. Your dog doesn’t need the same number of calories on a day that was spent lounging on the couch as would be needed if spent outside all day playing in the snow. Similarly, if there are days when activity is limited and you offer a meaty bone or special treat to keep your dog mentally stimulated, skip a meal or two during that day. A good tip is to offer the special treat during meal time and substitute it for the meal. Their internal clock will tell them it’s time for dinner, even though they don’t need the extra calories. This is a good way to avoid fussing and begging during meal time. Keep Active! Daily exercise provides incredible physical and mental benefits. A good dog is a tired dog!

Dawn Price has a BS in Nutrition & is a Registered Dietitian. She worked for many years as a dietitian at Massachusetts General Hospital & Lawrence General Hospital. She decided to pursue her passion for animal nutrition & joined the sales team of a large pet food distributor. She was promoted to Sales Manager & was responsible for covering New England & Canadian territories providing nutrition seminars to retail stores & veterinarians. Dawn was also the instructor of Canine & Feline Nutrition at North Shore Community College for many years. She opened her store, The Natural Dog, in 2005.