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You Eat…... And So Is your
PDSA Nurse on signs your dog can afford to lose a few pounds
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DSA Vet Nurse, Shauna Walsh, shares expert insight into some of the UK’s popular dog breeds and how to know if your four-legged friend is carrying extra weight around the edges.
“It sounds obvious, but dogs who eat too much and don’t exercise enough, get fat! If you feed your dog a lot of treats as well as their normal food, most of the extra calories will turn into excess inches.” “It can be easy to dismiss any extra weight on your dog, especially if their fluffy coat hides the excess pounds! With images of plump pooches - tubby terriers or rotund retrievers being increasingly showcased and viewed as ‘normal’, it can be difficult to know what a healthy shape is for your dog.”
Dogs come in all different builds and sizes depending on their breed-type, but a healthy shape is the same for every dog. Your dog’s body shape will help to give you an idea of whether they’re carrying too much weight. The veterinary term for this is ‘Body Condition Scoring’ (BCS), and it is simple and easy to do at home with your canine companion: • Run your hands along your dog’s sides. The skin should move freely over the ribs, which you should be able to feel with a light touch. • Run your hands along your dog’s back. You should be able to feel the spine and hipbones under the skin without being able to see them they shouldn’t be sticking out. • Gently feel the base of your dog’s tail, there shouldn’t be a build-up of fat where the tail joins the spine. • Feel under your dog’s tummy, it should go in, not bulge out. • Look at your dog from the side and from above. You should be able to see a waist. If not, your dog may be overweight.
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Knowing your pet’s body condition score helps you to know if they need to lose some pounds, but it’s also important to know your pet’s current weight – use both together to work out what their ideal weight should be. Weighing them regularly means you can quickly spot any changes, and then tweak their diet and exercise to correct it. You can visit your vet to weigh larger dogs, and small dogs can also be weighed at home quite easily using bathroom scales. Maintaining a healthy weight is down to feeding the right amounts of a balanced diet, as well as appropriate levels of exercise. Shauna advises: “All dogs need daily exercise, but how much they need depends on lots of factors, including their age, breed, fitness level and any health conditions they may have. Every dog is an individual, so it is very important to consider your dog’s specific needs when exercising them – young dogs won’t need as much exercise as they grow, and that may be the same for some senior dogs, who could benefit from resting their aging paws! For dogs with health concerns, the levels of exercise they need will be best discussed with your vet and adjusted appropriately. “Unless your vet advises otherwise, all dogs need at least one walk a day for their physical and mental health - some dogs prefer a long leisurely walk, and others prefer multiple shorter walks split up throughout the day. You can also incorporate games and playtime into your dog’s daily routine to keep things fun in-between walks.”
Westies & Besties - May 2023
