Some pets are very clearly overweight. There are those whose bellies drag along the ground and those who have to waddle to compensate for their excessive girth. However, you don’t have to be obese to be overweight and, especially with smaller dogs, even just a few extra pounds could be enough to put a great deal of pressure on a dog’s heart, lead to problems such as diabetes, and simply reduce the quality of life for a pet.
Dogs are unlike humans. They rarely care much about how they look and therefore will not necessarily have the same self-control when it comes to eating that those of us worried about expanding waistlines might. However, the difference in vitality of a pet that is the weight it should be and one that is just a few pounds overweight can be quite extraordinary and since dogs are unlikely to realise the cause of their change in health it will be down to the owner to monitor food intake and exercise for them.
A trip to the vet may help you understand if your pet is overweight, but it is also very easy to work it out for yourself and save yourself the money. If you can see folds of fat or cannot easily feel their ribs, there is a good chance that they are carrying a little too much in the way of fat.
However, it is also easy to remedy this. Extra walks and a change in diet may be all it takes and by focussing more closely on dog nutrition you could very easily see your pet shed the excess weight in a matter of weeks.
A drastic reduction in food is usually unnecessary and it may even simply be that you just need to buy food that is very focused on good dog nutrition. In turn they may be able to eat the same amount of a tastier food and still, with a little bit of extra exercise, shed the weight in no time.