HELPING YOUR DOG TO LOSE WEIGHT
- Over time, obesity in dogs can cause serious health issues.
- Many pet owners struggle with figuring out how to help a dog lose weight. Animals often have food cravings that can be hard to say no to, especially since you want to keep your dog happy.
- A lot of the aspects that go into a dog losing weight comes down to their food intake.
- Controlling and reducing the number of calories your dog consumes, can help them start losing pounds at a healthy and regular pace. You can figure out how many calories your dog should have by consulting with your veterinarian or using an online calculator.
- Many dog owners end up being too liberal with giving out treats. This ends up being little more than the junk food equivalent for dogs, causing weight gains over time. Simply reducing the number of treats that you give out, is a good starting point.
- If you replace regular treats with healthy options such as carrots, celery, or green beans, you may find your dog is not only just as happy but also much more responsive to a healthy weight loss diet for dogs.
- Although dogs are omnivores, they aren’t designed to live on a high-carbohydrate diet. Therefore, giving your dog too many carbs can cause him to gain weight. A crucial dog weight loss principle you should follow is switching to a protein-rich dog diet, as it can help build lean muscle instead of forcing the body to convert the carbs into fat.
- A simple way to help your dog lose weight is reducing the size of their portions. You can keep feeding your dog at regular intervals, but by measuring and reducing the amount of food that you provide, you can help your dog lose weight.
- Some dog breeds are extremely active by nature and thus require dedication by their owners to take them out for lengthy walks.
- Take more time every day to exercise together. This also has the added benefit of keeping you active.
- Dogs are incredibly playful animals, so you should use this to your advantage when figuring out how to get a dog to lose weight. For instance, if your dog is of a hunting breed, fetch games work well, especially in the water. For scent-tracking dogs, you could try using puzzle toys that stimulate their senses, and for terriers, tugging games usually produce great excitement.
- No matter which games work best, what matters most when finding out how to help a dog lose weight is that you’re both having fun. If they are engaged and energetic in the activity chances are this a sure thing.