• Anna Bettina Johnson
• Anthony Holloway
• BL Ochman
• Bridget Pilloud
• Janet Roper
• Dr. Jill Elliot

Purina’s Pet Weight Loss Challenge Teaches How to Treat & Avoid Pet Obesity

There are an estimated 84 million overweight or obese dogs and cats in the United States according to The Association for Pet Obesity Prevention.

Pet obesity is preventable and treatable, and maintaining a good weight can help improve the health and prolong the lives or dogs and cats. That’s why Purina is holding its second annual Weight Loss Challenge through November 30th to help pet owners learn how to control their dogs and cats’ weight.

Pawfun Blog interviewed Grace Long, DVM, MS, MBA, director, veterinary technical marketing for Nestlé Purina PetCare to find out more about how to keep our pets at a healthy weight.

Pawfun Blog: Why are so many dogs overweight?

Dr Long: Dogs can’t do it on their own. Owners are over-feeding. Dogs are typically happy when they’re eating and owners love to keep their dogs happy. Most owners are giving their dog too many treats. The top three things that make the dogs fat:

1. High-calorie large treats. If you look at the calories, many dogs get what should be their daily caloric allotment in treats.
2. Table scraps
3. Too much fat, which increases your dog’s risk of developing pancreatitis.

Pawfun Blog: How do you know if your dog is overweight?

Dr Long Here are three ways to tell:

1. You should be able to feel (but not see) the ribs with slight pressure while running your hands down your dog’s side.
2. Look from the side, if your dog is at a good weright, he/she will have a tucked abdomen, with no sagging stomach
3. From above,  it will seem like they have a waist

Pawfun Blog: Most of the vets I’ve known seem to know very little about nutrition.

Dr. Long: Vets focus on treating disease. That’s the focus in vet school: diagnosing and treating disease. Nutrition has taken a back seat in the past, but I think that’s changing to a more holistic view, with nutrition elevated. More modern and progressive vets focus more on nutrition.

Pawfun: how do you know the right amount to feed your dog?
My vet says that pet food packages ALWAYS recommend much more than one should feed.

Dr. Long: The amount recommended on the package is just a starting point, an average. Half the animals will require less, and the more active may require more. You have to vary it for your dog’s body condition and activity level.

Genetics is also a big factor. You can have three dogs, all the same breed, and they could need different amounts of food to maintain a healthy weight. Each animal is an individual and you have to modify how much you feed based on your dog’s needs. The amount each dog needs depends on size and genetics. In general small dogs require more calories per dog than big dogs, because their metabolism tends to be faster.

What really contributes to high calorie food is fat content. Some of the best foods are high in fat, so you need to find out the calories they contain and make sure what you feed stays within the allotted calories for your pet.

Pawfun Blog: I give my dog steamed broccoli, string beans, and carrots. He gets a small amount of kibble plus Nature’s Variety raw lamb, and lots of veggies. He eats salad too. What’s you opinion on that?

Dr. Long: I think vegetables are great. You have to feed everything in moderation. The rule of thumb is that in a complete and balanced diet, vegetables should not exceed 10% of calories. You can give a lot of veggies in the 10%. My dogs prefer cauliflower and carrots. They love vegetables.

Pawfun Blog: How can a pet owner pick the right food from the wide variety out there?

Dr. Long: There is a big variety in consumers and lots of differences in animals. If I had a very active dog that needed to have a lot of energy and calories, I would choose more calorically dense diet.

If I had an older dog, a poor eater, who didn’t like to eat that much, I wouldn’t choose caloricaly dense food. Wouldn’t want a Lab to eat high-calorie food. Labs generally need a diet with higher fiber, lower fat.

Pawfun Blog: What is the best form of exercise? In my opinion, walks, no matter how far, are not enough. My dogs are healthy because they run off leash for an hour a day. That’s always been my commitment to my dogs. Am I correct?

Dr. Long: It depends on the dog. Walking is the safest form of exercise because any dog can do it.

If you have an animal who is arthritic or has medical conditions, don’t push beyond where they are comfortable. They typically are not going to do things that would hurt them. Not likely to run and frolic if it’s painful.

Pawfun Blog: Do large dogs and small dogs need different amounts of exercise?

Dr. Long: It depends on the dogs. Small dogs need exercise just as much as big dogs. There are a lot of overweight little dogs. Exercise burns calories. Animals that get a lot of exercise can eat a little more. And exercise helps keep muscles toned, and the heart in good shape.

Pawfun: What do I do first if my dog is fat?

Dr. Long: First, find out how many calories your dog is eating now. Write down everything they are eat. Then try to cut back 15-20%. A lot of dogs would go crazy. They live for food.

Look for a diet where they can eat the same number of cups with more fiber or lower fat.

You need to get veterinarian involvement. Your vet can put the animal on a diet program, and check your dog’s progress on a regular basis.

The amount of calories per pound changes with the size of the animal and your vet can help you adjust what you’re are feeding your overweight dog.

The Association for Pet Obesity Prevention website has a number of helpful pet weight loss tools and articles.

Add a Comment

9 Comments

pawfun (Paw Fun)

Twitter Comment

Purina Weight Loss Challenge teaches how to manage your pets’ weight & why you must [link to post]

– Posted using Chat Catcher

whatsnext (BL Ochman)

Twitter Comment

Purina Weight Loss challenge teaches how to manage your pets’ weight [link to post]

– Posted using Chat Catcher

jenod85 (Jen Forrest)

Twitter Comment

Pets need to be healthy, too RT @whatsnext: Purina Weight Loss challenge teaches how to manage your pets’ weight [link to post]

– Posted using Chat Catcher

Petcentric (Petcentric by Purina)

Twitter Comment

RT @pawfun: Purina Weight Loss Challenge teaches how to manage your pets’ weight & why you must [link to post]

– Posted using Chat Catcher

Yvonne DiVita

We love talking with Dr. Grace about nutrition and weight, over at Scratchings and Sniffings, too. The Weight Loss Challenge is a fun event with a serious purpose: to help us keep our dogs happy and healthy, while keeping their weight in check.

hoodia appetite suppressant

great post. I had no idea that this was such a big issue. My cat is fat so I know where to come for advice now..

Dave

Jack Thompson

Poor animals. I personally know few individuals that like huge animals (read fat) especially cats. When I see those overfed cats of their I could chop owner’s libms off to see how they will move around.

honey white

We not the only ones that need to stay healthy…Animals too. great post