It’s a new year and many people are making resolutions that involve weight loss for themselves. I’m sure most of us have put on a few pounds over the holidays and the New Year is great time to get serious and get into shape.

The same is true with our dogs.

How do you know if your dog is overweight?

The best way to tell is to feel around his ribs. If you can easily feel the ribs and you notice a defined waistline, your dog isn’t overweight.

But if you can’t, your dog is fat.

The health ramifications of being overweight are enormous for dogs. It takes an average of two years off their already too short of a life span, and gives them many of the diseases that overweight humans experience, such as diabetes, heart and respiratory conditions, joint problems and more. We know you love your dog, so why put him through all of this and why incur the extra cost if it can be prevented?

Once you’ve ruled out a medical reason for your dog’s weight problem, there are two ways to help him lose weight:

• increase quality and quantity of exercise, and

• modify diet.

Increasing quality and quantity of exercise may be relatively straightforward for most dogs (and is a subject for a separate article), but modifying diet is not.

Here are some suggestions for diet changes that will make a difference.

• Do an honest assessment of exactly what your dog eats on a typical day including table scraps, treats, and meals that you, family members, pet sitters, etc. feed. Look at what you can cut out from that list.

• Look at the calorie content and ingredient list of the food you currently feed. Find a food of equal or better quality (preferably grain free) that is lower in calories but doesn’t contain any fillers.

• Feed an amount of food based on the weight you want your dog to be, NOT based on his current weight.

• Get rid of any dog treats you feed as they are typically high in calories. Replace with vegetables like carrots and frozen green beans or pieces of fruit like apples. Allocate a certain amount of these treats per day, and when they’re gone, they’re gone.

• If you feed table scraps, make sure they are high quality meats and vegetables. If you also feed kibble, take away an equivalent amount of kibble to account for the calories in the table scraps.

• Reward your dog with love, praise, play time, or time spent alone with you, instead of treats.

• If you are doing any training with your dog using a food reward, make sure you take that amount of food out of his daily allotment.

This is a time to be strong, and not give in to the sad, begging eyes that we’re all so familiar with.

Loving your dog means helping him get and stay healthy, maintaining an appropriate weight. In doing so, you’ll both feel better and you’ll have a beloved, happy companion in your life for a much longer period of time.

We are the only Orlando dog boarding and Orlando doggie day care center that has an indoor heated pool for dogs. See it for yourself by scheduling a tour!

Rocky's Retreat | 2826 Shader Rd. Orlando FL 32808 | info@rockysretreat.com | (407) 295-3888