I read a great article in the Orlando Sentinel the other day entitled “The incredibly growing pet.” The article focused on the epidemic of fat pets in the United States. According to a recent survey conducted by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, more than half the dogs and cats in the US are overweight or obese. And many people often don’t recognize the fact that their pet is overweight. While there are medical reasons why a pet can become overweight, the article noted the reason often given by owners with overweight dogs – it’s because we love them so much that we feed them all the time!

If your dog is overweight, what can you do?

• First, look at diet. Read the ingredients on the bag of kibble and if there’s ingredients you don’t know or don’t understand, switch foods! Visit a holistic pet food store in your area and speak with the staff about how to reduce caloric intake via a better quality food.
• Watch the treats you give your dog. Instead of dog “cookies,” try vegetables like carrots or celery as a treat.
• Add finely chopped vegetables, such as broccoli, spinach, green beans, etc. as a supplement to your dog’s diet. These vegetables can be raw, but must be finely chopped so your dog can digest them.
• Exercise, exercise, exercise! But start slow. You need to be careful if your dog has been sedentary, or is very overweight. Swimming in a warm water pool is an ideal form of exercise for overweight or obese dogs because there is no stress on their joints and the resistance of the water gives the dog much more of a workout in a shorter period of time.

We all love our pets and want the best life possible for them. One way to ensure this is to make sure they stay at their proper weight. For more information on what you can do to help your pet maintain healthy weight visit https://petobesityprevention.org/.

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