How to judge dog obesity

1. The body is round and plump, rich in subcutaneous fat, weak in physical strength, prone to fatigue, and intolerant to heat.
2. Mildly obese dogs sometimes experience symptoms of indigestion, reduced libido and dermatitis.
3. High degree of obesity. Due to excess fat, breathing difficulties, increased heart palpitations, and increased pulse rate occur.
4. Obese dogs have elevated blood cholesterol and blood lipids. Due to blood circulation disorders, liver, kidney or pancreatic dysfunction may occur.

Causes of dog obesity

The main cause of dog obesity is that energy intake exceeds consumption.
1. Excess nutrition. The improvement of food palatability and the popularization of ad libitum feeding methods have resulted in excessive feed intake, coupled with insufficient exercise, which is the main cause of overnutrition.
2. Related to age, gender and breed. As age increases, obesity becomes more likely to occur, and females are more likely to develop obesity than males. Beagles, Cocker Spaniels, German Shepherds, Yorkshire Terriers, Dachshunds, Labrador Retrievers, etc. are all breeds prone to obesity.
3. Endocrine dysfunction, such as sterilization surgery, pituitary tumors, adrenal hyperactivity, excess insulin secretion, hypothalamic hypofunction, hypothyroidism, etc., may lead to obesity.
4. Dogs suffering from other diseases, such as respiratory disease, kidney disease, and heart disease, are also prone to obesity.
5. Genetic factors, such as obese dogs, are also prone to obesity in their offspring.

How to deal with dog obesity

1. Food reduction therapy: Make a plan to limit food supply, reduce the amount and frequency of food feeding, and only feed the dog 60% of the usual amount every day - 70%, fed regularly and quantitatively in 3 or 4 times. Feed high-fiber, low-energy, nutritionally complete weight-loss prescription foods. It is better to reduce your body weight by 1% to 2% per week.
2. Exercise therapy: Let the dog perform regular moderate-intensity exercise for 20 to 30 minutes every day.
3. Treat the primary disease causing obesity.
4. Drugs for weight loss: You can take appetite suppressants such as cholecystokinin, emetics, amylase blockers and other digestion and absorption inhibitors. Use thyroid cord, growth hormone, etc. to improve metabolic efficiency.
5. Preventing obesity in developing animals is the most effective way to prevent obesity in adult animals. In addition, you should prevent yourself from gaining weight again after successfully losing weight.