How to judge whether a dog is obese

Touch with your hands and observe with your eyes. A fat dog has a little thick subcutaneous fat and thick muscles. The ribs are hard to feel. There is a lot of meat on the tail, but you can still feel the bones. Viewed from the side, the abdomen is not sunken at all. Viewed from the back, the body looks like A round, straight barrel with barely visible waist.
For overweight dogs, you can feel the subcutaneous fat is very thick and have a lot of muscles with your hands, and the ribs cannot be felt at all. The skin on the tail is very thick and the bones cannot be felt at all. Viewed from the side, the dog’s abdomen is sagging. , looking down from the back, the body looks like a football.
Owners can also refer to the relevant weight information of various breeds of dogs to compare the weight of their own dogs, or go to the pet hospital to have a veterinarian identify it.

Causes of dog obesity

1. Breed reasons. Among small dogs, Chihuahuas, short-haired dachshunds, and bulldogs are prone to obesity.
2. The owner pampers the dog too much and feeds too much food or snacks, which can easily cause the dog to become obese. Some current pet foods contain excessive amounts of salt and fat. These delicacies can cause dogs to eat excessively and become obese. This is also the most important reason why dogs are obese.
3. Lack of exercise. Due to limited conditions, many dogs are currently kept in apartments with very little exercise, especially older dogs, which often suffer from insufficient exercise and lead to obesity.
4. Caused by diseases, such as metabolic abnormalities caused by endocrine disorders in dogs, thyroid and adrenal gland dysfunction, etc., can cause obesity.
5. Feed leftovers to dogs. This type of food is high in oil and sugar, which is also an important reason why dogs gain weight.

Disadvantages of dog obesity

Dog obesity is the same as human obesity, and the consequences are very serious. Being overweight will shorten a dog's lifespan and cause many diseases, such as heart failure, diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, hyperlipidemia, fatty liver, skin diseases, etc.
And when the proportion of weight exceeding the normal state is higher, the probability of causing the above-mentioned diseases is higher, so owners must pay more attention to the weight of their dogs in daily life.

How to lose weight for dogs

The key to treating dog obesity is to reduce the dog’s intake of calories from food, and at the same time increase the amount of exercise and increase the body’s energy consumption. Therefore, it is best to feed your dog with high-fiber, low-fat, and low-calorie food, and the feeding should be done regularly and quantitatively.