Dog on diet waiting to be fed with bowl in mouth, asking

Helping Your Dog Diet and Achieve a Healthy Weight


How can you help your dog lose weight? That’s probably the first question that pops into your mind when you suddenly acknowledge that your companion has gained some pounds.

Well, you are the best support for your dog in losing weight and improving its overall health. This may seem a difficult process at first, but there are a few simple steps you need to follow, to ease this process and help reduce your furry companions’ body gain:

1. Start With Yourself First

To better help your dog to lose weight, you have to start with yourself. It’s important to understand the fact that overfeeding or irrationally feeding a dog with scraps and other things isn’t in its best interest, but quite the opposite. This represents the best motivation you’ll need to start this process today.

The dog is always happy when it receives some treats or food from your table. And making your dog happy makes you happy too. This, plus avoiding the “puppy eye look” or the drooling over your legs. You should always consider the long-term effects of irrational eating on its health.

If your family has more than one member living in the same house as the dog, everyone must understand and accept the dog must lose some weight. This means everyone should not give the dog any other treats or scraps, just to keep it content. Cheating is not an option, and not in the dog’s best interest.

2. Exercise, Exercise, Exercise

Labrador playing and exercising outside

Apart from reducing its food intake, your dog needs to exercise more, to get rid of all that stubborn fat. The changes won’t be that obvious in the first 1-2 months, but you need to keep going to achieve the best results.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle for you and your dog will have great long-term effects on both of you, regarding overall health and well-being.

Start gradually; if you used to walk your dog twice a day, add a third walk. Buy new toys, which may stimulate your dog’s playfulness, such as balls or string toys.

Try indoor chasing toys, that keep your dog off the couch and engage it in running.

You can even try a little jogging in the morning if you’re up to it. This will keep you engaged and fit as well.

Arrange doggy playdates; find some friends with dogs and establish daily dates or go to dog parks regularly, to shape up your pooch.

3. Educate The Appetite

The appetite, as we know it, is, in fact, a brain thing.

Neurons from the hypothalamic centers are responsible for the eating behavior, after being stimulated by gastrointestinal hormones, such as insulin or cholecystokinin. Educating the appetite and hunger doesn’t happen overnight, but gradually.

The dog needs a gradual portion reduction and special dog food for weight loss. This type of food supplements all the nutrients the dog requires, contains lots of fibers to maintain satiety plus reduces the begging behavior.

The veterinarian may recommend a mix of this type of dog food and other diets if your dog has other health issues, such as allergies, digestive problems, or other illnesses.

At home, you may try feeding your dog by using a specially designed toy, which provides kibbles while it’s being moved around by the dog. This was created to provide treats, but it’s very effective in stimulating the dog to move around.

Specially designed slow-feeding dog bowls make wonders; these were created to maintain a satiety sensation in your furry friend’s tummy.

By eating kibble by kibble, the satiety sensation appears faster than it would do by eating from a regular bowl. These come in various shapes, colors and sizes.

They also come as specially designed slow-eating bowls for flat-faced or short-snouted dogs.

4. Regular Vet-Check-ups

A healthy dog requires at least two annual vet check-ups, one for the vaccines, and the other for overall health. An experienced veterinarian will recommend the best diet for your dog, according to its age, size, and health issues.

It may also perform some blood tests, to check your dog’s blood levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, and other biochemical changes.

In elderly dogs, a thorough heart examination may be needed, to assess the functioning of the heart and lungs. This may include an EKG, more blood tests, and even a cardiac ultrasound.

Weight loss requires teamwork, motivation, and means. Don’t feel discouraged if you don’t see changes shortly after you’ve started; it’s a long, silent process.

Always keep the intended results in mind.



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