Obesity
What causes it? - How do you prevent it? - What do you do against it?
Over 30% of our pets are (much) too fat. Factors that may have a role in being too fat are:
- Sex
- Sterilisation/neuter
- Age
- Amount of movement (in dogs is very important!)
- Eating habits (most important!); in particular, giving a lot of left overs and sweets lead to obesity!
A good example: Suppose a dog of 5 kg (dachshund) receives a biscuit 3 times a day when you drink coffee. Such a dog receives 18 grams of sugar too much daily. This he converts into 7.5 grams of fat. After more than three months, the dog is already 750 grams heavier, 15% of its weight! He fattens! And here we talk about biscuits; the real dog snacks can be compared with a large burger. Do you yourself eat a large hamburger 3 or 4 times a day?
The strange thing is that many owners of overweight animals are very pleased with the weight of their animals, while it is proven that being overweight can lead to:
- Bone and joint disorders and back problems
- Delayed intestine with constipation and digestive problems
- Liver damage
- Cardiac overload
- Troubles with breathing
- Quickly overheating in warm weather
- Diabetes and pancreatitis
- Infertility
- Increased risk by anaesthesia and certain surgeries
- Increased sensitivity to (virus) infections
- Shortened the lifespan!
What can we do about the overweight of your pet?
First and foremost, we must remember that what applies to us also applies to dogs: ‘every pound goes through the mouth’. When a comment is made about being overweight many people say that their loved one already “gets so little”. They forget that it usually involves food with a lot of energy and that the animals also gets too little exercise. It is very difficult to simply give an animal less food. This usually results in begging and stealing of food. Therefore, there are special slimming diet foods developed: these contain very little energy that can be converted to fat, while they give a large volume in the intestine. This helps the animal to feel full after eating and stops the need for begging. With these slimming diet foods we tackle obesity in a responsible way. Treats and snacks remain out of the question!