Overweight in dogs as in humans is a problem that is showing more and more often, and just like humans dog gets fat quickly if eats too much and is poorly trained. Any dog in nature as all animals, knows the overweight condition and obesity, because instinct leads them to eat food only when they need it and always in the correct amounts that the body requires. Family life means often a sedentary lifestyle and an incorrect and excessive feeding.
Excessive administration of food is due on one hand to the human vision that associates the food to well-being, so more food corresponds to a greater well-being and on the other to the continuous supply of snacks between meals in order to reward the dog. Another problem is that often are administered non-ideal food to dogs, in fact, many owners consider their canine friend, a human, a baby to look after. But dogs are not children, their body work differently!
The dog has a physical shape, joints and a skeleton aren’t suitable to support extra weight but also their digestive system is made to run slowly with meals deferred over time. Digestion of an average dog lasts 6-7 hours.
So how much food should be given to dogs?
We recommend you seek advice from puppy breeder and then keep monitored the dog as it grows asking your vet for advice and weighing it regularly. The dosing tables that are on all feed in the market are a general indication, must then be calibrated from dog to dog according to needs.
What if my dog is already overweight?
Here, too, we recommend first to consult your veterinarian, but in general may be given to your friend “light” feed or if you opted for the homemade food change the diet with food with lesser amounts of fats such as fish, white meats and vegetables, no pasta, rice and fatty dressings.
Last piece of advice for everyone, no diet will work correctly if is not associated with regular physical activity, get a leash and go!