Dog Eating Habits and Health
04 Nov 2008
According to pet health experts, bad human habits, like eating too much, consuming food with poor nutritional value and exercising too little, are contributing to what is being called an animal obesity epedemic. There is a need for owners to put their dogs on diets and exercise programs.
One of the main problems with obesity in our dogs is that they can end up with the same obesity-related diseases we humans get including: diabetes, cancer, liver disease and heart diseases. Owners think they are pampering their dogs when in fact they are shortening their lives.
One family learned this lesson with their seven-year-old Jack Russell terrier when they realize he was more than double his recommended weight. He was so heavy he could hardly walk and spent most of his day sleeping. After putting him on a strict diet for a year he lost 46 pounds. Their dog is now playful and energetic dog, swims and goes on walks.
Other dog owners have had similar success helping their companions lose weight and improve in health. The best strategy is to not let your dog get overweight in the first place, because putting a dog on a diet is not without it’s drawbacks. Dogs on a diet may become craky like their human counterparts do when going on a diet. Dogs often become aggressive or hyperactive and may bark incessantly to compensate for the reduction in available food.
The benefits, however, outweigh the negative aspects of helping your dog lose weight. A very common problem of dogs that are overweight is diebetes. This is compounded by the fact that many dog food producers add sugar and other sweeteners to their poor quality food to cover up the bad taste. These sweeteners are something that a dogs digestive system was never meant to deal with and can increase the possibility of dog diabetes. Again, keeping your dogs weight down and providing high quality dog food that is high in quality protiens and low in other additives will help keep your dog healthy and strong for years to come.
