Helping to Make Recoveries Reality

1975 Glenn Club Drive
Stone Mountain, GA 30087
770-469-0023
 

Weight Loss

According to a Purina study, nearly SIXTY PERCENT of dogs and cats in the United States are overweight- yet almost HALF of their owners thought that their overweight pets were in ideal shape! 

Most owners don't intend for their pet to become overweight.  Often times it is a case where the owner continues to feed their dog as if it were still a growing puppy.  You can imagine how as an adult, your weight would balloon if you ate as if you were still a growing teenager!  Still other owners blur the distinction between love and food.  Due to a busy life these owners try to make up for lost time with their pets with food and treats.  They do not recognize that their pets are far more interested in the quality of the time spent, than the quantity.

As with humans, excess weight in pets can harm their health and/or contribute to a shortened life span.   Even moderately overweight dogs demonstrate negative impacts on glucose tolerance and insulin resistance.  Other problems which obese pets may be predisposed to include:

Orthopedic  disease
Diabetes
Cardiac disease
Respiratory disease
Urinary disorders
Reproductive disorders
Cancer (like mammary tumors and transitional cell carcinoma)
Dermatological conditions
Abnormalities in lipid profiles
Anesthetic complications

But as important as the above health considerations are, it was truly sobering in 2002 when Purina released the results of a fourteen year long life span study.  The study proved that dogs maintained at a lean or ideal body weight had longer median life spans as compared to their overweight counterparts.  Paired according to gender and body weight starting at eight weeks of age, 24 Labrador Retrievers were allowed unrestricted access to food for life, while another 24 Labs were fed 75% of the amount eaten by their unrestricted counterpart.  The study findings revealed that the median life span (the age at which 50% of the dogs in the group died) of the lean/ideal weight dogs was extended by 15% or NEARLY TWO YEARS!  At the end of the twelfth year, ELEVEN lean/ideal weight dogs were still alive while only ONE overweight dog survived.  Additionally, overweight dogs suffered body mass atrophy a full two years earlier and exhibited more visible signs of aging such as graying muzzles, impaired gaits and reduced activity level at an earlier age than their lean/ideal weight counterparts.

Those humans which have 'bad knees' can attest how much difference is made in their comfort and mobility level by just losing a few pounds.  It is no different in our pets.  Shedding (no pun intended to our canine friends) just a few pounds can make a world of difference in pets with orthopedic  problems such as arthritis in the hips, knees, elbows and spine, hip dysplasia and luxating patellas.  Dogs suffering from neurological issues can regain their mobility and strength faster if they are leaner as opposed to being overweight.

Caring Canine Rehabilitation Center can help owners with weight loss programs for their canine companion.  By incorporating an increase in exercise along with dietary modification, dogs can lose weight at a safe rate.  Naturally, careful monitoring of your pet's progress is important to Caring Canine, therefore plans are custom designed and administered by one of our Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioners.