As you may hear or read so often these days, many of our dogs and cats are not only overweight, they are obese. Why is this happening? It would be easy if the blame could be placed on a single reason, but like most things in this world, there are many contributing factors.
Spaying and castration effect metabolism with the change in hormone levels. That means a dog or cat that has been fixed will typically have a lower calorie requirement. Does this mean you shouldn't get your dog fixed? Certainly not. It does mean that you will most likey need to make an adjustment in how much you are feeding on a daily basis once they have been neutered.
What about lifestyle? Dogs today typically do not wander around the neighborhood like they used to 30 years ago and few are truly "working" dogs anymore. Historically, many pets were also kept outside most of the time. Living in the house and being less active, pets are going to require fewer calories. While we are working in our homes or offices, out pets are most likely sleeping the majority of the day.
Then there are the never ending marketing schemes that try and make us believe that if we really love our pets, we should be giving them an abundance of treats. Many of us associate food as a substitute for the time we don't have to play with our dogs or because we have been trained by great marketing that food shows our pet how much we love them.
What about commercial pet foods? As commercial foods are being held to a higher standard, are they becoming more digestible and therefore more calories can be absorbed versus defecated out undigested? Just something to ponder...
What I do know is that dogs are having more health issues because we, as pet owners, are overfeeding our pets. Just because a food is "grain free" does not necessarily make it lower calorie or even lower carbohydrate. Whether you feed a premium dog or cat food or the cheapest food you can find, it still comes down to calories being utilized versus calories being consumed. Diabetes mellitus, mobility issues, and respiratory issues are just a few health problems exacerbated by being overweight.
How do we judge if our pet is at a good weight? Many pets have thick coats of fur, so you can not always rely on how they look. Feel your pet's body with your hands. Can you easily feel the ribs or can you feel rolls of fat? Does the dog or cat have a crest of fat at the lower neck or a belly that drags or bulges? Are there bulging areas over the crest of the pelvis? A dog at a healthy weight should have good muscling over the back and legs, a waistline (where the ribcage ends and the abdomen begins) and only a thin layer of fat over the ribs so that they can be easily felt.
There are underlying health issues that can make weight gain a concern such as low thyroid, Cushing's disease, or debilitating orthopedic issues. More commonly though, it is one of the factors listed above that is contributing to the problem. We owe it to our pets to keep them fit and to keep them at a healthy weight!