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Dealing with Dog Obesity

Overweight pets can be a big problem for both the animal and the owner. The problems that overweight dogs have can create big problems, including serious health issues and difficulty moving about. Yet, 84 million dogs and cats in the United States are overweight and obese. Fortunately, there are some things that you can do to help keep your own four-legged friend from reaching this point, and new medical advances are helping reduce the problems they cause.

If you ask the experts they will give several reasons dog obesity is so acute. The single biggest problem is giving too much food, especially leftover human food and scraps from the table. While owners think it is cute to feed Fido off the table, it could be actually killing him. Human food just can’t be handled properly by dogs, nor does it really provide the nutrients that they need for their health needs.

Another reason dogs are seriously overweight includes lack of exercise. Try to make sure you get out often enough to keep your dog fit. These days more and more dogs are indoor pets, leaving the time outside to be brief bathroom breaks. Try to increase walk frequency if you think that your dog might be putting on weight.

One of the best ways to address dog obesity is to look at your own lifestyle. Since Fido follows his master, there can’t be anything changed without the owners starting first. Getting out and enjoying life every day when you walk is the first way. Try to get the rest of your family to agree not to feed the dog food from the table. Have your dog eat only from his source of food and regulate it. Based on how heavy your dog is, feed accordingly and wait to see if your dog appears hungry before feeding more.

The dog obesity issue will stop when people recognize the health of their animal should be a way of life and the behavior of the dog reflects the owner. The first step always needs to be taken by the owner.
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Though she writes on a variety of other topics, some of Taylor’s other pet related work includes how to select a good xlarge dog bed, like a cedar dog bed.