The Association for Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP) recently released scary stats: 1/2 of the dogs and cats in the United States are overweight or obese (that's > 20% over ideal body weight). That’s 33 million dogs and 51 million cats, folks!
While being obese may not sound like a lot of weight, it is. A 10 lb cat that weighs an extra 2 lbs (12 lbs) is morbidly obese - that's the equivalent to a 150 lb human female that carries around an extra 30 lbs (180 lbs). A 70 lb ideal Labrador retriever is obese at 84 lbs... and keep in mind most Labradors should be 70 lbs! That's the equivalent of a 200 lb human male carrying around an extra 40 lbs (240 lbs). Yikes!
The Association for Pet Obesity Prevention is trying to raise awareness by hosting the 3rd annual: National Pet Obesity Awareness Day. This is important, because obesity is expensive for your pet's life and your pocketbook! That extra weight results in strain to the heart, lungs, trachea, and musculoskeletal system. I've had a lot of Labrador retriever owners bring in their dogs for expensive ACL knee surgery due to obesity... only to have to pay $1500-$3500 to fix one knee. This could have been totally prevented by weight loss!
Start by committing to an extra loop around the block (an extra 10-15 minutes of exercise), and a reduction of 30% of the amount of food that you're feeding. Cut those table snacks OUT NOW! Also, talk to your vet about gradually switching your dog to a low-calorie, senior dog food.
When in doubt, keep those dogs trim. Studies have proven it - the skinnier the dog, the longer they live. Don't you love Fido enough to trim him down?
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