Fighting Dog Obesity:

Most dogs are much smaller than humans; therefore, extra pounds play a bigger toll on their body and joints.  Maintaining your dog’s weight can help them avoid medical conditions such as Diabetes & and therefore live longer.   View this link to see if how your dog scores in terms of weight.

Here are some ideas to help your dog lose weight and/or stay healthy:

·         Govern calories by cutting back on the regular dog food and adding healthy items like green beans, canned pumpkin, apples, bananas, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cooked rice, non-fat plain yogurt or non-fat cottage cheese.

·         Exercise together.  You can make exercising fun by play games, walking your dog through obstacles, practicing obedience/tricks while on your walk.  Your dog will love the attention and praise.  

·         Help your dog to eat slower by putting food inside of a toy or smearing food in the bowl so that it’s harder to eat.

·         Feed your dog smaller amounts 2+ times a day.  This may help increase metabolism.

·         When your dog begs, give him/her attention rather than food.

·         Make sure your dog drinks plenty of water.

·         Feed your dog items that are high in fiber & protein and in low fat & calories.

View http://www.petobesityprevention.com/ for more information on pet obesity.  They have many tools and lots of information to help your dog maintain a healthy weight.