If you are trying to start tracking treats, one thing that can be helpful is not giving them out to your dog randomly.Īfter all, “randomly” is often less random than we may think it is! Was the treat truly your idea, or did your dog whine, bark, or scratch the pantry door for a treat? If it’s the latter, giving a treat will just reinforce the behavior, which isn’t good unless you want to increase the frequency of your dog’s whining, barking, scratching, etc. However, if the treats you are giving your dog aren’t something super low-calorie, this approach will give you a hint as to whether you are going significantly overboard with the treats. Of course, size isn’t at all the same as calories, and that’s what we should really be looking at. Now picture the size of the treats you are giving. Picture, for a moment, how many cups of food you give your dog per day, and what 10% of that would look like. What proportion of a dog’s diet should be comprised of healthy dog treats? No more than 10% of the dog’s daily calorie intake, experts say. Perhaps other members of the household are also doling out the treats, and we have no idea how much they are adding up! We often underestimate just how many treats we are giving our dogs because we give them randomly, and fail to track when we do give a treat. Let’s talk about those dog treats. I’m using the word “treats” here to include table scraps and chews filled with something edible as well. What else can you do to help your dog lose weight? Look at the food bag recommendations for how many cups per day a dog of that target weight should eat, and ask your vet for help as well. If you want to help your dog lose weight, ask your vet to estimate a healthy target weight for your dog. The amounts suggested are designed to keep a dog at his or her current weight. These guidelines are based on weight, and fail to take into account other factors, such as your dog’s frame however, they are a good starting point. If you are measuring out the food, make sure to read the recommendations on the back of the bag or box. Is your dog’s food high-quality and appropriate for his age and other characteristics? Does it have the proper amounts of protein, carbohydrates, and fat? A shocking number of popular dog foods contain unhealthy or even dangerous ingredients, so it is well worth it to do some research before buying. Also, increasing a dog’s exercise routine while free-feeding will likely result in your dog increasing her caloric intake, which will undermine any attempts to help your dog lose weight. How much is your dog eating per day, and what type of food? Free-feeding your dog by refilling the food the bowl when it gets low is typically inadvisable, as dogs often eat more than is healthy for them. As with humans, a drastic change in exercise routine can lead to injury in dogs. Ask your vet for recommendations based on your dog’s age, health history, and breed makeup, and come up with a plan to gradually ease your dog into the exercise routine that’s right for him. Unsure how much your dog should be getting? Take a look at this blog post for guidelines, including behavioral clues that your dog might not be getting enough exercise. If your dog is overweight, let’s first examine his or her exercise routine. Their veterinarian had explained how much their girl’s health was at risk, and they didn’t want their baby to die young. Why wouldn’t her dog lose weight, she wanted to know? This was not a question of wanting her dog to look a certain way rather, the dog weight loss journey had been started in the vet’s office. The other day, a friend of mine texted me about her dog’s obesity problem.
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