by Paige the Doberman
I was doing my weekly reading on all things canine this week and came across this sentence that I wanted to share with you.
“Did you realize a 12 pound Yorkie is the same as an average human female weighing 218 pounds and that a 90 pound female Labrador retriever is equal to a 186 pound 5’ 4” human female?” (http://www.petobesityprevention.com/)
saber
Wow! I always knew that a few pounds on a dog was detrimental, but this information gave me real pause. Just a few pounds can make a world of difference in our health. I know my mom does an excellent job of providing me with quality food and daily exercise as well as limiting my snacks and while I’ve grumbled about it at times, I’m going to thank her from now on for paying such close attention to my weight.
We get many dogs at the pool who are struggling with a few extra pounds. Many times they come to us for other reasons — back problems, weak knees, or recovering from surgery to repair a damaged knee or injured back — but sometimes those reasons for swimming are also related to their excess weight.
For instance, a dog who is injured or who is recovering from surgery is unable to get the daily exercise they need to stay fit and trim. Their families sometimes continue to feed the same amount of food they were eating before the injury or surgery and just like that a dog who was previously a healthy weight gains 2, 3 or 5 pounds.
Ginger
Being overweight can complicate recovery in addition to putting a healthy dog at risk for all sorts of problems. For example, overweight dogs can develop sugar diabetes (diabetes mellitus), heart disease, elevated blood pressure, difficulty breathing, decreased liver function, digestive disorders, decreased immune function, increased risk of cancer, and skin and hair problems…just to name a few.
At Wellsprings K9, we often see overweight dogs whose extra pounds have caused damage to their joints, bones, and ligaments. Numerous studies suggest that about 25% of overweight dogs develop serious joint complications. Extra weight on a dog puts strain on the bones, joints, muscles and associated tendons and ligaments resulting in a number of potential injuries.
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For instance, extra tension on joints caused by excessive weight can tear or rupture important ligaments like the anterior (or cranial) cruciate ligament that stabilizes the knee, which often requires surgery to repair. In addition, there’s an increased risk of arthritis developing and the pain and joint changes associated with hip or elbow dysplasia can become even more severe.
Certain breeds of dogs (Dachshunds and Corgis, for example) are prone to intervertebral disc disease (“slipped disc”) and dogs carrying extra weight increases the probability that they will develop this painful and sometimes debilitating condition.
And perhaps the saddest effect of obesity in dogs is that it dramatically cuts our life expectancy. We don’t live long enough as it is, in my opinion, so if a few less snacks means a few more years to my life, then I’m more than willing to eat a bit less and exercise a bit more to stay at my optimum weight.
buddyOf course, I’m lucky because not only does my mom exercise me daily and feed me quality food, she also exercises me at the pool. Swimming is a great way to burn off extra calories and for a dog who is already carrying some extra pounds, non-weight-bearing exercise in the pool is a safe and effective way to prevent injuries to muscles, ligaments, joints, and vertebrae.
Another benefit to swimming is that as your dog increases their physical fitness in the water, they are able to increase their exercise on land. We see this a lot. A dog who can only manage a 10 minute walk once or twice a day soon builds their endurance in the pool and is able to increase their walks on land to 30 or 40 minutes twice a day, which in turn increases their ability to swim longer and stronger in the pool.
If you’re looking for a safe and effective way to help your dog lose some weight, increase their physical fitness and more importantly, increase their quality of life give us a call – 206-935-8299. We’d love to help you increase your dog’s fitness, reduce their weight as needed, and help them avoid potential problems down the road.