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We all love to spoil our dogs. I love it when I see a happy wagging tail prancing proudly around the living room whilst holding his favourite treat, before finding the perfect place to enjoy it – and there’s nothing wrong with treating our pets from time to time. The trouble comes when our pets start gaining those lbs.
Canine obesity is a growing problem in the UK. A 2018 study predicted that around 61% of dogs in the UK are overweight or obese. As well as reducing the life expectancy, overweight dogs are at higher risk of health conditions such as diabetes, osteoarthritis and cancer compared with dogs that are a healthy weight.
So… what can we do to help?
Good news! Incorporating exercise and fun activities into your dogs’ daily routine can be a really good way to help keep your dog at a healthy weight. Not only that, but it helps provide some mental stimulation for your pet and can increase the bond between you! Here are some ideas on ways to add exercise into you dogs daily routine.
This is one of my favourite ways to keep my pet mentally stimulated whilst exercising. Did you know, 20 minutes of sniffing activity can be as mentally stimulating for a dog as a 1-hour-walk? Try spreading their breakfast or dinner in a long piled bath mat or around the garden and enjoy watching what our dogs enjoy most, sniffing and eating food!! For most dogs, mealtimes will be one of their favourite times of the day, so why not make it last longer. This technique is also good for the greedy-gobble-gannets by slowing down the rate at which they eat their food.
This one may be a little obvious. But walking really is a great way to help our pets get some regular exercise. Allowing pets to run off-lead where safe helps them to let off some steam and stretch those muscles they haven’t been using much during the day. If you’re dog cannot be let off lead, you could try using a longer lead to allow them some freedom to run further distances. You could also hire out a local enclosed dog walking area so you can let your dog off the lead without the worry of them escaping or running into any other dogs. If that isn’t possible, how about going for a dog-led walk, literally just let them choose where to go and allow them to stop and sniff to their hearts content! Not sure how much exercise your pet should get? Rover.com
Instead of using a traditional dog food bowl, try placing their food into an interactive feeder such as a Kong or a snuffle mat (long piled bath mat works just as well). Similar to scatter feeding, this will help keep your pet mentally stimulated for longer and may reduce the chance of them begging you for more treats. Take a look at www.kongcompany.com and www.rufflesnufflemats.com for some ideas on interactive feeders.
Swimming is undeniably a great way to exercise your pet. In general, 1 minute of swimming is an equivalent to 4 minutes of running for dogs. It is also helps to alleviate pressure on the joints, making it ideal for overweight, old or arthritic dogs. Many dogs also thoroughly enjoy it! According to the pet MD website,
Poodles, Newfoundlands, Retrievers and English Setters are among the dog breeds which enjoy swimming the most. Take care if you have brachiocephalic (flat-faced) breeds such as pugs and bull dogs, as their body composition makes them less suited to swimming, and more at risk of drowning.
Giving your dog regular treats runs the risk of going over their daily calorie intake, which inevitably can lead to weight gain. You could try cutting out the treats and replace them by feeding their normal food more sporadically throughout the day.
Give left over vegetables as treats- this saves money and reduces waste at home along with being tasty and healthy for your pooch – Carrots, brocoli, cauliflower, green beans, cabbage, courgette, cucumber are all good options.
Alternatively, you could adjust the amount of their normal food to incorporate treats. At burns pet nutrition, we offer many different tasty treat options as well as food to manage weight loss, with minimal and natural ingredients, as a healthier alternative to treats. Our nutritional advisors are always on board to help offer support and advice in achieving the best nutrition for the members of your furmily.
Special thanks to Anna Deakin, BSc Animal Science student for writing this insightful article.
https://burnspet.co.uk/dog-food-type/natural-dog-treats/
