Dog Weight

Dog weight is a concern for many dog owners.

We are convinced that keeping Comet's weight down, by not overfeeding him and giving him reasonable daily exercise, helped him stay healthy for many years. In fact, he only went to the vet once for a health problem, the rest was for neutering, shots, and a dental cleaning.

The photos (in descending order) show him at ages 9, 10 and 11 1/2. The latter was taken after his health emergency.

Too Much Weight

• Arthritis and other joint problems (refer back to F.B.'s story)
• Diabetes
• Dog's immune system does not work as well as it should
• Heart disease
• Liver not as effective at removing waste products

• Dog owners constantly give their dogs treats as an expression of affection.
• Owners may not realize that most dogs are smaller than people and require less food
• People are used to seeing animals that are overweight and think this is normal
• Dog owners find it too difficult to exercise their dogs adequately

What To Do For An Overweight Dog

• Gradually reduce the amount of food and/or table scraps if you are feeding too much
• Change the type of food if it's not healthy. For example, cooked fats such as chicken skin, bacon, and cold cuts are not good for dogs and can cause pancreatitis.
• We learned this the hard way. Someone in our household unknowingly started feeding Comet high-fat treats and we suspect this brought on his life-threatening (and very expensive) bout with hemorraghic gastroenteritis on February 1, 2010. We did not get a conclusive diagnosis because it would have cost at least another 500 USD to find out, but suspected pancreatitis, although the vet thought it might be cancer because he was still bleeding slightly when we took him home. In fact she suggested euthanasia the next day if he did not stop bleeding.
  Fortunately, the bleeding stopped. But unfortunately, all our efforts to give him an optimum diet after this episode did not have the desired result - he kept having periodic trouble keeping food down and losing weight and passed away on August 22, 2010. It is possible that there was underlying cancer.
• Adjust the amount you feed your dog to weather conditions - a dog may need less in warmer weather unless they are getting a huge amount of exercise (we believe this is why Comet started refusing his raw food diet in Florida-it was too much/too rich for his needs)
• Cut treats up into much smaller pieces
• Limit the number of treats to one or two a day
• Hide pieces of treat in various places in the house so your dog has to work for them
• Give your dog a ride in the car to an exercise area instead of a treat
• Play with your dog actively indoors or outdoors
• Use obedience training to give attention with praise as the reward
• Take your dog for walks in different places
• Try a variety of other exercise methods - see Dog Exercise

Benefits of Reducing Dog Weight

• Less poop to scoop
• Less flatulence
• Save money by buying less food and fewer treats
• Save on vet bills
• Reduce dog suffering by avoiding or lessening arthritis and joint problems
• Avoid other problems such as diabetes, heart problems etc.

Too Little Weight