Fat dogs are unhealthy dogs. No-one would dispute that fact.

Obesity is an even more serious health issue in dogs than it is in humans. Being overweight puts a tremendous strain on virtually every bodily organ.

Shorter lifespan

Overfeeding is one of the worst things anyone can do for their dog.

The fat dog has a much shorter life span than the slim dog. And the resulting problems are not just medical but social too, because the unfortunate animal’s enjoyment of life will be drastically curtailed.

Allowing him to laze around all day in the garden, or draped all over the furniture is not doing him any favours.

Too many treats

Giving pets too many goodies is no good either. Dogs devouring treats, snacks, biscuits, cakes and things that fall from the master’s table are guaranteed to make them put on weight. And they will keep putting it on until they end up not just fat but with a host of medical conditions like diabetes, cardio-vascular disease and osteo-arthritic pain.

What loving owner would willingly do that to their pet dog?

None, we are sure. It’s thoughtlessness rather than actual cruelty that does the damage.

Fat dogs, fat owners?

Quite often we find that the really fat dog is companion to a fat owner. Both are rather too fond of their food, it seems. The human’s love of snacking is transferred to his furry friend.

While it is important to keep careful watch on the dog’s weight, it is absolutely vital to do so when he is getting older. Fat old dogs are a real cause for concern. They do not eat as much as younger dogs and puppies, and they take less exercise. They are therefore more likely to put on weight unless watched very carefully. Dogs, like humans, slow down as they age. If they don’t take as much exercise, they don’t need as much food. Logical, when you think about it.

How can you tell?

How can you tell if your dog is too fat?

Admittedly, it is not always easy, particularly if he has a think coat and belongs to a particularly chunky breed.

Ideally, it should be possible to feel the ribcage, but if those bones are buried underneath a couple of heavy coats of fur, that makes the task rather more difficult.

Exercise

Of course, one of the ways to keep your dog’s weight down is to give him plenty of exercise. If you’re not able to take him out for lots of long walks yourself, but you have a garden, have you considered pet water fountains? Dogs can play under these for hours and work off a few calories!

Obesity is a serious health risk

The thing to do is arrange for health checks with the vet or nutritionist on a regular basis.

Maybe when the innoculations are due… or before, if a problem is suspected.

Obesity is a serious health risk. But it is one that can be avoided, so easily.

The time to seek help for potentially fat dogs is before trouble sets in. With this as with everything else, prevention is better than cure.

No related posts.

Glancing down the list of specialty foods for canines we find Hills Science diet dog food, natural dog food and best dog food.

Then there’s one with a distinctly upmarket name, which begs the question… do the Royal corgis eat Royal canin dog food?

While we’re not in a position to answer that question, we can provide a little advice on what to feed and what not to feed the dog who’s drooling at the chops at the sight of the meal you’re just about to place on the table.

Saving their blushes

Let’s start with the salutary tale of Bouncer, a grossly overfed Dobermann… possibly the fattest of his breed on the planet.

Bouncer is the companion of a middle-aged housewife, with too much time on her hands. Let’s call her Bertha. That’s not her name and Bouncer isn’t the dog’s name either (we’ve given them each an alias, to save their blushes!)

Not nutritious enough?

Big Bertha prides herself on her cooking… and baking… and pastry-making.

Her husband is a long-distance lorry driver so is away from home for long periods, leaving Bertha and Bouncer to enjoy each other’s company. And the goodies emerging from the kitchen.

Bertha dislike of feeding her pet dog food is because not having seen it being prepared she doesn’t believe it’s nutritious enough. So she feeds him from her own table.

Her motto: ‘If it’s good enough for me, it’s good enough for him.’

Poor, misguided woman. Poor, obese dog.

Waddling around the garden

Bertha doesn’t walk Bouncer anywhere, restricting his exercise to waddling around her garden.

‘He’s not interested in going anywhere else,’ she told us.

No. He wouldn’t be. He doesn’t have the energy.

The unfortunate Bouncer is not even walked when Bertha’s husband Alfie comes home.

‘Alfie’s more of a cat person,’ she explained. ‘But we can’t have a cat in our house. Bouncer wouldn’t like that at all.’

Drizzled with cod liver oil

Each day, Bertha cooks something different for herself and her dog. On Sundays, it’s roast meat with all the trimmings. Monday’s fare is cold cuts of meat, on Tuesday they have Irish stew with the leftovers. And for the rest of the week they indulge themselves in shepherds’ pie, steak and kidney pie, hot pot, steak and onions. Friday’s fare is fish, drizzled with cod liver oil to keep his coat shiny and her own bones supple.

Puddings, pies and assorted treats

Bouncer also tucks into his share of puddings, pies and assorted treats.

Big Bertha believes that Bouncer lives a charmed and very privileged life and gets very upset when anyone dares tell her that she is killing her dog with kindness. She positively refuses to accept that she is actually shortening Bouncer’s life. By over-feeding him, she is putting enormous strain on his heart and other vital organs. Also, while his diet is relatively safe for humans (if a shade on the stodgy side), it is totally unsuitable for dogs.

Weight would fall off

Dogs need nutritious food, containing just the right amount of vitamins and supplements. They need food which is intended exclusively for canines and prepared by experts.

If Bertha were to switch to something like Science Diet Dog Food, or any of the others mentioned above, then Bouncer would be a lot more healthy. The weight would fall off and he would be less interested in food and more in exercise. Obesity is a killer… in humans as well as in dogs.

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1. Innova Dog Food

Pet owners who feed their companions Innova dog food claim it is among the best on the market. Tasty, nutritious and able to boost the animal’s natural immunity, it is designed specifically to get rid of blubber from overweight dogs.

Like all the best dog foods, this one has been tested and approved by vets and dieticians. It is low in calories, high in important nutrients.

Dogs love it because it is so tasty. More significantly, it is free from artificial preservatives, colours and flavours.

In peak condition

Innova senior dog food is holistic and contains just the right amount of everything to keep the elderly dog healthy – meat, vegetables, dairy products, fruit and grains.

It is important that geriatric animals who are not as mobile as their younger companions are not over-fed because of not being able to take enough exercise to work off the extra weight.

By using top quality ingredients, this complete food is natural, balanced and ideal to keep the dog in peak condition.

Innova dog foods are also available for puppies, young and mature adult dogs.

Dry or canned?

Whether to give your canine friend dry or canned food is a matter of personal choice. Innova caters for both.

Some dogs prefer Innova dry dog food while others drool at the very sight of those tins of Innova canned dog food.

Some owners won’t tolerate the smell of canned food and declare the dried version is much more healthy, while others maintain that dogs fed solely on dried food must be bored out of their minds.

‘How would you like it if you had to live on nothing but uninteresting dried food,’ asked one owner.

‘I’d like it much better than if I had to tuck into smelly fish products every day,’ responded his friend.

The third option

The third option is, of course, to give the dog a mixture of the two. Perhaps dried in the morning, tinned in the afternoon, or vice versa.

Or even to mix tinned food in the bowl with dried, simply to provide a little variation.

Remember always that an animal fed solely on dried food does need his water bowl filled at all times.

Dried dog food without access to water can bloat the animal’s stomach, with possible disastrous results.

The importance of drinking water cannot be over-emphasised.

However, if a dog is drinking far more water than usual, and urinating more frequently, it suggests an abnormal thirst and a visit to the vet to check for diabetes.

But that is another story, which we’ll no doubt cover in another post.

For now, if you’re looking to buy Innova dog food, there are plenty of places where you can get it online, or your local pet food suppliers should be able to help.

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1. Wellness Dog Food

When we say ‘dog allergy‘, what are we talking about? Humans who are allergic to dogs, or dogs who are allergic to something else? Humans, maybe?

The answer is that the term can be applied to both.

The human sufferer

In the human sufferer, symptoms might include sneezing, wheezing, a runny nose, itchy, watering eyes and assorted skin swellings. Pet allergy can arise because the human body is reacting adversely to components in the animal’s fur, skin, saliva, urine. All of these contain proteins liable to cause a reaction in anyone susceptible. Such an allergy can affect eyes, airways and skin and they manifest themselves in the form of rash and/or lumps. The trouble is that allergens are not easy to avoid.

To get a definitive diagnosis, doctors will want to carry out skin tests and take blood samples.

There are various treatments for the condition, ranging from anti-histamine medication, to eye drops, nasal sprays and even cortico-steroids.

Scratching, licking, chewing

Allergy symptoms in dogs tend to show up in undue scratching, excessive licking and chewing the feet. Understandably, this can make the dog irritable. Our first reaction to the sight of a dog scratching is usually that he has fleas. For most owners, parasitic infection is the first thought that comes to mind. But it may not be the right one.

He could have an allergy.

Dogs can be allergic to fleas, food, air pollutants, dust mites, even the grass on which they frolic in the springtime.

The symptoms in dogs are not unlike those in humans… sneezing, wheezing, coughing, discharging eyes and nose. Sometimes there is an unpleasant odour from the ears and occasionally even gastro-intestinal problems.

What is an allergy?

So what exactly is an allergy?

An allergy is when the body’s immune system has an adverse reaction to foreign substances which are normally harmless, but which produce a violent reaction in the sufferer. This can result in asthma, hay fever, migraine and some types of skin irritation, the most well-known of which is probably eczema.

Very distressing

Allergy treatment largely depends on the nature of the allergy and can include medication, diet and any form of therapy geared towards sorting out the problem in the sufferer’s immune system.

For some types of skin allergy (in dogs as well as in humans) all that is needed might be a special, clinically-prescribed shampoo.

Allergic reactions can be very distressing.

The best advice for anyone who thinks they – or their pets – have an allergy (dog allergy or otherwise) is to seek professional help.

Related posts:

1. Dog Allergies
2. Allergies in Dogs
3. Dog Skin Allergies

Rimadyl for Dogs? What exactly is that?

For the benefit of those in our midst – and there must be many – who have never come across the word, let us explain precisely what it is.

Highly-controversial

Rimadyl for dogs is a highly-controversial drug which features heavily on web pages because of its alleged side-effects. An increasing number of dog-owners have written about the adverse effects they believe this product has had on their pets.

But precisely what is Rimadyl and why do vets still prescribe it if aware of its contra-indications in their patients?

Rimadyl is an anti-inflammatory used for pain-relief in conditions like arthritis, sprained muscles and to control other forms of chronic and surgical pain. Many vets genuinely believe that the benefits of this drug far outweigh its disadvantages.

Switch of manufacturers

The drug certainly has a questionable history. Originally manufactured by Roche Laboratories for humans, it was quickly withdrawn because of its proven adverse effects on liver and kidney function.

Aware of Rimadyl side-effects on humans, but believing that the drug would be entirely beneficial for animals, another pharmaceutical company – Pfizer – took over its manufacture and geared it towards dogs. The company does, however, stress that vets should always discuss potential side effects with dog-owners before prescribing for their patients.

Request a blood test

Anyone still worried about their pets’ welfare should ask to have blood tests carried out in order to eliminate any chronic conditions which might contra-indicate use of the drug.

They also stress that Rimadyl for pets should only be given under strict veterinary supervision.

To sum up, therefore, Rimadyl is still prescribed by some vets for dogs with arthritis and other forms of chronic pain but, as with any other so-called ‘wonder drug’, caution is the name of the game. It is worth remembering always that no drug is entirely without side effects.

What’s the alternative?

So what is the alternative?

Natural or holistic healing, say therapists who do not believe in drug therapy.

The alternative method of treatment is infinitely safer, they say. Vets and animal healers who specialise in the holistic approach to healthcare explain that their work involves much more than just diagnosis and treatment.

Natural healing is the most potent force in both humans and animals and is therefore well worth investigating.

Hydrotherapy – where arthritic dogs are encouraged to swim in specially heated pools – does have real advantages. Other forms of non-drug treatments which have proved effective in dogs, as in humans, include acupuncture, aromatherapy and various forms of herbal remedies. These are all good alternatives to the controversial Rimadyl for dogs.

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1. Fat Dogs

The magazine Dogs Today (December 2009 issue) carries an in-depth biography of the vet John Burns (of Burns Dog Food fame), with the catchy headline ‘First-degree Burns.’

So who is Mr Burns and how has he achieved such fame? Does he really exist or is he merely a figment of some public relations marketing guru like Mr Kipling, who supposedly makes such exceedingly good cakes?

He does exist

No, Mr Burns bears no resemblance to the fictitious Mr Kipling. Yes, he does exist. And he makes exceedingly good dog food.

Or so a little Cairn/Border terrier called Suzie tells us so frequently in her blog.

Suzie lives on Burns dog food, and loves it.

Thanks to her daily diet of High Oats, (a dry dog food) Suzie’s weight has dropped from 15kg. to 12.40kg in just three months, which is quite something. The weight loss has also given her considerably more energy than she had in her podgy state.

Looking at his own diet

Shortly after qualifying as a veterinary surgeon, John Burns began to give some serious thought to the sort of food his patients were being fed. At the same time, he took a long hard look at his own diet and came to the conclusion that physical health and mental well-being could be changed by diet.

‘I decided to adapt and apply similar principles to the understanding and practice of Veterinary Medicine,’ he explains in his Guide to Natural HealthCare.

The holistic approach

Combining his background knowledge and his years of practical experience in the prevention and treatment of diseases in pets, Mr Burns launched out into the production of natural dog food. He very quickly became the forerunner in the field. The holistic approach to health and nutrition for animals caught on big-time.

Products coming under the umbrella heading of Burns Real Food contain the sort of ingredients pets thrive on. Chicken, lamb, fish all come with maize and other mouth-watering delights such as peas, chicken oil, sunflower oil, seaweed, vitamins and minerals. Aristocratic pooches might prefer to go for something upmarket like venison and brown rice, or a little bit of duck. But hungry hounds would probably be more eager to sink their teeth into something like pork and potato. We are assured that nothing but the best quality ingredients is used in these foods.

An excellent alternative

Natural dog food comes highly recommended by vets because they say it promotes and maintains good health, is hypo-allergenic and an excellent alternative to prescription diets. Many declare it the best dog food currently available.

Burns Real Food is not exclusively dog food.

Nor is it all dry food. Tinned goodies are also available and the range encompasses some mouth-watering products for cats. We’re told that tinned salmon and rice or cod and rice, geared at adult and elderly felines, make ideal accompaniments to Burns dry food.

Nutritional helpline

Mr Burns, who is based at Carmarthenshire, in Wales, runs a nutritional helpline and an e-mail information service full details of which are available from www.burns-pet-nutrition.co.uk.

Burns Dog Food is always happy to send information packs and samples of its products to anyone who would like to know more.

Related posts:

1. Wellness Dog Food
2. Innova Dog Food
3. Science Diet Dog Food