However, the common way is by using fat and blood as the main constituents (this looks exactly like minced meat). How do you think they are able to charge these low prices? One way is by finely grinding carcass and selling it as “meat” (buyers do not easily notice the difference).

This type of meat is usually for an incredibly low price which meats do not normally cost.

They are being fed high in fat “pet” mince of “beef”, “lamb”, “rabbit” or “venison” If your diet consisted of 60% bread you’d put on a bit of weight too! 2. This modern food stuff is very contrary to what a dog would normally eat, given the chance. Their normal prey animals are mad of lots of protein and a little fat. You would never go the gym and expect to slim down on such a diet, so why do you think your dog should? Most dry fed dogs are eating diets crazy high in carbohydrates. They are being fed a diet consisting of 50-60% carbohydrates In a survey of 1,104 American pet owners, 356 (32%) reported that their pets were overweight or obese but, incredibly, only three people considered this obesity to be a health concern for their pets (Freeman et al. 2006).Ī dog is likely to be overweight for three reasons: 1. Unfortunately, this simple fact has not yet filtered down to many dog owners. So there’s never a time for a dog to be fat (or kids for that matter). They randomly split the group in two, overfed one group and fed the other group 25% fewer calories. In this study, major lifetime observations included 1.8 years longer median lifespan for the diet-restricted dogs and the delayed onset of late-life diseases, especially osteoarthritis.Īside from orthopaedic issues, obesity in dogs is linked to causing diabetes mellitus, pancreatitis, cardiorespiratory disease, urinary disorders, reproductive disorders, neoplasia (mammary tumors, transitional cell carcinoma), dermatological diseases and anesthetic complications (Fleeman and Rand 2005, German 2006, Lund et al. 2006), all of which are rising alarmingly in dog populations worldwide. In the most extensive and controlled study of its kind, Lawler et al. (2008) housed 48 labradors, all born around the same date, for the entirety of their life. Specifically, in relation to labradors, it has been shown that elevated energy intake (via ad lib feeding) increases the incidence of skeletal disease, hip dysplasia and osteoarthritis (Kasstrom 1975, Kealy et al. 1992, Hazewinkel 2012 cited in Fascetti and Delaney 2012). Coupled with the greater load to carry and you get orthopaedic disease and ruptured cruciates. Their bodies cannot withstand maximal growth rates for long. The excess energy from fat stores, fuels growth in young dogs at maximal rates – as opposed to optimal.

It is not surprising that obesity causes the same health problems in dogs as it does in humans. If you buy it I will get a tiny bit of that sale. If you need specialised help you can book me for a consultation. Also, if I link to a product that is important for his recovery, I will track the link. How do I benefit? For the most part, articles like this get folk on to my site and it gets me some attention. I’m Dr Conor Brady, a canine nutritionist with a lot of experience getting dogs in shape.

Dog obese