How This One Feeding Mistake Can Shorten Your Dog’s Life!

Over 41% of Australian Dog Owners make this Fatal Mistake!

Dog obesity is on the rise. In 2013, the Animal Health Alliance reported that 41% of Australian dogs were overweight. It’s believed by veterinarians that number has gone up since then. Last year, Claws and Paws Veterinary Hospital in Bathurst, central-west New South Wales, held a “Biggest Loser for Dogs” competition to try and help owners with their overweight dogs.

Just like obesity in humans, overweight dogs are prone to a host of health issues and will most likely have shorter lifespans. Unfortunately, many owners use food as a way of showing their dog they love them, but are really causing their beloved pet more harm than good; you are literally killing them with kindness. Overfeeding and the lack of exercise are the two major factors when it comes to obesity.

Here’s the worst possible way to feed your dog.

The other problem is just plain overfeeding. Some people, especially owners of little dogs, “free feed” their dogs, meaning their dog has a bowl full of food at all times and can eat whenever they like. If you did this with a Lab, he would probably eat until his stomach exploded. Labradors and Flat-coated Retrievers are actually missing a gene that makes them forever hungry. And while they are the extreme, most other dogs will also over eat because their ancestors, the wolf and wild dogs, do so to survive. A wolf may gorge on an elk he gets, but that’s because he may not eat again for another three days – he needs to store up fat and energy to survive between meals. Our pampered house dogs get fed every day, they don’t need to do this.

You may be surprised at how lean your dog should be to be healthy!

Did you know you should be able to easily feel your dog’s ribs? There should only be a small amount of tissue and skin covering them. You do not want to be able to see all your dog’s ribs, seeing the last one or two is okay. You can check your dog’s body condition with our easy to read chart.

Here’s the real shock: feeding your dog less of a high quality food will extend your dog’s life and save you money!

A large pet food brand did a lifetime study where they followed forty-eight Labradors – half were fed twenty-five percent more food than the other half. The half that was fed less, lived two years longer than the group that was overfed. Overfeeding literally shortens the lifespan of your dog.

And, you’re wasting money. If your dog doesn’t need that large amount of food, you could save money by feeding him less. (It will also save you money in obesity-related health bills!) Even better, having to feed less means you can feed a high quality brand, like Stay Loyal, and still save money.

Since your dog is overweight to begin with, you are going to feed less than what he should get for his “optimum body weight” (the weight he should be not, not the weight he is) until he has lost the excess weight. This is important. Most owners look at their overweight dog, who weighs 40kg and feeds them whatever the bag says he should get, even though he is only supposed to weigh 25-30kg. Equally important, since he gets the weight off, don’t go back to feeding what you were – remember that’s what made him fat in the first place! Instead, feed him the amount the bag says for optimum body weight, or even a bit less depending on his age and activity level. Remember, underfeeding a little is better than overfeeding a little. For this reason, bump up his food slowly, and by small amounts, so that you can tell when he has reached the right amount of food to maintain his weight, but not gain the extra back.

For more information on how much you should feed your dog, check out this newsletter https://stayloyal.com.au/pdf/may_newsletter38.pdf.