Obesity
Hello there love people of the internet reading this, I hope your week is going really well. It's the 1st December so happy advent! This week I'm going to be talking about obesity of our pets especially dogs and cats. I know I've done a post on this before however as it's getting closer to Christmas with all the extra temptations all around us I thought now would be a good time to readdress the matter, I hope you enjoy.
So depending on where you are in the UK geographically the percentage of pet obesity can be up to 60%, this is an astounding, shocking statistic because these overweight obese animals will have a lower quality of life and be more prone to things like diabetes, arthritis and heart problems. When a dog or cat is assessed on its body condition the vets take what is known as a Body Condition Score (BCS), this scoring system works in a range from 1-9, 1 being severely emaciated with muscle wastage and bones visible through the skin and 9 being severely overweight. For dogs a good BCS is 4-5 then being overweight is 6-7 and obese is 8-9. In cats the perfect BCS is 5.
Being obese can have a negative affect on the animals quality of life and can leave them prone to a variety of different diseases. This has been shown in a test where Labradors were kept on a controlled diet from weaning and kept at a BCS of 4 resulted in a longer life compared to Labradors that were kept slightly overweight. The first test group also showed a lower prevalence to OA suggesting that keeping a BCS of 4 could help owners prevent and treat OA in Labradors.
There are many factors which affect why an animals may be obese, lets start with the factors that comes down to the animal which we don't really have control over.
The next set of factors are things that the owners have control over and can really have a dramatic effect on the BCS of the pet.
It has been found that some dog owners whose dogs have been given a bad BCS are sceptical, as they feel that its a major wrongdoing on their part, however as mentioned above there are many factors as to why a pet can be overweight. I think that it's important that if a pet does have a bad BCS then the owners have it explained to them by the vet, this will allow the owners to become more educated on the matter and maybe realise that its not all of their doing that their pet is overweight. They need to be told about the possible diseases that the animal comes more susceptible to when overweight and how the quality of life is reduced.
There are a few things that can be down for overweight pets the first is to put the animal onto a controlled diet which can be bought over the counter these are often called "light" diets and some owners feel that putting their animal on a controlled diet can cause suffering. This point is interesting because yes you are cutting down the number of calories the animal is eating so they may be hungry more often however in the long run you are reducing their risk of the many diseases linked with obesity. From the weight loss diet the animal can then go onto a maintenance diet which aims the stabilise the BCS of the pet and keep it constant. These two diets are good diets for pets losing and then maintaining weight however it is important to check that the food you are feeding your pets and the amount you are feeding them contains all of the nutrients that their bodies need. Another plan that the vets could give you is multiple feeding throughout the day this can reduce the begging for food from the pet. Also follow up consultations and check ups are vital so that the owners can see the improvement. There are a few downsides however to these controlled diets sold over the counter from the vets, they can be rather expensive for a bag , however if you think about it you are restricting the animals feed as well so overall you may be spending the same that you would on the normal food.
When trying to work out what an animals should be eating on a controlled diet it is good to start with a food diary and from there you can work out the average daily intake, from this you can start at 80% of the average daily intake, this will be the first steps in the weight loss journey, if it isn't possible to work out the average daily intake then a formula can be used which is. Resting Energy Requirement= 70x bodyweight(kg)^0.75 / kcal /day. This equation has a large error possibility so if used then follow ups are necessary.
When your pet is losing weight or trying too it is important to remember that it is a team effort, the whole family has to know not to give treats and overfeed the pet and the owner needs to keep working with the vet to ensure that the results are being seen and that the weight once lost is being kept off.
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this try to remember that over Christmas though it is tempting to give the pets little treat with all of the food that around, it can affect them not only if its a toxic food to the pet but also little and often adds up and we don't want the pets putting on too much weight over the holiday season. Again thank you for reading I hope you found it insightful and I wish you are a happy week, remember be happy, smile at people and be kind you never know where it'll get you, see you next week.
So depending on where you are in the UK geographically the percentage of pet obesity can be up to 60%, this is an astounding, shocking statistic because these overweight obese animals will have a lower quality of life and be more prone to things like diabetes, arthritis and heart problems. When a dog or cat is assessed on its body condition the vets take what is known as a Body Condition Score (BCS), this scoring system works in a range from 1-9, 1 being severely emaciated with muscle wastage and bones visible through the skin and 9 being severely overweight. For dogs a good BCS is 4-5 then being overweight is 6-7 and obese is 8-9. In cats the perfect BCS is 5.
Being obese can have a negative affect on the animals quality of life and can leave them prone to a variety of different diseases. This has been shown in a test where Labradors were kept on a controlled diet from weaning and kept at a BCS of 4 resulted in a longer life compared to Labradors that were kept slightly overweight. The first test group also showed a lower prevalence to OA suggesting that keeping a BCS of 4 could help owners prevent and treat OA in Labradors.
There are many factors which affect why an animals may be obese, lets start with the factors that comes down to the animal which we don't really have control over.
- neuter status
- sex
- age
- breed
- growth rate
The next set of factors are things that the owners have control over and can really have a dramatic effect on the BCS of the pet.
- exercise hours
- diet
- feed method
- humanisation
- underestimation of BCS
It has been found that some dog owners whose dogs have been given a bad BCS are sceptical, as they feel that its a major wrongdoing on their part, however as mentioned above there are many factors as to why a pet can be overweight. I think that it's important that if a pet does have a bad BCS then the owners have it explained to them by the vet, this will allow the owners to become more educated on the matter and maybe realise that its not all of their doing that their pet is overweight. They need to be told about the possible diseases that the animal comes more susceptible to when overweight and how the quality of life is reduced.
There are a few things that can be down for overweight pets the first is to put the animal onto a controlled diet which can be bought over the counter these are often called "light" diets and some owners feel that putting their animal on a controlled diet can cause suffering. This point is interesting because yes you are cutting down the number of calories the animal is eating so they may be hungry more often however in the long run you are reducing their risk of the many diseases linked with obesity. From the weight loss diet the animal can then go onto a maintenance diet which aims the stabilise the BCS of the pet and keep it constant. These two diets are good diets for pets losing and then maintaining weight however it is important to check that the food you are feeding your pets and the amount you are feeding them contains all of the nutrients that their bodies need. Another plan that the vets could give you is multiple feeding throughout the day this can reduce the begging for food from the pet. Also follow up consultations and check ups are vital so that the owners can see the improvement. There are a few downsides however to these controlled diets sold over the counter from the vets, they can be rather expensive for a bag , however if you think about it you are restricting the animals feed as well so overall you may be spending the same that you would on the normal food.
When trying to work out what an animals should be eating on a controlled diet it is good to start with a food diary and from there you can work out the average daily intake, from this you can start at 80% of the average daily intake, this will be the first steps in the weight loss journey, if it isn't possible to work out the average daily intake then a formula can be used which is. Resting Energy Requirement= 70x bodyweight(kg)^0.75 / kcal /day. This equation has a large error possibility so if used then follow ups are necessary.
When your pet is losing weight or trying too it is important to remember that it is a team effort, the whole family has to know not to give treats and overfeed the pet and the owner needs to keep working with the vet to ensure that the results are being seen and that the weight once lost is being kept off.
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this try to remember that over Christmas though it is tempting to give the pets little treat with all of the food that around, it can affect them not only if its a toxic food to the pet but also little and often adds up and we don't want the pets putting on too much weight over the holiday season. Again thank you for reading I hope you found it insightful and I wish you are a happy week, remember be happy, smile at people and be kind you never know where it'll get you, see you next week.
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