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Is Your Pet Overweight? How to Tell (and Help Him Slim Down)

 

active-with-pet-585Getting Active Together

Providing activity for your pet is another way to help them lose weight or maintain a healthy weight. Talk to your veterinarian about any restrictions they may have, such as limited-impact exercise for dogs with joint issues or for puppies.

When Bruce was losing weight, not only did we cut back on the portion size of his meals, but we also added in physical exercise. For him, this came in the form of walks, slower jogging and play, but, the possible ways to exercise a dog are nearly endless.

Photo courtesy of vetstreet.com

Photo courtesy of vetstreet.com

Here are some creative ideas to get your dog moving:

  1. Puppy pushups: Ask your dog to do a sit, then a down, then a stand. You can intersperse small waistline friendly treats on occasion for doing the behaviors.
  2. Get your dog moving: Talk to your veterinarian about ideal fitness goals for your pet. Just as it’s important to build up to activity as a person, it’s important for a dog as well. Over time and according to your veterinarian’s guidance, the distance, speed and difficulty of terrain covered can be gradually increased.
  3. Interval training: Intervals are a great way for people to stay fit and can be fun to do with your dog as well. Talk to your veterinarian about any concerns they may have regarding exercise intensity, such as precautions to not overdo it in the heat, even more important with flat-faced breeds. Hills, stairs and sand are ways to increase difficulty with the environment. Also, play with timing so that you can monitor the amount of time needed for recovery and rest between  intervals.
  4. Come when called games: You can get your dog moving by asking them to follow after you in a “come when called” game. While out in the yard, ask your dog to “come” and then start trotting off in the other direction. When the dog catches up, reward with a small treat, toy, praise or other positive reward. To up the exercise, call the dog back and forth between people to increase the distance and speed they go.
  5. Consider using food puzzles with your dog: Or, other ideas are to toss their kibble out for them to find when scattered on the lawn. You can also toss out pieces of kibble for your dog to retrieve and then toss another one out again once they get back to increase the distance they go.
  6. Biking with your dog: I love biking and it’s an activity I’ve done with dogs since I was a child. There are numerous bike attachments that allow for you to bike with your dog alongside. This can be intense exercise, so talk to your veterinarian to ensure your dog is up for the challenge and build up steadily. Be mindful to exercise in the cool of the day and to stop for rest and water breaks as needed.
  7. Water exercise: Dogs that love the water often thrive with the low-impact exercise provided in water. My Pug, Bruce, did this type of exercise after an injury he incurred as a young dog. He was kept fit and his leg kept strong by getting him moving and following food lures in the bathtub and in water, like the creek and lake. It’s important to keep your pet safe using pet-specific lifejackets and always providing a way for them to easily get out of the water, such as pet ramps and stairs if in a pool, boat or other area the pet may need extra help getting out.
  8. Play is a form of exercise many dogs enjoy: Think of games that your dog enjoys, such as fetch. Even for dogs that don’t know how to fetch, many can be taught how to do so. I did this with my Pug, Willy, who was not a natural fetcher. But now, he’s more into toys and retrieving than ever because he learned what a fun game it could be.
  9. Dog sports: Find ways to get your dog involved in work or sports that get their body and mind engaged. For my own pugs, we are right now working on getting them doing dog joring with the omnijore harness from Ruffwear. This awesome harness allows the hookup to be attached to numerous things the dog can pull. We are working to pulling both my daughter’s wagon and a bike. Other sports dogs enjoy are agility, herding, treibball, dock diving and more. Or, make up a line of work for your pooch, such as carrying their own water in a dog backpack on your walks with a weight approved by your veterinarian.

Here are some additional activities specifically for your furry feline:

  1. Cat play with a wand: Cats love to move after toys that resemble play. Even the most unmotivated, laziest of cats can often have a toy brought out that captures their attention. Sometimes it just takes finding the right way to play with the cat that is enticing for them. Try different types of toys and try play both with a wand up in the air similar to how a bird would move, or on the ground like a mouse. Have both a wind up to the full intensity and a wind down for a cool down physically and mentally for the cat. Follow. up play with a treat to end the pretend hunt with an actual reward to finish the predatory sequence. Remember treats need to only be small and can suffice many times being the size of a pencil eraser.
  2. Laser toys: Laser toys are exciting for many cats. As long as the cat is allowed to end the play with a swat at something real, such as moving the laser on top of a toy, and then followed up with a food reward, the predatory sequence can be ended and frustration reduced for the cat.
  3. Self play for cats: There are independent toys cats can play with on their own that are electronic and move on their own. Look for different versions to keep your kitty’s attention even while you’re occupied.
  4. Walks: Friendly and social cats may enjoy being taught to walk on a cat harness and leash. Many felines enjoy getting outdoors and can do so safely if kept protected on leash by their people.
  5. Hunting for meals: Use food puzzles and hide the cat’s meals on perches or other areas that require the cat to move to get their food. If a cat is new to food puzzles, avoid over-stressing them by starting off easy with food in two or three bowls set out a few feet from one another and gradually spacing out overtime. Then, the game is just to find them all!
  6. Training: Train your cat to touch a target and to come when called. Cat training may sound daunting, but it’s easy and cats love to learn! Targeting can be a way to get your cat moving physically as they jump up and down from obstacles and use physical energy doing so. The come when called can be used to get your cat moving as they work to find you and run up to you when you call.

Sound like fun? That’s because many of these exercises are really a great time for both you and your pets! Mikkel

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Comments

6 Comments
  1. Cassie says:

    What an interesting article! Lately my family has been debating whether or not my dog is overweight. I’ll definitely check up on it!

  2. Dewy says:

    Excellent article,
    I guess it is harder for a pet parent to accept that their pet is over-weight than them to accept their own weight.

    The problem lies with the activity levels, pets, people – everyone is doing less activities and taking more idle and rest times.

    I guess it is time to just go out and get some running, jogging or exercises done,

    thanks,
    Dewy,

  3. Joli Tripp says:

    Great info! We love our furr babies so much that we reward them with food everytime they look at us with their big beautiful eyes. These are great tips. Just keeping my 2 kitties from sleeping 23 hours a day is my battle. They eat, they sleep. That’s it. But feeding them a natural diet of grain free food has done more for their weight than anything else I’ve done.

  4. Will Shaw says:

    Interesting post!
    The problem lies with the activity levels, pets, people – everyone is doing less activities and taking more idle and rest times
    L.ately my family has been debating whether or not my dog is overweight. I’ll definitely check up on it!

  5. kalpana S says:

    Useful information. I observed dogs also suffer from weight problems due to health issues. You have discussed causes of gaining weight and also it can increase the risk of breathing problems and over-stressing joints etc. Can you suggest any other blog for getting instructions to prevent weight gain in pets? Along with this article, I would like to share about the hamster pets which were established as popular small house pets.

  6. kalpana S says:

    I have already read some information about how pets are suffering with overweight problems. Here you have given some instructions on how to get active the pet such as biking with your dog, puppy pushups and water exercises etc. This blog is continuous to that blog. Thanks for sharing. Apart from this article, I learned about the facts about hamsters as pets which have become established as popular small house pets.

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