Hyderabad: Ready-made food, lack of exercise, junk food, irregular meals and heredity are the prime reasons for obesity in dogs.
The ideal weight depends on the breed of the animal. Too much beef, mutton or chicken increases a dog’s weight quickly. Obesity directly affects the heart, causes blood pressure, sugar, liver and kidney problems in dogs. It also reduces the life span by up to five years, according to veterinarians. By the time they are seven or eight years of age, obese dogs start losing their teeth and sometimes go blind.
Dr Aluvala Anjaiah, former deputy director of the Super Specialty Veterinary Hospital, Narayanguda, explained, "Obesity is also hereditary, but primarily, bad food habits and lack of exercise is the cause. Mostly, their movements are restricted with human activity.”
Dr Anjaiah said obesity is seen more in breeds like Labradors, pugs and small breeds. “When children eat junk food and sweets, they feed their pets as well. Some breeds do not eat much, but out of affectionate feeding they too put on weight. Female dogs put on weight after they undergo ovary hysterectomy, it is mainly due to hormonal imbalance,” he said.
Mr A. Venu Gopal, resident of Red Hills and owner of a 15-year-old Labrador said, “Tuffy was 53 kg in May, when we approached a vet. Tuffy was found to be very healthy but the vet asked us to reduce his weight to 35-37 kg. Earlier, his diet for a year was Royal Canine, boneless chicken or mutton. But after the doctor’s advise we reduced it to egg, curds and rice.”
Also, overfeeding puppies may lead to excess production of fat cells and a tendency to become overweight later in life.
Dogs should be fed a high-quality, palatable diet that is not too high in fat, vets say. One option to limit their caloric intake is to reduce the amount of their normal food, or switch to either a low-calorie or a less-flavourful food.
