Most dogs are food-motivated. Many to an extraordinary degree! My GSD mix, Kita, gets so excited when I get out treats that she can’t even listen to how to earn them, and I have to wait, ignoring her for a few seconds, until she calms down! And that’s when the “treats” are just pieces of her kibble. If I get out hot dogs or chicken, it’s more like a 3-minute wait!
Humans like to feed people. We celebrate holidays and special occasions with a big dinner. We serve coffee and cookies to visitors automatically. Candy is considered a special gift and now we’re even making “bouquets” out of food! Feasting and hospitality have been ingrained in our cultures for so long that it might be almost a genetic pre-disposition to shove food at those we care about — and that certainly includes our dogs! I read in a novel by D.E. Stevenson years ago that “if people are very fond of someone, they want them to be just a little bit plump.” That’s a paraphrase, but the point is clear; we equate food and the result of eating it with affection!
Combining how much dogs love food and how much we like to feed them, it’s not surprising that many dogs are overweight. There are extreme cases, like the Dachshund who was so fat his feet couldn’t touch the floor. When I was volunteering at the Humane Society, a Beagle was brought in, weighing at least twice her ideal! She’d been kept in a crate nearly 24/7 and given food every time she made noise! Those are extreme cases, but if we’re honest, most of us would have to admit that our dogs are carrying some extra poundage!
Part of it is not enough exercise. Just like us, if a dog lies around all day, it’s metabolism slows down and the fat piles on! Part of it is those labels on the dog food bag that give a recommended feeding schedule. Bear in mind that the dog food people are trying to sell MORE DOG FOOD. The companies aren’t lying — exactly — they just don’t mention that the dogs those figures are based on are walked vigorously for hours every day. Most of our pups AREN’T! So, one step is to make sure our pups get more exercise and eat less.
If you feed a good-quality food, a dog doesn’t need very much to keep at a good weight! Kita, at optimum, is around 84 pounds. She gets 1 cup of food twice a day. She also gets additional as treats during training, so that’s maybe another 1/2 cup total. Putting a cup of food in a bowl sure doesn’t look like enough for my big beast! But if I give her more, the beast gets a bit porky around the ribs!
Keeping your dog LEAN isn’t MEAN! It goes against all our instincts, but it’s best for the dog! For a while, Kita’s weight was over 90 pounds. During that time, she blew out a knee and had to have surgery. I really wonder if she’d been 8 pounds lighter if that would have happened? I’ll never know, but I’m trying a lot harder to keep her slim since then — partly because I don’t want her to re-injure that knee, and partially because the vet said dogs who blow one knee are statistically very likely to blow out the OTHER one.
The number one cause of joint problems in dogs is that they are carrying too much poundage! It’s easy to tell if your dog is too plump! Feel the rib-cage. Can you easily feel each separate rib? If there’s a thick layer of fat, that’s not good! Look down at your dog’s back. Is there a defined waist? There should be an hour-glass indentation after the ribs and before the hips. Look at her from the side. Does her tummy “tuck up” towards her flanks? If the answer is “No” to any of the above, she needs your help to slim down. Of course, a Greyhound will always be slimmer than a Bulldog, but ANY breed can be too fat!
Our dogs only have us to take care of them. They are totally dependent on what and how much we feed them. If you put a big bowl of food down and let the dog eat as much as she wants — just like us – most dogs will eat more than they should! (Labs are notorious at over-eating!) If food is left down all day, most dogs will put away a lot of extra — snacking! I strongly recommend three feedings a day for puppies up to 6 months old and two meals a day after that. Feed only a measured amount and put bowl down for 15 minutes — pick up what isn’t eaten after that. Only give the same amount at the next feeding — don’t add on what was left in the dish! It may be that the dog doesn’t need that much food at a time! Don’t let the dog fool you into thinking she’s starving. Like most of us, dogs enjoy snacking and if they don’t have anything better to do, they’d like to eat!
Of course, it’s a balancing act — feeding just the right amount. First getting the pooch down to where she’s not wearing a pouch, then giving her enough so she doesn’t KEEP losing weight. Just don’t think that feeling ribs means she’s too skinny! For the good health of our dogs, we need to be just a wee bit hard-hearted! We might feel guilty, but that’s no reason to indulge the dog in a way that will harm her! No table scraps and treats only when training! It’s hard because we love them so much, but especially where food is concerned, our dogs can EASILY have too much of a good thing!
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