The Obesity Epidemic: The Serious Impact of Excess Weight on Your Dog’s Health
Approximately one in five household dogs are reported as overweight or obese, and the implications on quality of life and health are vast. Excess weight in dogs can lead to shortened lifespan and a number of chronic health issues, including increased risk and severity of osteoarthritis and impaired kidney function.
In a study done on Labrador retrievers, half the dogs were fed a full amount (control group) and half were fed 25 percent less (lean-fed group). Researchers found that dogs in the lead-fed group developed fewer health problems than those in the control group. Even at only 30 weeks old, there were fewer incidences of hip dysplasia in the lean-fed group, and at two years old, 66 percent of the control group had hip dysplasia compared to 29 percent of the lean-fed group.
Even when excess weight wasn’t the cause of a dog’s osteoarthritis, the severity of the disease was increased. In the study, the number of dogs in each group with osteoarthritis of the hips did not change between the ages of three and five, but the severity of the disease did. The osteoarthritis in the lean-fed dogs, with less body weight, increased much less than the disease in the control dogs.
In addition to arthritis, obese dogs are more likely to experience orthopedic injuries due to increased joint stress, and helping your overweight dog to lose weight can significantly ease symptoms of osteoarthritis in the hips. A study on 14 dogs showed better function in their hind legs and an improved gait after a body condition score reduction to 4–5 from 6–8.
Impaired kidney function is also among the numerous issues faced by obese dogs. Another study comparing a group of obese dogs to lean dogs demonstrated that in the early stages of obesity, several structural changes to the kidneys occur. These changes are likely the precursors for kidney disease caused by long-term obesity.
But the most serious impact that obesity has on canine health is an overall reduction in longevity. Of the dogs in the Labrador study, the lean-fed dogs had less body fat and lived 1.8 years longer than the dogs in the control group.
Losing weight safely
Given the number of serious diseases and illnesses that stem from or are exacerbated by obesity, one can conclude that obesity is one of the largest threats to health faced by domestic dogs. And considering the pain associated with orthopedic injury and osteoarthritis, it’s also a threat to quality of life.
If you need advice about your dog’s weight, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. The best way to help your dog lose weight is to feed the correct number of calories for their ideal weight. Resist the urge to run your dog hard in an effort to shed weight, as this can lead to injury, and a slow recovery process is yet another challenge faced by obese dogs. We also believe that, as with humans, the best nutrition for canine weight loss is a fresh, bioavailable, whole-food diet.
