Obesity in dogs: causes, symptoms, treatment

Obesity in dogs is a serious enough disease. It develops not only when overfeeding a pet, but also due to other common causes. Overweight is extremely negatively affects the health of the four-legged pet, and therefore it is important timely recognize the main symptoms of the disease and start treatment dogs to prevent the development of pathologies.

Content

• 1 Main reasons
  • 1.1 Predisposition
  • 1.2 Hormonal failure
  • 1.3 Stress
  • 1.4 Inadequate exercise
• 2 Symptoms
• 3 Possible consequences
• 4 Treatment for obesity

Main reasons

Some owners feed the dog and between the main meals, which leads to weight gain

There are many different causes of obesity in pets, and the most common one is overfeeding. Many owners do not count portions and feed excessive amounts of food to the pet, ignoring recommendations on food packaging.

Among the main reasons it is worth highlighting:

• predisposition;
• hormonal disbalance;
• stress;
• lack of motor activity.

Predisposition

If in the family of a pet several generations of dogs suffered from obesity, the likelihood of developing this disease in him increases in repeatedly

Some dog breeds are predisposed to weight gain, and the preparation of their diet should be given Special attention. These pedigree dogs include:

• pug dogs;
• dachshunds;
• Golden Retriever
• French bulldogs;
• rottweilers;
• beagles.

The rapid set of extra pounds is affected not only pedigree, but also a genetic predisposition.

Hormonal disbalance

Imbalance of hormones in dogs leads to dysfunction thyroid and adrenal glands, which in turn is cause obesity. If the dog has an accelerated exchange substances, then he does not gain weight, even if he eats a lot of food, but with hormonal failure, metabolism most often becomes slow, and the animal develops an ailment.

Against the background of obesity in this case, the pet often there is diabetes, which is a direct threat to it of life.

Stress

The condition of the dog’s nervous system is significantly affected by such situations like prolonged separation from the owner, a trip to veterinary clinic and abuse

Surviving stress greatly affects the pet, and often he literally begins to “jam” him.

For this reason, stray people suffer from obesity. dogs that were taken to the family. For them, stressful factors is fear of being on the street again. They eat as if in reserve, afraid that they will no longer be fed.

Inadequate exercise

Lack of regular physical activity and active games on fresh air negatively affects health four-legged pet, and under the skin of the pet gradually fat begins to accumulate. Most often, the situation is compounded by the fact that the owner does not pay due attention to the calculation of consumed and calories consumed by the animal.

Especially negative is the lack of daily exercise affects the condition of dogs with a predisposition to rapid weight gain.

Symptomatology

Finding out if your dog is obese is easy. in appearance

Obesity in dogs has almost the same symptoms as in people. The main ones include:

• sagging belly, due to which the dog begins to hunch;
• lack of differentiation between the chest and peritoneum;
• visual shortening and thickening of the paws;
• fatty wrinkling affiliation;
• severe shortness of breath;
• lethargy;
• decreased sexual activity in males and irregular estrus in females.

If you ignore the problem, the dog may develop serious pathologies requiring medical treatment

Make sure the dog is overweight at home palpation will help. A dog should look good when examined palpated the last two ribs. If they are hidden under layer of fat, then this sign indicates the development of obesity.

The above symptoms are not characteristic of obesity. and may be signs of another disease. that is why with their If you find it worth it, contact your veterinarian. Save treatment is by no means possible, since at an early stage losing weight is much easier with the help of special diet.

Possible consequences

Being overweight negatively affects almost everyone the internal organs of the dog. Among the main diseases caused by obesity, it is worth highlighting:

1. Joint Musculoskeletal problems system in obese dogs appear most often in the first place. Under the joints of the dog inevitably deform under the influence of a heavy load and thicken, which is fraught with the development of arthritis and osteochondrosis.
2. Cardiovascular. Obesity is negative affects not only the work of the heart itself, but also the blood flow. Gradually, the dog’s blood cholesterol increases, which provokes the formation of blood clots. Pet develops hypertension.
3. Hepatic In an animal suffering obesity, adipose degeneration of the liver progresses. First sign the development of disease is the yellowing of the eye proteins, which happens triggered by an increase in the concentration of bilirubin in the blood.

The most dangerous diseases caused by being overweight are diabetes and pancreatitis. In addition, obese dogs have significantly immunity decreases and they become vulnerable to thermal shock.

Obesity treatment

The successful fight against the disease directly depends on the desire of the owner help pet

Dog obesity treatment should begin with balanced diet. If the pet is eating natural food, then its owner should be familiar with following recommendations:

• exclude fatty foods from the diet;
• reduce portions (it is better to feed the dog more often, but little by little);
• add fruits, vegetables, buckwheat and oatmeal to the diet;
• feed lean meat (rabbit, turkey, chicken);

Cooking for a four-legged pet is necessary only on water, without adding salt, oil and various spices. The owner needs ensure that the pet consumes enough filtered water because the fluid promotes the exchange substances.

In a veterinarian, a specialist can develop for a four-legged pet specialized diet. Most often, veterinarians offer the following dietary regimens:

The process of losing weight should be gradual, because excessive metabolic acceleration also affects the condition animal. Veterinarians recommend combining diet with moderate physical activity, increasing the walking time at first by 5, and then for 10 minutes every day. So the dog will start gradually lose weight and get used to long walks.

An important point in caring for a four-legged pet is making a balanced diet. Don’t ignore him since it inevitably leads to the development of obesity and other serious illnesses.