Obesity in the Dog

What is obesity?

Obesity is an excessive accumulation of fat at the adipose storage areas of the body leading to increased body weight above the optimal physiological weight. Dogs weighing 15-20% or more than his optimal physiological weight are overweight; over 30% they are obese.

We have to be particularly careful with neutered dogs whose energetic need reduce by 30% as soon as the day after the surgery, with very sedentary dogs and with some breeds known for their tendency to put on weight, like the Labrador Retriever for instance.

Problems caused by obesity

Obesity negatively influences an animal’s quality of life and contributes to a number of diseases. There is a well interplay between the state of obesity and the health status of the individual. Obesity is a risk factor in the development of medical conditions affecting the joints, the lungs, the heart, diabetes etc.

How to fight obesity?

The ideal diet has to limit the energy intake but without creating deficiencies for the dogs or reducing the appetence of the food. The dog must get a balanced ration and get the feeling of being full, so that he does not beg for food.

More kibbles, less energy
Royal Canin has developed exclusive nutritional solutions – the LIGHT range – to help dogs reduce weight without suffering hunger. The product has a low density so that the volume is much superior to a standard product but without any increase of energy. We can observe until 30% of energy reduction for a same volume with MAXI LiGHT for example!

How to detect obesity?

1. Don’t introduce any changes to your puppy’s food the first day after taking him home.
2. Don’t stand over your puppy while he is eating.
3. Don’t feed your dog at the table.
4. Don’t force your dog to eat, and don’t feed him from your hand.
5. Don’t add anything to balanced dry food to encourage your dog to eat it.
6. Don’t take your puppy’s food bowl away while he is eating.
7. Don’t give titbits to your dog because you feel guilty or as a means of saying hello.
8. Don’t “treat” your dog with “Sunday lunch”.
9. Don’t use feeding as a way of making your dog happy.
10. Don’t worry if your dog does not eat exactly the amount that is indicated on the packaging.

(File developed with the help of the veterinarians of the Royal Canin Research and Development Centre).