Exercise Programs for your Dog
When choosing the right exercise program for your dog there are things to consider. These things can range from the type of lifestyle you have to making sure your dog is healthy. Taking the time to write a list and figuring our your lifestyle with your dogs personality will help you to chose the right exercise program that fits.
One thing to take into consideration is making sure the environment suits the dogs' needs as well. If you have an active dog, exercise for them may be more like play than work. A wide area surrounding the dog will give it a chance to run around and play more. In doing this you are providing exercise for the dog and a fun experience.
If your dog is older or maybe not well with physical health, a program for exercise becomes a bit different. Taking smaller walks helps with giving the dog some exercise, especially if they have leg issues or back issues. You are not putting too much tension on the dogs areas of pain, but are providing necessary exercise for the dog to be healthy.
Always make sure you talk to your dogs health care professional as well. They can help you with determining what the right program is for your dog. Sometimes the program will help your dog to lose much needed weight or even rehabilitate an injury it may have.
Source: PetWave
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Helping Your Pet Lose Weight
The single most important step in any weight-reduction program is the acknowledgment that obesity is unhealthy and that weight-reduction is necessary. Unless an owner is convinced that obesity is dangerous to their pet's health, the commitment for weight reduction will be incomplete and the program will be doomed to failure.
The aim of any weight reduction program is to decrease the caloric intake (i.e. less food) and increase energy expenditure (i.e. more exercise). The first step in a successful weight reduction program is to have your pet examined by a veterinarian.
The reasons for this are two-fold:
1. To make sure there is no underlying medical reason for the obesity 2. To make sure your pet can be safely put on a diet.
Adjusting Your Pets' Diet
Once a veterinarian has examined your pet, it should be weighed and a goal should be set for how much weight is to be lost within a specific period of time. Ideally, your pet should be placed on a reducing diet. These diets are balanced rations that have all the necessary nutrients your pet needs, but less calories than full rations. Commercially available "light" or calorie-reduced diets are good for maintaining weight loss or preventing obesity, but are not recommended for a weight-reduction program.
Three to four small feedings a day actually results in more energy loss (i.e. calories burned) than one or two large feedings. You should feed your pet the required daily ration of food but divide it into three to four small feedings. At the same time, keep your pet out of the kitchen or dining room when meals are being prepared or eaten, since these tend to be the times that begging occurs and snacks are more likely to be fed to pets. Snacks and treats are probably the single most likely cause of obesity in pets and they account for the failure of most weight reduction programs. All snacks and treats including milk bones and table scraps/treats, should be discontinued for the dieting pet.
In addition to following your pet's diet, be sure to take your pet for a brisk walk at least twice daily for 15 to 20 minutes. For cats, schedule at least two 15-minute play times daily.
Monitoring Your Pets' Progress
During the weight reduction program, you should monitor your pet's weight regularly. This involves weighing your pet on a weekly basis and then charting the weight loss on a graph. Weighing should be done at the same time of the day, preferably before feeding.
Pets should be reassessed once the desired weight loss has been achieved so that the pet can be changed from a reducing diet to a maintenance diet. Otherwise, your pet will continue to lose weight.
Once the ideal weight has been reached and to make sure your pet does not regain the lost weight, be sure to avoid in-between meals snacks, make sure your pet gets enough exercise daily, continue to chart your pets' weight on a graph and feed a restricted-calorie diet.
Reprinted with permission from www.animalhealthcare.ca
