Seattle Dog Spot

Daisy at 64 pounds. CNN.com

Over the weekend CNN had a good report on the increasing prevalence of pet obesity in the US. This shouldn’t be a huge surprise since numerous studies have documented the rise in obesity of Americans – this 2010 report for the Center for Disease Control said that over one-third of US adults are obese.

In the story CNN said a 2011 study by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention said that 53% of adult dogs were overweight and 21% of them are obese. Both numbers are up slightly from 2010.

Ernie Ward, a veterinarian in NC and the group’s founder, said that, as in humans, excess weight causes a host of health problems including “high blood pressure, ‘crippling arthritis,’ diabetes and some cancers” which can shorten their lives by two or 2½ years.

Daisy at 34 pounds. Yes, this is the same dog! CNN.com

Why are our dogs getting so fat?

Part of the problem is that almost 25% of dog owners with overweight dogs didn’t realize their pets were overweight. You can’t fix the problem unless you know a problem exists.

Another problem that I think has popped up over the last decade or so is that as more people have begun feeding their dogs healthier, nutrient dense food they don’t realize that they should be cutting back on portion size because these foods provide balanced nutrition in much smaller portions than low quality dog food.

If you switch to a high quality dog food you have to cut back on portion size or your dog is going to gain weight.

Lastly, many of us don’t realize how much exercise a dog really needs to stay healthy. Those of us who grew up in the 60′s, 70′s, and 80′s who didn’t live in a big city rarely took our dogs on walks - we just let them out in the morning and let them in at the end of the day. Our dogs took care of exercise on their own, and we didn’t realize that a medium-sized, healthy dog needs at least an hour of exercise a day, and herding dogs need twice that much.

About 41 million dogs are overweight - CNN.com

The pet obesity problem does have a fairly simple solution. Feed your dogs less, and exercise them more.

That just doesn’t mean cutting back on portion size and taking longer walks. Feed them fewer treats, and look for lower calorie alternatives. Make sure everyone in your household knows about your dog’s new diet regimen. And be sure to consult a veterinarian before you put your dog on any type of weight loss program.

Here are some tips regarding what you can do to determine if your dog is obese.

The Association for Pet Obesity Prevention will release the full report this week.

Here’s the video from CNN that accompanied the story: