Pet obesity a growing problem in the UK

I never thought that this problem was such a big one in the UK, I expected that from the US, but not from the UK!

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/mar/26/pet-obesity-a-growing-problem-in-the-uk

 

Pet obesity is obviously following the trend in human obesity, this is a serious issue as it can cause unnecessary suffering to an animal and can be disabling to them. It can be more prevalent in certain breeds and things like age, the sex of the animal and owner habits are all a factor in obesity.

The condition can be due to several reasons, obviously overfeeding, lack of exercise and lack of regular veterinary intervention. I think the modern world we live in is a factor in this, people leading busy lives who do not have time to exercise their pet properly, also owners not feeding themselves with the right nutrition then passing these habits on to their pet by giving them unsuitable food, also overfeeding due to misplaced kindness is an issue. Pet obesity is totally preventable without any great difficulty so there is no excuse for it.

 

I had no idea it's such a common problem!
Unfortunately, my Homer is slightly overweight too. Everyone here loves him very much and spoils him. It's just too hard to say no to him. Now, we feed him a special diet dry food.

 

The one to three ratio sounds very similar to the human ratio. Clearly it is a growing problem. I can't say any of my girls are obese not that I know exactly how to measure it. The closest would be my Zola who I doubt would be considered obese, but perhaps thick or hefty dog. She is way to active to obese I think. I stopped and check to see if I could see something that helps me determine if my dog is overweight, I found this interesting video that seemed to be talking about things I should be paying attention for my own health.

http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/digestive/c_multi_Obesity

 

Wintery, you'd know for sure if your dogs were obese, if they look thicker than normal then they're overweight, if they're waaay bigger than a dog their same size, then odds are they're obese. I've rarely seen obese dogs over here tho, but when I do... it's not hard to tell it is indeed obesity.

 

Sometimes it's not that obvious. We wouldn't have known that Homer needs to go on a diet if his veterinarian didn't weigh him Homer didn't look fat at all. He had a really long and fluffy hair back then

 

Hehehehe! Yeah, sometimes isn't obvious, but sometimes it is. It sounds to me like your Homer isn't severely overweight, maybe a little, but not much. He looks healthy to me

 

He was on a diet for about two months. During that time, he ate special diet dry food and we were giving him vegetables instead of his favorite bread treats. He still weighs too much, but it should change during the summer. He always gets a lot of exercise when it's warm outside

 

Nice!!! It sounds like Homer has a great vet!!! Wish our vet was like that, my frida is a bit fat, but the vet has just said she'd be on a diet. Didn't instruct me what food to buy for her, she just told me to be careful with the quantities... and I'm like: come on! I'm not good with my own quantities

 

Haha, I'm not good with my quantities either And I never know how much food Homer eats Dry food should be sold in portions that are right for one dog. It would make our lives so much easier!

 

Yes!!! Sometimes I'm not even sure how much is too much, specially when I am cooking food for only one day!!!! Only for two people! Hehehe, so my cat and dog always end up getting a little too much food I need to go back to using measuring cups.

 

Measuring cups are so useful! I should buy one just for Homer. But it's hard to measure his food when he barks impatiently and jumps around me He always does that before eating.

 

Little Homer needs to learn to be a little bit more patient My frida wakes me up very early in the morning, mostly because hse needs a morning break and also because she feels very hungry in the morning

 

At what time does she wake you up?
Fortunately, Homer's favorite person is my father, not me, lol, so I don't have to get up early in the morning. He always barks at my father's door around 5 am

 

At 6 a.m. She started doing that since day one... I remember hearing her all hurried up in the morning the first day, me thinking she had made a mess the first day but to my surprise my smart girly hadn't done that! Wow, that is early? I guess that is so he can go on his potty break?

 

Homer likes to start his day early In winter, they always go for a walk before sunrise Of course he could do his business in our garden, but he prefers to go to the park

 

Hehehehe, that is nice! So your dad trained him so he'd do his business in the park? Wish mine did the same! LOL. The place where I am going people do that all the time, they take their dog out for a walk so the dog does their business. Some carry special bags to pick after their dogs of course, but others just don't.

 

We didn't train him to do his business in the park. It was his choice
Most people here carry those special bags too. And there are many trash cans where you can dispose them.

 

I think most dogs prefer it My mom's dog prefer it that way to, for some reason he always felt like dong his business after a good walk He felt that way after we gave him a shower, always, lol.

 

Haha, Homer always tries to run away to our garden right after a bath and roll in the grass. He can't stand being clean! I'm pretty sure the smell of the shampoo annoys him.