Pet Obesity - Are You Contributing To Your Pet's Shortened Life?

[ashley ross]

There is an obesity problem that exists today not only in many of our
children, as well as many adults, but also in our pets. As many
families see their pet as a member of the family and 'spoil' them
accordingly, research shows that this is actually hurting them in many
cases. Pet obesity, just like obesity in humans causes higher risk of
diseases as well as shortened lives. Some of the problems causes by
our own over-pampered pooches include: severe respiratory, cardiac,
metabolic and orthopedic, which are all severely worsened by obesity.
So, why is this happening? I feed them the right food, right? In many
cases, the obesity is simply caused by those little things people tend
to do out of habit, not really taking in what the effects will be in
the future.
Many pet owners tend to 'overdo' it in the doggie treat arena where we
are giving our pets way too many treats which have a surprising amount
of calories in them (over 100 calories in many!). Also, remember those
scraps at the dinner table? "Oh it's not that much. I'll just give it
to Spooner here. He'll love it!" This scenario is one of the main
reasons our pets are fat. Of course, many families will not admit that
their pet is obese, so there are also tests we can utilize to assist
with finding out if and how much our pet have become obese. Two of the
biggest steps would be to turn your pet over on their back and feel
their chest. You should be able to feel their rib cage with no
problem. If you cannot, or can hardly feel it then your pet has quite
a layer of fat on top of there. Next, just by looking at the pet you
should be able to see their waist tucking in just before the hips. If
these two things are not present, then it may be time to help that
furry friend slim down....

http://groups.google.com/group/dogfoodmave