It’s time to cover a touchy subject – weight / body condition in dogs. The prevalence of obesity in dogs in Australia is approximately 44%.
This is a topic that’s important in pet dogs, and even more important in sport dogs. Obedience, agility, IGP, endurance, tracking, fly ball, and others all involve stressors on the body which are made worse by weight. Jumping in particular adds much more force per kg that the dog is carrying. Pet dogs still have those stressors when running, jumping or going for a walk, but it is more pronounced and repetitive in pets that also train or compete in sport.
It’s not just the stresses on joint and muscles either. Being overweight has been proven to be a factor in many diseases, such as:
- Elbow arthritis now been proven to be significantly more likely in overweight dogs[i]
- Ruptured Cranial Cruciate Ligament. Do you really want to spend thousands on CCL surgery for your dog followed by months of rehab? CCL tear is a common injury in pet dogs. Weight is a leading cause of CCL tear in dogs[ii]
- Cardio-respiratory Diseases. Obesity is an important factor in the development of tracheal collapse in small dogs[iii]. There is also evidence of weight being a factor in heatstroke, laryngeal paralysis, portal vein thrombosis and myocardial hypoxia.
- A study of many Labradors (including litter mates) followed their entire lives showed that dogs that were not overweight averaged 1.8 years longer lifespan. Fat mass over 25% was also a reliable predictor of morbidity.[iv]
- Multiple studies have also shown that puppies that are overweight are much more likely to develop hip dysplasia.
What does this mean for you? Nothing drastic! You don’t need to go to extremes, even if your dog is obese. Gradual lowering of calorie intake combined with exercise appropriate to your dog’s fitness level will make your dog happier + healthier.
If your dog is fit and healthy already. great work! Keep it that way and your dog can enjoy a longer healthy life with you!
Just remember that a dog who does sport should be a 4/10 on the BCS scale, and a pet dog should be a 5.5-6 / 10 at the most.
[i] M. Sallander, A. Hedhammar, M Trogen. J of Nutrition, Volume 136, Issue 7, Pages 2050S to 2052S
[ii] Brown DC, Cozemius MG, Shofer F S. Vet Comp Traumatol 1996; 9: 75-8
[iii] White PAS. Williams JM. Tracheal collapse in the dog. J Small animal Prat. 1994; 35:191-6
[iv] Lawler D, Larson B, Ballam J, Smith G, Biery D, Evans R, Kealy R – Diet restriction and aging in the dog: Major observations over 2 decades. British Journal of Nutrition, 99 (4) , 793-805
Shaw Paws Fitness 