OBESITY IN DOGS

 

Central Idea: There are many health problems attributed to obesity in dogs, but it’s easy to determine if your dog is overweight and it also isn’t hard to help your dog lose weight and keep it off.

 

Introduction:

 

  • I. After living in Texas for many years, I finally moved back to Ohio and got to meet the dog that my parents had adopted while I was away.
  • A. I had only known this dog, whose name is Smokey, through the pictures my parents had sent to me of a fuzzy black puppy.

    B. Although I knew that Smokey wasn’t a puppy anymore, I was very surprised to see that he had grown up into a fuzzy black FAT dog!

    •

    II. After telling my parents repeatedly that they shouldn’t feed Smokey so many table scraps, I decided to take it upon myself to do some research into obesity in dogs.

    A. I learned about the health problems attributed to obesity in dogs.

    B. I learned how to show my parents that Smokey was, indeed, fat.

  • C. I learned what owners of obese dogs could do to help their pets lose weight and keep it off.
    •

    III. From my research I found that there are many health dangers associated with obesity in dogs, but that it’s easy to determine if your dog is overweight and that it also isn’t hard to help your dog to lose weight and to stay in shape.

    • (Transition: First, and most importantly, obese dogs are more susceptible to many more diseases than are dogs who are not overweight.)

     

    Body

     

  • I. Although obesity by itself won’t cause your dog any significant health problems, it does increase the risk of many other diseases.

    A. Obesity increases the risk of diabetes mellitus.

  • 1. In this disease, the dog has a deficiency of insulin, the hormone that controls the blood-glucose levels in the body.

    2. This disease can cause blindness and requires the owner to give the dog insulin shots throughout the day.

    B. Obesity increases the risk of hypertension--high blood pressure.

    1. This disease increases the strain on the dog’s heart and may cause a heart attack and, possibly, death.

    C. Obesity increases the risk of cancer, skin disease, and infections.

    1. Each of these significantly reduces the quality of the dog’s life and also reduces its life span.

    •

    • (Fortunately, you can help prolong and enhance your dog’s life by performing a couple of easy tests to determine if your dog is overweight.)

     

    II. There are two easy ways to determine if your dog is fat.

    A. First, run your hands over your dog’s chest.

  • 1. If you can barely feel your dog’s ribs or cannot feel them at all, your dog is probably fat.

    B. Second, when looking down at your dog from above, compare his chest, abdomen or waist area, and his hips.

    1. If these three areas do not form an hourglass shape, it is likely your dog is fat.

    C. It is important to note that these signs may indicate some other condition or disease (such as pregnancy).

    1. It is recommended that you contact your veterinarian if you suspect your dog is overweight so he or she can check your dog for other conditions.

    •

    • (If you find that your dog is overweight, only you can help him lose weight and get back in shape.)

     

  • III. If you find that your dog is overweight, it is up to you to figure out what caused him to become that way and it is also your responsibility to help him to get back in shape.
  • A. Feeding your dog table scraps or simply feeding him too much dog food are the two most common causes of obesity in dogs.

    1. Human food contains far too much fat for a dog’s system to handle.

  • a. If you cannot resist your dog’s sad brown eyes begging from you while you eat, simply put the dog outside or in another room during meal times.

    2. Most adult dogs only need to be fed once or twice a day.

    b. Chose a quality low calorie dog food to feed your dog, follow directions on the package to find out how much to feed him, and stick with a consistent feeding schedule.

    •

    B. If your overweight dog is a "couch potato" and isn’t very active, that inactivity is likely the cause of his obesity.

  • 1. Taking your dog for a 15-20 minute walk every day is a good way to help him lose weight.

    2. Playing with your dog and getting him to chase balls or sticks several times a day is a good way to get him to work off some of his fat.

    •

    • Conclusion

    I. I think I finally convinced my parents that Smokey is indeed fat and that it isn’t just his curly hair that makes him look so round.

    A. The last time I visited them, I didn’t see them giving him any table scraps.

    B. I also noticed that they were feeding him a low calorie food.

  • C. My mom also said that Smokey’s collar slipped off of him when she was taking him for a walk.
  • 1. This convinced me that they were actually following my advice because not only was she taking Smokey for a walk, but since his collar slipped off, he had probably already lost some weight.

    II. Let me give some final advice for my parents and anyone else with an overweight dog.

    A. Dogs can be great companions and friends.

    B. Unfortunately, their life spans are relatively short.

    C. Don’t shorten their life by contributing to or even causing them to become overweight.

    1. It’s easy to do--fortunately it is also easy to undo.

    Bibliography

    •

    Faculty and Staff of the School of Veterinary Medicine University of California, Davis. Book of Dogs: A Complete Medical Reference Guide for Dogs and Puppies. New York: HarperCollins, 1995.

     

    •