struggling to get your cat or dog to lose weight well it's one thing to know
weight needs to be lost it's quite another initiating a weight loss plan
there's no one-size-fits-all solution as every family circumstances is unique
however there are some great general strategies that can all help to ensure a
successful weight loss program is formulated so your pet can get back to a
healthier happier life Hi I'm Dr. Alex Avery from OurPetsHealth.com helping
you and your pet to lead a healthier happier life in the second video of our
obesity series I'll tell you how we can get your overweight cat or dog back to
their healthy weight if you aren't sure if your pet is overweight or don't know
the dangers of being obese then check out the first video in this series first
up it's important to recognize exactly what to taste your pet has been fed in
the past does it really only get two meals a day what about the crusts of
toast of breakfast a post walk to the mid-afternoon biscuit when you have a
coffee the welcome back from work treat clean up after the children throw their
food on the floor or the good night leftovers if we don't recognize where we
are going wrong in over feeding our pet and we cannot hope to treat this disease
to the best of our ability now broadly speaking there are 4 components of
any successful weight loss program which are diet
treats exercise and finally monitoring your pets regular veterinary practice is
the best place to go for advice on how to manage each component and many run
special veterinary clinics which provide valuable information and support using
their expertise you can easily find out what your pets target weight is what the
most appropriate diet they should be fed on is how much exercise to give them and
how to maintain a healthy weight once this goal is reached there is no
substitute for individual assessment by a trained veterinary team member for our
truly obese patients safety is key and any weight loss program should really be
overseen by your family vet okay so let's look at each of these program
components individually starting with diet now the ideal weight loss diet
should fulfill a number of criteria it should ensure that our pet feels full so
they voluntarily eat less and don't
constantly feel hungry or beg for more food the diet should provide all of the
essential vitamins and minerals needed to maintain optimal body health they
should favor the loss of fat and ensure that muscle mass is maintained it should
also be tasty no pet would choose to eat cardboard or sawdust now changing our
overweight pets onto a specially formulated weight-loss diet will ensure
that all of the above are met to the greatest degree possible and so
maximizing your pets likelihood for losing weight for those pets that are
only slightly overweight reducing the amount of their current diet or
switching them on to the light version while at the same time cutting out high
energy treats can also be successful however very often this strategy results
in a little weight loss at the start only for the loss to quickly taper off
well before our pets ideal weight is reached
now this lost weight is often then relatively quickly put back on and it's
so frustrating especially once weight loss has been attempted and failed it's
often never tried again for animals with a lot of weight to lose we also tend to
find that the simple light diets or their normal diet fails to control
feelings of hunger and that results in increased begging and also results in
the loss of muscle rather than fat which all help for the diet to fail the way
we feed our chosen diet can also play a significant role slowing down our pets
food consumption can mean that they choose to eat less and will also
increase their feeling of fullness slowing down fast eaters can be achieved
with maze bowls spreading their diet out in the garden or hiding it in a crumpled
sheet just be sure they don't eat the sheet you can also get treat balls or
food balls and now these have a hole in them and your pet needs to move them
around the floor and really play with them for the food to then fall out and
them to get a tasty reward now regardless of diet being fed consistency
of amount is also key it's a great idea to weigh out each day's food and treat
allocation and store this in a separate container now this means that anyone in
the house knows that only food from that container can be fed each day and it's
also helps you denny further dietary modification need to be made weighing
the food out daily in a plastic cup and then marking this level on the side also
means that from then on it's super quick to check that you're not feeding more
than you should now treats is the next factor to
consider we all like to give our pets treats it makes us feel good and our
pets certainly enjoy them but treats however are generally loaded with
calories to such an extent that for a 20 pound or 9 kilo dog a hot dog is the
equivalent of a person eating three hamburgers an oatmeal biscuit is
equivalent to one hamburger and for a cat a single potato chip is equivalent
to half a hamburger and a one ounce or twenty grand piece of cheese represents
half their daily energy requirement you can see then how it is often treats
alone that are responsible for our pets being overweight in the first place
we are literally killing them with perceived kindness now we can break this
Treat habit in a couple of ways we can absolutely still give treats but we need
to first ensure that the treats don't make up more than 10% of a pets calorie
intake and also stick to lower calorie treats which can range from commercial
light treats through to raw carrot broccoli and green beans or plain air
pop popcorn and rice crackers we can also simply keep back a handful of our
pets diet at mealtimes and use this as treats throughout the day now a final
thought about treats is to consider the fact that treats are things that bring
joy they don't have to be food instead give your pet your time play with them
take them for a walk teach them a new trick you'll both feel rewarded by this
and as a bonus they'll be exercising and this brings us nicely to the next
component of a weight loss program exercise all of us can appreciate that
exercise is an important tool to any weight loss program after all if you
increase the amounts of energy used surely weight loss must be the result
well unfortunately the degree at which exercise helps our overweight cats and
dogs is not as much as many of us would like to think increasing exercise alone
without making dietary changes will never result in a successful outcome now
having said this should we increase the exercise our pet gets absolutely
exercise plays several critical roles but the most important being the
maintenance of muscle which ensures that any weight loss is due to the reduction
in body fat and not a reduction in the amount of muscle exercise will also act
as a treat for your pet removing the temptation for us to give them snacks
and also help to stop them from begging for food it also provides mental
stimulation and improves our pets general quality of life so what exercise
should we be doing well simply increasing the length and frequency of
normal exercise routine is of great start now don't expect too much to start
with as an obese cattle dog is likely to tire very quickly as they get fitter
they'll be able to exercise more which is very satisfying to see and a great
marker of their improved quality of life we also need to be really careful with
things like throwing balls for our obese pets as the forces involved with
suddenly stopping or turning can result in injury such as ligament damage
consider joining a dog training or agility class for a great physical
workout as well as a mental workout as well as providing both you and your pet
with a fun and sociable experience controlled exercise in other forms such
as hydrotherapy is an excellent strategy and is especially appropriate from
animals suffering from joint disease or animals with owners who are unable to
exercise them more regularly by other means
now cats can be a bit more tricky obviously after all not many will
happily exercise on a lead or come when called we can still get them to exercise
though it just takes a little more creativity now cats love to climb and
explore so setting up a jungle gym might be just the ticket
they love to stalk pounce and chase so playing with some string or ribbon can
really encourage this now be certain though to tidy up well afterwards the string
that gets eaten can result in a surgical emergency a ping-pong ball to chase can
be very effective and a laser pointer or flashlight is generally enough to excite
even the most Placid feline now I urge restraint when the use of a laser
though is it's easy to end up with a cat who is constantly looking for that red
light to chase and with cats short frequency games are better than long
sessions play should stop or the toys should be changed as soon as your cat
shows signs of losing interest it's also very important to take into account any
other condition your pet may be suffering from and this is why your vet
team is the very best people to advise you on what the most
appropriate exercises for each individual pet the last thing we want to
do is to increase the risk of orthopedic disease or heart problems in an at risk
individual now the fourth and final component of our weight loss program is
monitoring we want to be certain that our efforts are resulting in weight loss
and we want to know how fast this weight loss is taking place we also want to
know that all this effort is resulting in an improvement in our pets quality of
life after all and this is why we're doing it now our aim is a loss of one to
two percent of body weight every week and dogs half to one percent in cat
with a commonly achieved rate of loss being about 0.8 percent it
is also important that the weight is not lost too quickly especially in cats
where there is a real risk of a potentially fatal condition called fatty
liver or hepatic lipidosis so long as no more than 1% of body weight is lost
each week then it will not be a concern for an obese animal that is at least 30%
overweight you can see that a weight loss program is a real long term
commitment and there's no such thing as a quick fix it is a commitment though
that is well worth it a happier healthier life so we've weighed our pet
and they haven't lost any weight or haven't lost enough weight now it's easy
to feel disheartened but stick with the program make some changes and you will
be rewarded any recommendation in amount of feed is only a starting point and the
amount may need to be reduced to achieve weight loss also check that none of the
rest of your family members are sneaking your pet extra treats a feeding record
or chart or a food diary can really help prevent this are we ourselves giving in
to their begging more than we should well then ensure we are feeding the best
diet to reduce this begging behavior are they being given too much at daycare or
simply helping themselves to the neighbors food bowl a little detective
work can go a long way to get them on the road to their healthy weight now
regular weigh-ins that your vets is a great way to track progress and stay
motivated I know nurses and vets simply love to
see their obese patients lose weight and this enthusiasm can really help to keep
you motivated especially if you're feeling a little disappointed about slow
progress after all we'll often talking about a 3 to 6 month time frame for a
healthy weight to be achieved and the majority of our overweight pets now even
if your pet never makes it down to their healthy weight remember that every
little really does help we know that a lighter pet has a better quality of life
and even a 6% loss in body weight can make a significant difference in comfort
levels in our arthritic patients as well as focusing on weight loss monitoring
general demeanor and activity levels can help to highlight one of the major
reasons for undertaking a weight loss program consider how much energy your
pet seems to have how active they are on walks how far they are able to run and
how quickly out of breath they become how willing are they to play have they
started doing activities they stopped doing or activities that they've
never done before if we can see the difference weight loss is making then we
can be clear of the need to continue on the path for our pet
achieve their healthy weight okay so we make it we finally managed to achieve
weight loss in our pets brilliant your pet will be happier and healthier as a
result we've not finished yet though there are a couple of final jobs left
first give you some big pat on the back weight loss is difficult and it is all
too easy to let things slip back and revert back to old habits only around
half of owners that commit to a weight loss program are still going strong after
six months be part of that winning 50% final challenge therefore is to maintain
our pets new healthy weight and try and resist the creeping increase that often
occurs if we've managed to achieve weight loss while maintaining a normal
or light diet keep going by feeding the amount appropriate for their new weight
if you've had to use a weight loss prescription diet then it's generally
better to change onto a specially designed weight maintenance diet keep up
with the low-calorie treats keep up with the exercise and in all cases keep up
with weight monitoring so that should things slip action can quickly be taken
before your pet becomes overweight or obese again your pet will thank you for
it now I really hope that this video helps our pets to achieve their healthy
weight and it gives you some useful tips and tricks and motivation needed to
successfully complete the weight loss journey this will all lead to a
healthier happier life if you have any questions if you have a weight loss
journey or tips that you'd like to share with everyone then please leave a
comment down below I would love to hear from you also consider subscribing so
that you don't miss out for future content and help me to continue to help
you and your pet and live healthier happier lives so until next time i'm dr.
Alex from OurPetsHealth.com your pet our family