As with humans, weight management is important to maintain a healthy life style. Whether you are trying to help your family member gain, lose or maintain weight, here at Dogapy Rehabilitation we will work with you to achieve these goals.
Both obesity and being underweight are classed as a form of malnourishment, since the body is not getting all of the nutrients it needs in the correct quantities to run at its optimum level – known as a homeostatic state.
An ideal body condition score is not just how much they weigh but how they look and feel. An ideal body condition score will be different for each animal as they are all individuals – no one size fits all! As a basic guide, your pet should have a slight hour glass figure, going in slightly at the hips. The ribs should be felt over the chest with only a small amount of pressure being needed. If the ribs are visible and no pressure is needed, they are likely too thin. If a lot of pressure is needed, they will most likely need to lose some weight.
Why is too much weight unhealthy?
As with humans, there are many associated health risks with obesity, ranging from diabetes to osteoarthritis and exercise intolerance.
When an animal gains too much weight it affects the whole body. Not only does it add extra pressure on the heart, causing exercise intolerance, but it puts pressure on the joints, making it harder to move – a vicious cycle!
It will also change the way an animal holds itself as they try to disperse the extra pressure evenly. This will then lead to compensatory issues and associated pain