This post is sponsored by Hill’s. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about Hill’s® Science Diet® Perfect Weight 10 Week Turnaround, but Emily Reviews only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc. is not responsible for the content of this article.
We all know someone with a pet that has a big rounded belly. I know a few dogs who have curved backs as well so they take on the body shape of a donkey almost. It’s easy to pick out those dogs as being at an unhealthy weight, but at least from the dogs I see those are the rare exceptions. Yet, over 50% of pets in the US are overweight. This statistic was really eye-opening for me. It’s hard for me to accept that 50% of the cats and dogs that I know aren’t at their perfect weight. I know that my friends and family members want their pets to be healthy, and I bet most people with overweight pets don’t realize their cat or dog could stand to lose some weight.
Being even a little bit overweight can be quite problematic for dogs because it’s a larger percentage of their overall size. For example, a small dog that is 5 pounds overweight is roughly equivalent to a human being 30 pounds overweight. To compare your dogs weight to your own check out this human to pet weight comparison tool.
I’ve always found pugs a bit frustrating when it comes to weight loss. They are stereotyped as being an unhealthy breed because they love food. My pugs definitely love their food but I’ve never had a problem with denying them table scraps. Still, they have a lot of excess skin which makes them look rather unhealthy at certain angles or poses. One way to tell if your dog (pug or otherwise) is at a healthy weight is to see if they have a “waist” when you look at them from above while they are standing. In other words, your dog should be thinner in the area above their back legs. If this area is as side as their ribs or the rest of their back, they are likely overweight.
My pugs are small and don’t tolerate hot or cold temperatures well so there are large portions of the year where we aren’t able to go on long walks. I know it’s impossible for them to maintain a perfect weight if they don’t get exercise, so we stay outside as long as they comfortably can in any temperature. In the winter we may only go outside for 10 minutes but every little bit of exercise can help. When the weather doesn’t let us exercise outside, we exercise inside instead. It might sound silly, but we play fetch with their toys in our living room and kitchen area and it’s enough space to count as exercise for the pugs because their heart rates get raised for several minutes at a time.
Keeping an eye on your dogs food and treats are also an important part of dog weight loss. Check out this treat translator tool to see how damaging table scraps are for a dog compared to a human.
Not sure if your cat or dog is overweight? The video below can help you find out.
If you know that your pet overweight, don’t panic. There are ways to get your pet back to their perfect weight such as exercise and diet changes. Hills Pet makes the Perfect Weight line that is specifically designed to help pets lose weight. 70% of cats and dogs who switched to Perfect Weight food lost weight within 10 weeks. 40% of all dogs are toy or small breeds. Being even a little overweight can be really damaging for these little dogs because it’s a higher percentage of their overall weight. Hills recently came out with the Perfect Weight Toy & Small Breed variety of food to help toy & small dogs reach their perfect weight.
Hi there! I am Emily Evert, the owner of Emily Reviews. I am 28 and live in a small town in Michigan with my boyfriend Ryan and our two pugs. I have a large family and I adore my nieces and nephews. I love reading memoirs, and learning about child development and psychology. I love watching The Game of Thrones, Teen Mom, Sister Wives and Veep. I like listening to Jason Isbell, John Prine, and other alt-country or Americana music. I created Emily Reviews as a creative outlet to share my life and the products that I love with others.
This post currently has one response.
Wow I love that Treat Translator Tool. It really shows how bad treats are for our precious pooches. I love small breeds so will make a note of this dog food for the future.