This post is sponsored by Hill’s. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about Hill’s® Science Diet® Perfect Weight Food, 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.
Overweight dogs are more common than you might think. When pet owners with overweight pets were asked if they thought their pet was overweight, only 11% said yes. So, even if you don’t think your pet is overweight, there is a reasonable chance that they could be.
How Do I Tell If My Dog Is overweight?
The first step is to see a vet and ask. Even among purebred pets, there are ranges of healthy weights. Like humans, all dogs are unique and the perfect weight for one dog might not be the perfect weight for another dog of his same breed. Veterinarians are trained to determine the health of a pet so seeing your vet is the best way to tell.
If you want to get an idea of your pet’s health condition between vet visits, there are resources you can access online that might help. The video below does a great job of discussing overweight dogs and shares some resources available to pet owners who might be worried that their dog is obese or overweight.
A quote that stuck out to me in the video was “If you can’t see your pet’s ribs or feel them while placing your hands on the side of their chest, they are probably overweight.” Did you realize that you should be able to see your pet’s ribs? Most pet-parents that I know would worry that their pet was underweight if they could see ribs.
One resource mentioned in the video is the PetMD Healthy Weight Calculator for pets. You put in your dog’s age, weight, breed and body condition and it will give you an estimate of their level of health.
You can also use this Pet Weight Score guide.
If after trying the calculator and seeing where your dog lands on the guide, you determine that your pet is possibly overweight then it’s time to make a vet appointment to discuss their weight. Your vet may recommend changing to a diet that is better suited for your dogs size, breed, age and activity level. There are special foods such as Hills Science Diet Perfect Weight food, which is made from natural ingredients helps your pet burn calories even if they aren’t very active. On Perfect Weight food, over 70% of pets were found to lose weight when taking the 10 week turnaround challenge of eating the food for 10 weeks.
Have you ever looked into whether your pet(s) could be overweight? What do you do to help your pet maintain their health?
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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.
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