QOur 8-year-old Labrador Retriever Sadie is obese accordingto our vet, and he wants her to go on a weight management diet. We do not wish to feed her commercial kibble. Please advise.
J.M., via email
A Overweight pets are on the increase, and obesity is one of the most common health problems we see in pets these days. As I tell my clients, it is a man-made issue, as pets cannot feed themselves; we overfeed them or feed the wrong diet and make them obese.
Obesity-associated health problems also account for many of the reasons clients bring their pets to us nowadays. It can safely be said that some one in three pets are overweight today.
A dog or cat is considered obese if it has over-accumulation of adipose (fat) tissue exceeding 20 percent above ideal body weight and considered overweight if this is between 10-20 percent. In simple terms, obesity is a result of expending less energy than the energy intake. Therefore,
