Doggy Steps and Ramps

A reader asks…

What is the best type of food to feed my golden retriever dog to avoid obesity?
My dog is starting to get overweight, and I need to prevent further weight gain. It is not a lack of excersise because he gets plenty of it.

I was told that I should only feed him dry food, but I do not wish to cut can food out because he loves it. Is there any other alternative?

I feed him half a 700g can of food, and 1 and a half cups of dry food a day. He gets basically no food in between. My dog is 1 year old. Is this approximately the right amount of food to feed him??

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A reader asks... hey guys i have a 7 1/2 yr old female yellow lab, who's very happy and still acts like a puppy, but is in the upper 80 lbs. She has some fatty deposits around, so were trying to lower her weight. We try to walk her twice a day but is there anything we can do with her diet to help her lower her weight? ...Continue reading...

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A reader asks... My dog, Jackson, is a lab mix. He is 4 years of age, and is obese. His weight at the moment is probably between 80-90 lbs, and it's suppose to be 50-60 lbs? Now, I'm not really the owner of this dog. I'm just the daughter in the family and am concerned about Jackson's weight. He seems to be on his way to a shorter life, already having epilepsy [which he takes medication for, making his personality as dull as an old door knob]. Anyway, the main problem in the family is my parents. They treat the dogs like children which means spoiling, spoiling, and more spoiling. They've tried to cut back, but i don't see it. And since we live in florida, exercising the dogs can be hard. Especially if they don't behave on the leesh. I've tried nagging them to not spoil the dog so much but it just doesn't help, instead it annoys them. Anything I can do? He also is on a diet food we get from the vet. He's basically just in a really hard predicament. We got a trainer, because our puppy has some bad habits.. [they spoil her even more than him right now] and the trainer, he just feeds the dogs even more. ...Continue reading...

A reader asks... I was driving home today and saw a morbidly obese man walking two dogs. Small dogs. (Erm, lets say short dogs!) I couldn't tell what breeds the dog were. They appeared to be mostly white, but they were very bulky for their height. I actually had to pull over because I couldn't determine what these little balls of fat were supposed to be. They were Jack Russell's. Easily 30 pound Jack Russells! Quite disturbing as those poor dogs are clearly in horrible health! So what breeds did you have trouble identifying because they were so overweight? ...Continue reading...

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A reader asks... Should dogs and other pets be included in effort to loose weight, I mean if the owner decides to loose weight should they also include their overweight dog if they have one? My question is inspired by Biggest Looser, l love that show. ...Continue reading...

The most common nutritional disease for dogs has become obesity. Canine obesity has been linked to a pet's lack of exercise, hormone issues and a slowing metabolism. Overwhelmingly however, dog obesity can be contributed to improper feeding techniques, specifically eating too fast. Eating too fast can not only lead to obesity and bloating but it can dramatically increase a dog's chance of choking ...Continue reading...

A reader asks... How can people tell if their dog is overweight? I heard that obesity is one of the main health concerns for dogs. And that like 48% of dogs are overweight and only less than half of their owners realize it or admit it. How can I tell if my dog is to heavy? And what could I do to help him be fit? ...Continue reading...