An article about the increasing incidence of overweight animals. https://psmag.com/it-s-not-just-all-of-the-people-around-you-that-are-getting-fatter-c8a00c093a08#.sdtfaemgk
70% of pet owners don't even know their pets are overweight and it pisses me off to see it too. They just keep feeding them. Keep them lean, keep them keen. We over feed our animals as it is. In the wild they don't eat every day, so I dunno why we feed them everyday. My dog gets one bowl a day of kibble and whatever we don't eat. Man, some people I know would double that just for their dogs breakfast.. There's a problem there, conditioning your animals to accept so much food and they're all too lazy to exercise them properly. It's sad. Too many fat dogs.
I'm guilty of keeping dry food out for the cats all the time. lol But they really aren't overweight...the inside ones aren't. Princess outside is a Big girl; but she she doesn't eat that much. I think she is big because she doesn't move around very much. Its bad when people let their dogs get really obese because it is so unhealthy for them. With dogs the size of German Shepherds, Border Collies, Golden Retrievers (and similar) it is common for them to develop hip problems which is magnified when they get overweight. A woman I know has fed her poor little dachshund so much (she is big as a refrigerator) that the dog can just barely get around. Its pitiful and sad. but yeah...in order not to have an overweight animal (dog especially) - 1st you don't feed them all day and night AND (most importantly) you have to get your ass out there and exercise the animal.
I Have 5 Types Of Dry Food......2 Types Of Wet Food......Plus Milk And Water Out Every Day And Have Done So For Over 35 Years......Never Had A Overweight Cat.......But Then Again Living In The Country With A Cat-Door That Is Never Locked Means They Have Lots Of Healthy Things To Do Instead Of Just Laying On The Couch....... Cheers Glen.
Many people just read the feeding guidelines on the bag, and follow the instructions, or just fill the feed bowl when it's empty, unfortunately. They don't take into account their pets activity level, or lack of one if that's the case. I have come across so many people who are clueless as to what their dog was bred to do. For example; working breeds thrive when they have a job. If they are just forced to sit in the house, or yard, all day they are not doing what is in the best interest of their breed (instinctual behaviors) and overall health. This is one of the many causes that will make dogs run back and forth along a fence barking uncontrollably. Sheer boredom, and poor training! They often end up overweight, with multiple health issues as a result. Dogs do not have to perform the specific job of their breed (ie: herding, hunting, etc) to be stimulated mentally, but they do need some interaction that gets them moving and thinking. Play fetch, hide treats, take the dog swimming, hiking, or whatever activity is possible, and enjoyable for both the dog and their person. I have a Bloodhound that I regularly take for hikes, and hide things so he can do what he was bred for; we put his nose to work (he adores our Siamese, so we hide the cat, and the cat has also gotten into the game and likes messing with the hound by hiding and calling out to be found. It's fun for both of them). It also makes him calmer, and much more well behaved in a family setting. We also have an English Pointer (hunting breed/sight hound) who we run, and have him seek out objects using his instincts and training (again, the Siamese helps out, lol). If we fail to do so for a couple of weeks, he is a pain in the butt because he gets bored and destructive. It saddens me to see a high energy dog breed turned into an apartment pet, with very few stimulating activities. They are often poorly behaved, and constantly acting out seeking attention. Instead of their owner recognizing that their dog is trying to communicate its boredom, they just get corrected/punished and called "bad dog!" My old neighbor allowed her Lhasa Apsos to bark for hours on end (until they were hoarse EVERY day). She only corrected the issue when she was fined multiple times for noise/nuisance violations. I felt bad for the dogs, they needed a home that would interact with them. Instead they got tossed outside in pouring rain, high heat, and even snow, and became the neighbors problem, barking at all hours of the day. They were show dogs, and the ONLY time she would pay attention to them is when she groomed them for a show. Otherwise, they were ignored, with matted fur, and poorly trained. Poor dogs!! I really wish people would do a little research about a breed before deciding to bring it home. There are dozens of breeds that are content to be lazy, and curl up in a lap. Just as there are dozens of breeds that are more than happy to be hiking or jogging partners. Both the dog and owner will be happier with a good fit. Humane societies are packed to overflowing because so many people get the wrong dog for their lifestyle, or training abilities. Its tragic! Sorry for my rant. I have rescued dogs for about 30 years now, and will continue to do so, because I believe dogs deserve to be happy, despite the poor choices another person has made for them. It really isn't that hard to have a happy and healthy dog or cat.
I could give my dog food 3 times a day but the majority would just lay there, he stops when he had enough. If he would get an unlimited amount of meat he might get overweight though. But he mainly gets dogfood. 1 time a day is more than enough. Easypeasy!
Just last week I agreed to cat sit for a friend whilst they went away for a few days. The cat in question is a big tabby tomcat, but he's way over weight. Big fat belly and a build-up of fat around the shoulders and neck. And when I looked at the feeding instructions I'd been left, I'm not surprised. She's been massively over-feeding him. Nearly 4 sachets per day of meat or fish cat food, plus about 25 of the crunchy things. I contrast that with my daughter's cats who get half a sachet twice daily and a small amount of dry food and thrive on it. Although they're smaller cats, they're not that much smaller. I cut him down to 2.5 sachets per day and continued the dry stuff as before. The cat seemed quite happy, and acted very friendly toward me, so I don't think it was too harsh. I've advised my friend to continue that regime and see how it goes. Since I only see the cat on average once a month,which means you notice changes more than if you're with them all the time, I'll keep an eye on his progress. This woman is a person who for years had dogs and only got the cat about a year ago. Thing is, cats are opportunistic where food is concerned, and some of them will stuff themselves given the chance. I think maybe some who are new to cat care don't realize that some cats, if not most cats, will put up some show of hassle for food even when they don't really need it. You have to learn to know when they really do need a feed and when it's simply trying it on with their human companion.
Every dog I've ever had has been self feeding (you leave a bowl out all the time with food in it, they eat when they are hungry) and haven't had obesity problems with any of them. I find it helps them not be so possessive over food like other dogs I know that will growl and snap if anyone gets too close to their food bowls. You actually have to monitor how much your dog eats and train it at the beginning though, you can't just leave a bowl out and ignore it when it's a puppy. Exercise is necessary too.
That's called grazing, and something I was strictly told not to do by my trainer. Probably depends on the dog, but German Shepherds are working dogs and conditioning them to graze is unhealthy for them because if they need to eat they need to eat and you can't work them 45 mins before or after eating. We worried when we first had our boy because he didn't eat very much. We were told leave the bowl for 10mins max. If he hasn't eaten, take it away he's lost his chance. We tried different ways like, feeding him next to the rabbits got him worked up because he needed to finish so the rabbits wouldn't eat it lol. Anyway, after time he learned that if he didn't eat when we fed him then he didn't eat. There's a really old book written in the 70s okay not too old but outdated and it's called something like "dog psychology". Anyway it's a good read on how different species react differently and the psychology behind it. You can starve a dog of water for a week. You can starve it from food for months. This was training methods used long ago, but the author claimed that they do work and it's in that book that states that most owners don't know their animals are overweight, inactive or just unhealthy. It's hard to actually underfeed a dog unless you're a complete neglective asshole, but you can over feed your dog in just one meal, and so many people do, then offer it another 2 meals during the day.
I've never had any big work g dogs like German shepherds. Mostly terriers and a goldendoodle grazing as you call it definitely works for them. My roommate has a pit bull though and I doubt she would be able to self feed well.
Our german shepherd wasn't taught anything by the way. He was a difficult eater as well (of course he has no issue with tasty meat leftovers but that is just not his diet). We just left his bowl out there all night, changed the brand of food a couple of times. You have to refresh it after a night and day of course, otherwise he won't touch it just because it gets a bit old and moldy but he will eat eventually. I guess we are lucky where it comes to the chance of overfeeding him with dog food. It seems just not possible. Other dogs we had before were entirely different: they even ate all the fruit that fell from the trees in the garden until they puked My shepherd doesn't touch any fruit.
A good rule of thumb MGHT be to take care of your pets much like you do yourself. I love dogs and am acutely keen on their check ups, diet, and comfort. There is nothing quite like having a great dog in my book.
