Dog Obesity Assessment
It is fairly easy to recognize an obese dog. Besides having an utterly rounded body, you may also notice your dog is reluctant to play or walk unless is mealtime, and possibly pant more with a slight exertion of any kind. At this stage, you don’t need this assessment or veterinarian to tell that your dog is packing way too many pounds before you begin your dog’s weight management program.
Assessing slightly overweight dog base on look, however, can be very tricky especially breeds with furry coats like Bichon Frise, Collies, or Pekingese as their luscious coat may conceal their excess fresh underneath it.
Two Methods of Recognizing Canine Obesity
The first step in effectively managing obesity is to recognize and acknowledge the problem. There are two ways of assessing your dog weight. One is by weighing your dog using a bathroom scale. Unlike small breeds that can stand on the bathroom scale, for larger dogs you’ll have to subtract your weight from the combined weight figure to determine your dog’s weigh. If yours is a purebred dog, the breed standards can give a clear indication of what is considered to be the ideal weight. For mixed or designer breeds, you still be able to gain an approximate idea by comparing his weight with that of a purebred dog of similar size and height. The second method is to do a physical examination—the look and feel method.
Look and Feel Obesity Assessment
A healthy dog body should look as if it is in proportion. The normal distribution of fat on a dog’s body includes a thin layer under the skin, other layers between the muscles of abdominal wall, and some deposits in the abdomen.
Ask Yourself These Questions:
Top View
- Does my dog have a visible indention (waist) behind his ribs?
- How easy is it to feel my dog’s ribs and spine?
- Does my dog’s tail look and feel thick?
Side View
- Does my dog have a slight tuck-up-belly between the ribcage and hindquarters?
- Does my dog have a large or wobbly belly?
If your dog does not have a discernible waist, has a large rounded belly, tail looks and feel thick, and you are unable to feel its ribs or spine, your dog is probably obese! Keep in mind that some fit, smooth-coated breeds you probably won’t notice the ribs but nevertheless they should be easily felt; a fat layer of more than 0.5cm over the ribs suggest the start of obesity.
The best way to detect obesity in your dog is to weigh your dog and observe his figure. This method is refer as Body Condition Scoring (BSC).
Preventing obesity is the single most crucial thing you can do to prolong the life of your dog.
If your dog is not overweight but want to know how fit he is, here (coming soon) is the dog fitness assessment chart.
Series Posts on Dog Obesity:
- Dog Obesity: What Are The Health Risks?
- Behavioral Consequences Of An Overweight Dog
- What Causes Obesity In Dogs
- Dog Obesity Assessment
- Weight Lose Program For dogs
- Dog Obesity: Prevention and Maintenance Programs
Activity