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Too Many Dog Treats?I love dog treats and, when you are as crazy about your dog as my family is about me, it might be easy to overdo it. I speak from experience! A healthy weight for me is about 58 pounds. At one point, just a few years ago, I ballooned to nearly 80 pounds! Don't mention the enchiladas!
Is my head too small for my body? Since I don't particularly like the nickname, "horse dog," I decided, with my family's help, to manage the dog treats properly and get healthy. After nearly a year, we did it! But, only by taking a dog-sense approach to my diet. Don't Let Them Call You "Horse Dog!"You can generally avoid overfeeding by simply following the directions on the back of your dog's food bag.You want to be sure your dog has an ideal body condition. The ribs should not be highly visible, but you should be able to see and feel their outline. You should be able to see your dog's waist, (slendering from the chest and ribs to the belly) when viewed from above. Otherwise, if the belly is rounded when you look at your pal from the side, you have yourself a fat dog! I eat a dry dog food (better for my teeth than wet) and on the back of my food bag it says I should be eating 2 & 1/2 to 3 & 1/3 cups per day. I am in Senior dog status these days, so follow those instructions. But, I feel like a pup! We keep a measuring cup in the bag (that measures 1 cup) and I get one cup of the dry food in the morning when everyone is eating breakfast. I also get one cup in the evening at dinner time. Since I am under the recommended amount, this leaves good room for dog treats! So, just follow the instructions on your dog's food bag while also considering your dog's age, breed, metabolism and activity level. Use good dog-sense! Watch your dog's body condition and make any adjustments needed to those suggested by your food's manufacturer. And, leave room for treats! How Much if Homemade?If you utilize homemade food for your dog, you may find it easier to overfeed your pal. The best way to get a handle on this is to try to do comparisons based upon total calories.For my overall nutritional needs, if 3 cups of my dry dog food is the right total daily amount for me, I can look right on the bag and find the calorie equivalent. Some quick math (I am talented in so many ways) tells me that I need about 1,125 calories per day. Just read the back of a bag in your local grocery to define a good starting point for your homemade food. You will then need to measure and count calories (as you might for your own diet), when you put together your homemade dog food recipe. After that, as suggested above, see how your dog does and adjust accordingly. Treats Please!As a general rule of thumb, table food and other treats should not make up more than about ten percent of your dog's daily intake.As always, if you have any doubts or your dog is struggling with weight issues (up or down), be sure to discuss it with your dog's Doc. By the way, I am now "healthy dog," rather than "horse dog," just by following this simple, dog-sense approach to dog treats and overall eating.
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A Sensible Dog Food Roadmap for Good Health
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