I saw Charlie last week. Seeing him again just reminded me how important it is to have a hard look at the food you’re giving your pet when faced with an overweight problem. Charlie is a 6 year old Aussie that was referred to me for weight loss about 2 years ago. Little did I know all the problems Charlie had: overweight, history of a cruciate rupture, a seizure disorder, hypothyroidism and allergies. Charlie needed the help of a sling to get up. Upon examination, Charlie had the worse back muscle spasm and a lot of pain in his hindquarters. We agreed to work on his weight loss/pain with acupuncture and looked at his diet. Literally, Charlie had 25 pounds to loose. It was even a challenge to locate acupuncture points on him, even when shaved. Looking at his diet, we figured he had a lower then normal calorie intake and ½ of them were coming from empty calories. Why wasn’t he losing weight?
Charlie started showing more energy after a few sessions of acupuncture and he was ultimately able to exercise more. Within a few months of acupuncture and a change of diet, he did not need his sling to get up. And he has now officially lost 15 pounds. Way to go Charlie!
There is no magical cure to lose weight or to maintain it. It is better to prevent obesity by a sound feeding plan from the get go and regular examinations. Weight loss in a healthy pet is done by restricting calories and increasing exercise. However, just decreasing the amount of food can lead to deficiencies if you are not giving the right diet. Some diets are expressly made for weight loss because they compensate for all the nutrients in face of a lower then normal amount of calorie intake. A home made diet can be formulated too if the owner wishes. Food is one of the key to loose weight, as well as exercise, looking at contributing health factors (hormonal disease, mobility problem, etc.) and examining the behavior associated with feeding (when is the meal served, owner’s belief, begging, snacks, treats, who feeds, etc). A sound weight loss program will look into all those different factors.
Please, do not change your pet’s diet or attempt a weight loss program before talking to your primary care veterinarian; you may do more harm then good. Some medications can see their blood level change with diet change (like Potassium Bromide).
Stay tune for a list of what obesity can lead to!
There is no magical cure to lose weight or to maintain it. It is better to prevent obesity by a sound feeding plan from the get go and regular examinations. Weight loss in a healthy pet is done by restricting calories and increasing exercise. However, just decreasing the amount of food can lead to deficiencies if you are not giving the right diet. Some diets are expressly made for weight loss because they compensate for all the nutrients in face of a lower then normal amount of calorie intake. A home made diet can be formulated too if the owner wishes. Food is one of the key to loose weight, as well as exercise, looking at contributing health factors (hormonal disease, mobility problem, etc.) and examining the behavior associated with feeding (when is the meal served, owner’s belief, begging, snacks, treats, who feeds, etc). A sound weight loss program will look into all those different factors.
Please, do not change your pet’s diet or attempt a weight loss program before talking to your primary care veterinarian; you may do more harm then good. Some medications can see their blood level change with diet change (like Potassium Bromide).
Stay tune for a list of what obesity can lead to!
