Occasionally, it is hard for owners to determine whether their dog is overweight.
The first step in evaluating your dog's weight is to determine the ideal body weight for your dog. Setting an ideal body weight depends on a dog's breed, age, and physical activity level. Your veterinarian is a great resource to help you determine a correct weight goal for your dog. When an animal is overweight, it weighs 5 to 10 percent more than its ideal weight. An animal is considered obese when it weighs at least 20 percent more than its ideal weight.
Dogs can also be body conditioned scored, which is a subjective determination based on looking at and feeling the dog. Viewing the dog from the side and from above will help identify the appearance of a waist and abdominal tuck. The ability to feel fat covering over the ribs is also a factor in determining a body condition score. Two systems of body condition scoring can be used (5 or 9 point scale). Body condition scores of 6 or greater on a 9-point scale indicate an overweight dog.
By monitoring the weight of your dog and conducting a body condition examination, you can positively impact your dog's health. Your veterinarian can help make recommendations on increasing or decreasing your dog's food. It is also important to consistently measure the dog's food.
Read the following article for more information on how to successfully body condition score your dog:
Body Condition Scoring Your Dog.
