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Dog Obedience Training –Overweight Issues

By: Nev Allen

If you are overweight and unfit, would you think it fair and reasonable for your boss to demand you do work that is physically demanding?

If you weighed a lot more than you should then you should be asking yourself, “Would I expect myself to be happy running a 160 meter long obstacle course, jumping over obstacles and clambering over high A Frames, or just being made, on a daily basis, to climb up and down sets of stairs?”

Your answer was probably, “No, of course not”. Yet in every one of the basic obedience and basic agility courses we run at club, I see people dragging their grossly overweight dog around the field.

It is plain to see the animal is in no way enjoying itself.

When I see this, I ask the owner if there is any medical reason why their dog is carrying all that extra weight and would they be prepared to put their dog on a strict weight loss diet and exercise program.

Shame on you if you have an overweight dog. There is no excuse for it other than the dog is being overfed and under exercised. If you cannot feel the ribs, and cannot see any slimming from behind the rib cage back towards the hips, then you need to reform your ways immediately, because you are killing your dog with kindness.

It is never too late to start a diet and exercise program and for older dogs, you will be doing them a huge favour by ensuring that their achy old bones are not being forced to carry unnecessary blubber.

I currently own 5 border collies, with the smallest bitch weighing 18 kilos and the large male weighing 23 kilos. A slim and trim Labrador would not be very much taller than my male but may be a little heavier , maybe around 28 kilograms.

To obtain any benefit from putting your dog on a diet, you need to be totally committed to the program, as must the rest of the family, your neighbours and friends. No point in having a diet if the dog is getting treats and tit bits from everywhere else.

There can be no between meal treats and the feeding of scraps from the dinner table must be stopped. Any other pet food, such as the cat’s food, should be put out of reach. Do not leave any excess dog food lying around for him to eat later.

Human food must not be left where the dog can reach it and refuse bins must be secured.

It does not matter what type of food you currently use to feed your dog. As long as you start to give the dog less with immediate effect. You must reduce the amount of food being fed to the dog by at least half.

For my dogs, around 1 to 2 cups of a high quality, premium brand, dry kibble, mixed with half a cup of water, is all they get in a day. I vary the amount fed to them as their weight fluctuates around their ideal weight. Less food if the weight is going up, more if it has come down.

Occasionally they may get an added treat of a spoon of chicken or beef pet mince mixed in with the kibble.

If your dog obedience training program is based on the click and treat training method, then you need to remember to adjust the main meal quantity to take into account the food treats fed to the dog as rewards. If you use a handful of treats, take a handful of food out of the main meal.

Now we are all aware that some form of physical exercise is necessary to burn calories. Humans can do some callisthenics in front of the TV, or do yoga, Thai chee or whatever. Dogs are unable to do this, and an overweight dog will certainly not over exert itself.

You need to get your dog doing more strenuous exercise. Swimming is by far and away the best form of exercise. If you can get your dog in the swimming pool or down to the beach or your local swimming hole by the river then do so, every day. They need to swim for at least 10 minutes a day, every day. It is generally accepted that a 10 minute swim is equivalent to a 10 kilometre walk.

Swimming is known to work every group of skeletal muscles, from head to tail, and If you decide to join your dog on his diet then taking him for a jog will do you both good, but you need to do no less than 10 kilometres a day.

If you ride a bicycle with the dog running next to you, this would allow the dog to move faster and burn more calories in a shorter time frame, but be very careful that your dog is not startled by another dog and pulls you off the bicycle.

Teaching the dog how to run on a treadmill is becoming popular but be sure you buy a unit that will not allow the dogs toes to get caught under the belt. Cut the fur between the toes so he has a better grip on the rubber mat. Maybe buying 2 units and having the dog running side by side with you could help exercise both you and the dog.

Underwater treadmills are fairly new machines and if you have access to one then you are onto a winner. This is a unit that has a treadmill belt built into a water tight tank. The tank is filled with water up to the dog’s elbows and the dog then is made to walk and jog so that the water is providing resistance.

Using an underwater treadmill is especially good for older dogs as the water takes some of the weight off the joints. Running in the treadmill becomes low impact but high exertion so the calories are just burnt off very quickly.

A dog that will retrieve a ball will get adequate exercise to start using up those excess fat deposits. The ball should be thrown around 40 to 50 meters and the run out should preferably be going uphill. Use a tennis racket to smack that ball as far as you can.

With the food quantity cut in half and the dog being exercised daily, the weight will start coming off fairly fast. Be aware of how much he is losing and when you reach his ideal weight, start increasing the food to the point where you can maintain that weight. Continue the exercising though.

I would recommend that you continue doing dog obedience training exercises with your dog so that you can see whether or not the dog is working happily for you. Keep an eye out for the dog stealing food or receiving sneaked treats from family members who think his new slinky fit shape is actually the result of being on a starvation diet.

Article Source: http://www.kravities.com

Nev Allen is a dog trainer with 30 years of experience and he is now sharing this experience to help you make your puppy a good, happy and well trained obedient dog. Visit my blog for more detailed dog obedience training and clicker training articles.

Tags: overweight,dog obedience training, diet,exercise,weight

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