Living with an Older Dog by David Alderton

Author:David Alderton
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781845845933
Publisher: Veloce Publishing Ltd
Published: 2014-01-08T16:00:00+00:00

A toned-looking eight-year-old Springer Spaniel cross. Although neutered, a sensible diet and plenty of exercise have maintained this senior dog’s weight at the right level.

Taking action

It’s not just a question of adjusting your pet’s diet as she grows older, therefore, but also of monitoring her weight carefully. This can be done very easily using bathroom scales. If you have a small dog, persuade your pet to sit on the scales and then simply note her weight. However, with a larger dog, you may need to lift her up and weigh both of you together, before deducting your own weight from the total. Always weigh your dog first thing in the morning, before providing any food, and keep a note of the figure somewhere readily accessible, such as in a diary. Do this every two weeks, and you can then build up an accurate picture of whether or not your pet is gaining weight.

It is much easier to act before your canine friend becomes seriously overweight. The average weights for purebred dogs are usually included as part of the breed standard, so they are easy to find; in the larger breeds, dogs tend to be slightly bigger and heavier than bitches. Even with mongrels, however, there are still indicators that will reveal whether or not your dog is overweight, the best of which are the ribs. These should be just discernible under the skin when you run your hand along the side of your dog’s body (although this is harder to do if your dog has a long coat).

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