Meet our wonderful slimmer, Poppy. She started Sienna’s weight clinic at a whopping 17kg and now weighs 12.7kg. Her overall weight loss is absolutely enormous! Poppy and her owners have done so well to achieve her target weight!

Her quality of life has improved dramatically. She attends hydrotherapy once a week for her hip problems and now swims with jets on because she’s too good!

Congratulations Poppy!!

Canine obesity is in fact the most common nutritional disorder seen in dogs.  As with humans, it’s caused by an imbalance of taking in more energy than giving out. This can give rise to a persistent and potentially life threatening energy surplus.

How to know if your dog is overweight
Signs of canine obesity include owners struggling to see or feel their dog’s ribs, spine or waistline; abdominal sagging; a bigger, rounder face; a reluctance to go for walks or lagging behind; excessive panting; and the dog appearing tired and lazy. Grossly overweight dogs may even need assistance getting up and down, in and out of vehicles, and often refuse to move or play games.

Problems associated with obesity
Vets see these problems all too often, with obese pets posing greater risks from anaesthetic and surgical complications, heat or exercise intolerance, complications from cardio-respiratory disorders, hormone problems, skin disease, cancer, urogenital disorders, even early death. Canine obesity may even contribute to tracheal collapse and laryngeal paralysis too.

Common canine problems suffered as a result of obesity include diabetes (where the pancreas fails to secrete enough insulin in order to regulate blood glucose levels); heart disease (caused by high cholesterol levels); as well as arthritis directly affecting mobility, making it even harder for your pet to lose weight.

Until fairly recently, fatty tissue was thought to be just a relatively lifeless energy store and insulator; but we now know it secretes hormones affecting appetite, inflammation, insulin sensitivity and bodily function, as well as influencing water balance and blood pressure leading to kidney disease and high blood pressure.

Ways to prevent obesity

If your dog is overweight then carefully start changing his feeding habits; increasing exercise (e.g. more or longer walks, or take up a canine activity such as agility or flyball); looking at the type of food and his intake; creating a feeding plan.

One of the very best ways is to make regular visits to your vet nurse for weight loss advice and to have free weight checks and record your success.

Come and join our weight clinics today! There is a small £5 joining fee after which you and your pet receive a weight management booklet with tips on keeping your pet at a healthy weight, body condition score chart, measuring cup, calorie chart of common treats, food diary and leaflets on foods available to help your pet lose weight.

This is followed by regular free of charge check-up appointments to ensure your pet reaches his/her optimal weight.

Phone today to book an appointment with our weight management nurse Sienna!