Weight

(This post is part of the April A to Z blogging challenge.)

Their are few things as vital to the health of a dog than their weight. Keeping a dog at a healthy weight (that is their ribs can easily be felt) Can add years to their life and prevent diseases and illness.

Mammary cancer has been linked to the weight of a bitch. The heavier she is, the more likely she is to develop malignant tumors. This link between fat and inflammation is well documented. Most important in trying to prevent mammary cancer in a bitch is the extra weight they carry in their first year of life. Fast puppies are not the best.

Duncan used to be 90 pounds when he was fit and working. He was a few pounds heavier when his CCL tore. It was very hard to keep his weight stable while he was on crate rest. The fastest way I know to put weight on a dog is to keep them still. I ended up adding his kibble to water until it doubled in size, then stuffing it in Kongs, adding even more water and freezing them. It took him much longer to eat much less food.

He's now 86 pounds. Keeping his weight down should lower his chances of treating the other CCL, and hopefully reduce the wear and tear on the surgical fix. Currently, he gets a whole can of green beans as bulk for his breakfast along with a very small portion of kibble. He also gets low cal treats like carrots and cucumber instead of cheese or hotdogs.

It's easy to feed too much. Most dogs aren't going to quit eating until their stomachs hurt.

Keeper's 107 or 108 pounds depending on if she's eaten breakfast. She's not fat. She's a giant. If Duncan weighed that much,  he'd be obese,  and they are currently the same height, though she's much thicker boned.

Duncan and Keeper sit side by side on a step,
 their front paws on the lower step, showing a great
 difference in thickness of bone in their legs.

We used to free feed. Duncan was free fed for a year or more after I adopted him. He learned not to eat the Setters' food when we visited my parents. l kept tight control of his food. One dog is easy to track on self-feeding. Multiple dogs gets tricky.All our dogs now get fed two or the times a day,  set amounts that are measured in an old metal measuring cup so we know exactly how much they eat in a day and can adjust for illness, enforced rest, or bouts of hard work.

A healthy weight may be the single simplest thing you can do to improve quality and quantity of your dog's life.