The easiest of all weight loss exercises requires no equipment. It is good for your heart, your weight, your emotional well-being, and your dog!
One out of every four dogs is overweight. (That shouldn’t come as a surprise considering 65% of Americans are overweight .)
If your dog has an oval shape when you’re looking at her from the top, it may be time to put on your walking shoes and pick up the leash.
Dogs are overweight for various reasons, including medical conditions. They are often overweight, however, for the same reasons as their owners:
Eating more calories each day than their body needs to function properly.
Diet and activity are central to weight loss in dogs – and to humans for that matter.
A dog diet is controlled by pet owner, so you have a big responsibility. Reduced calorie dog food, reduced calorie dog treats, and canine carb blockers are now available to help pet owners manage the diet of an overweight dog. (Read more about dog nutrition…)
There’s an array of food products available to aid the human dieter in losing weight as well. The problem is there are so many choices and so many diets. It’s almost as if we have information overload.
I did find a weight loss product that helped me lose 20 pounds in eight weeks, but what I want to talk about now are weight loss exercises that are good for both you and your dog.
If you have a small breed dog, she probably gets a lot of exercise just running around in her normal activities. That doesn’t mean she’s immune to weight problems.
In my role as a Kennel Manager, I witness many overweight small breed dogs. It breaks my heart.
I once boarded a Chihuahua that was so obese that I couldn’t recognize her breed! Just think of the stress that must have been on her heart, her respiratory system, and her joints.
Keep your small dog active by playing games with her. Games keep her physically and mentally fit. They also reinforce training and strengthen your human-dog relationship.
Games are fun, but my favorite of all weight loss exercises is walking with my dogs.
The benefits of walking are well-documented: improved health, reduced risk of heart disease, and weight management to name a few.
Most of us have trouble sticking to our good intentions of walking around the block a few times every night after work…unless we commit to a walking partner!
Isn’t it about time to take weight loss seriously?
Who’s your walking partner? How about your overweight dog? Even if she’s not overweight, she’ll love the helping you meet your weight management goals.
In 2004, Robert Kushner, M.D. of the Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago conducted a study on the benefits of walking your dog – certainly one of the easiest weight loss exercises of all time! Overweight pet owners with overweight dogs were used in the study.
What Dr. Kushner found was man’s best friend once again helps mankind. The humans in the study lost an average of 5% of their body weight in the first six months. The dogs in the study lost an average of 15% of their body weight. Wow!
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