Being obese is becoming ordinary for dogs and even cats. Some people who see a healthy lean canine would often react or see it as too thin or unhealthy. Our pets would never wish to be overweight; should they become one, it’s the duty of fur parents to keep their weight in check and back to normal.
If you still consider your chubby dog adorable, we’ll discuss why it’s not and why you must begin working on managing their weight immediately.
Why Dog Obesity Should Never Be Ignored
Though dogs never have to worry about other dogs and people ridiculing them at the park, being overweight has been connected to many serious health conditions that can badly impact their well-being. Below are five common diseases related to canine obesity.
1. Shortened lifespan
Overweight pets can not play enthusiastically like their healthy fellows, breathe normally, and live a healthy lifestyle. In addition, overweight dogs are often irritable to feel pain, hotness, or uncomfortableness. Because of this, they are unlikely to fully live their anticipated lifespan than those maintained at a healthy weight.
2. Urinary tract or bladder disease
Uroliths, usually called urinary bladder stones, are stone-like deposits that develop in animals’ bladders, including canines, mostly overweight ones. These stones can be excruciating and often result in urinary tract infections. Bladder stones can obstruct urine flow and can be life-threatening when not addressed by a veterinarian immediately.
So if you’ve read about the common symptoms associated with bladder stones in dogs, don’t postpone their treatment. Immediately take them to a nearby veterinary diagnostic lab so the diagnosis and treatment can start right away. You may visit websites like https://www.fineanimalhospital.com/ to learn more about vet diagnostics services.
3. Joint degeneration
Weight problems can quickly affect your pet’s joints, partly because of the burden of carrying additional weight. Additionally, the excess weight their joints carry can break down the cartilage’s cushioning inside the joints. Once dogs get arthritis, it can be hard to handle as the lack of cushion inside their joints may lead to further damage caused by the arthritic changes.
Even if you manage to get your pet’s weight back to normal, the degeneration of their joints can be permanent. This is why early prevention is always essential, especially if you’re slowly seeing your pet gain weight little by little. If you own a dog with arthritis, they might benefit from pet acupuncture as it eases pain and provides relaxation to their joints and bones.
4. Heart and breathing conditions
Excessive weight in canines can cause high blood pressure and heart conditions and is frequently connected to breathing issues. Obese dogs are susceptible to laryngeal paralysis and a collapsing trachea. Left neglected, these airway-related conditions may result in a severe respiratory crisis that can be deadly.
This is why you should always be consistent with your pet’s preventatives and cat vaccinations. During each session, the vet can examine your pet, evaluate its weight, and advise actions to help avoid the onset of any conditions connected to dog obesity.
5. Cancer
Canine cancer is always connected to obesity. Overweight pets are prone to numerous other health problems, but cancer is the most alarming. Today, there have been no accurate treatments to address cancer in canines, as most canines diagnosed with cancer are expected to live shorter than their breed’s supposed life expectancy.