Selecting a food should be done in conjunction with your veterinarian. Some owners are very selective about the type of food they will feed their pets, other animals require prescription diets that are carefully balanced to provide proper nutrition with very low calories. What is most important is that your pet receives a healthy diet and that the daily calorie allowance is not exceeded.
The link between excess body weight and disease in people is well documented and the benefits of a healthy body weight and exercise are indisputable. Recently similar findings have been documented in pets as well. The similarities between people and pets regarding bodyweight and health are striking. Like people, dogs and cats can live longer and healthier lives when they are not overweight eat a healthy diet and exercise.
The benefits of weight management in pets is common sense but the degree of benefit was dramatically demonstrated in a 15-year study recently performed by the Nestle Purina company. The study was designed to determine the effect of diet on the lifespan of dogs and the severity of diseases such as arthritis. There were 48 dogs in the study. Half of the dogs were allowed to eat as much food as they liked. The other 24 dogs were allowed to eat just 75% of what the first group ate. The results of this study were dramatic. The dogs that were fed a low-calorie diet lived, on average, 22 months longer than the dogs in the study that ate 25% more food each day. The dogs given less food also had a lower incidence and later onset of chronic disease.
One thing that is different between people and pets is our behavior. Unlike you and I, our pets don’t understand the concept of will power. They cannot understand the benefits of a healthy diet and do not have the will power to control what or how much they will eat. We must do that for them. How then can we help our pets maintain a healthy diet and live a longer healthier life?
Developing a diet plan for your pet is actually a relatively simple task but it should always be done under the guidance of your veterinarian. The process of developing a diet for weight loss involves several basic principles and steps: first, determine how many calories to feed a day; next decide on what food to feed; third, set rules about treats; and finally, set a schedule for weight monitoring.
Determining how many calories your pet needs to eat in a day can be done easily and quickly by your veterinarian. The method we recommend is based on something called a body condition score and the RER or resting energy requirement. The body condition score helps your veterinarian determine your pets ideal bodyweight. Then your veterinarian can determine the RER, or the number of calories your dog or cat should eat every day to reach the target body weight. Most pets can reach their target goals in about 12 weeks, loosing one to two percent of body weight each week.
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