A new study conducted by Pet Range, an online pet store, reveals the 10 popular human food that are affecting our dogs weight negatively.
Pet Range discusses the impact of human food in our dogs’ diets. They explain that giving our dogs tasty treats can accumulate and easily lead to them becoming overfed, and therefore overweight.
“One of the potential reasons for the high rates of dog obesity is dog owners treating their pets to human food without knowing how this can impact their diet,” Pet Range wrote.
They continued, “While not all human food is necessarily bad or unsafe for our pets, we often don’t provide them in moderation. This can lead to our pets getting a lot of excess calories without us even realizing.”
With these, they reveal the top 10 human foods that are making dogs overweight, and they are the following:
From this list, we can see that meat is a common leftover that we treat our dogs to. Pet Range explains that meat can take up a “surprisingly large amount” of a dog’s daily recommended calorie intake without us realizing.
For example, two slices of grilled bacon may sound like a reasonable portion to give a dog, but it actually is not.
As a matter of fact, these two thin slices are equivalent to 58.5% of a small dog’s, such as Chihuahuas, daily recommended calories.
Pet Range reveals, “Even for very large dogs weighing 40kg+, such as rottweilers, two rashers of bacon is the equivalent of 8.5% of their daily calorie recommendation.”
But meat isn’t the only human food that is making our dogs overweight. Scrambled eggs (equivalent to one egg), for example, can take up 31% of an extra small dog’s calories.
Furthermore, while listed as the last item in the list, a 10g whipped cream pup cup can still take up at just under a tenth of a small dog’s daily calories.
So, when it comes to helping our dogs stay at a healthy weight, Liz Clifton, dog bite prevention educator and rescue dog rehabilitator, told Pet Range, “it’s important to stay observant of not just your pet’s physical health but their behavior too”.
Clifton also said that aside from a dog’s physical health, stress can also have an impact on a dog’s weight. “As with us humans it’s easy for dogs with a high stress baseline to hold onto excess weight and fall into obesity. So take time to notice how your dog is behaving and if they are showing any signs of stress.“
Pet Range also listed down a few tips to ensure a dog stays at a health weight, and these are the following:
- Provide your dog with filling and nutrient-rich meals
- Find and give your dog non-food treats such as toys or extra playtime
- Make exercise fun and exciting
- Ensure that they enjoy everything in moderation
“It’s important to note that it’s always a good idea to see a vet if you have concerns about your pet’s weight. Every dog is different, and just like humans, they all have different nutritional needs,” Pet Range wrote.
