| Ask The Vet -
Q&A |
Question
I have a cavalier king charles spaniel bitch who is currently
on an obesity management diet as our vet considers her to be overweight.
She is currently 9.25 kilos in weight and the vet would like her
ideally to get to about 8.5 kilos. We have a friend who breeds cavalier
charles spaniels and their dog is 10.5 kilos in weight and she says
that is acceptable for that breed. Can you give me any further advice?
Do you think my vet is right with this obesity management diet or
should we not worry about weight gain like the breeder?
Brydon Dickson - Midlothian, Scotland |
Answering questions:
Susie Samuel MA VetMB MRCVS from
Vet
Help Direct |
| Answer |
Hi
Brydon,
Being
overweight is becoming a common problem in dogs. It can cause health
problems such as heart disease and make conditions such as arthritis
worse. Overall being over weight reduces a dogs life expectancy
so it is very important to get their weight right.
The
best way to assess if a dog is overweight is to look at its condition
rather than an exact weight. Cavalier King Charles spaniels can
vary considerably in height and build. As your vet has seen your
dog they will have been able to gauge from her appearance and feel
of her body that she is overweight.
Condition
scoring is the method that vets use to analyse the body condition.
You can check on your dog’s condition yourself at home:
1)
Run your hands over the sides of your dog - you should be able to
feel the ribs without applying any pressure but you should not be
able to see them easily.
2)
Look at down at your dog’s silhouette from above - there should
be a defined waist.
Vets
will often use condition scoring and a range of ideal weights for
a particular breed to give a target weight. This makes it easier
for you to know what you are aiming for.
It
is much easier to tackle any problems with your dog being overweight
early, so I would definitely take the advice of your vet and use
the obesity diet until she has reached her target weight.
Good
luck with this.
Kind regards,
Susie Samuel MA VetMB MRCVS www.vethelpdirect.com
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