Obesity and Geriatric Dogs

Any extra weight your senior pet carries will exacerbate the discomfort and progression of degenerative joint changes. Ask your vet for help in assessing your pet’s body condition score. Generally, you should be able to feel the ribs easily as you run your hand along the sides of the chest. Also, you should see a “waist” or “tuck” just behind the rib cage. You can find multiple on-line body condition scoring charts that are helpful in assessing your pet as well.

Be sure to ask your vet for help with diet adjustments for your senior pet – it's important that any other underlying medical conditions are taken into account and that your pet receives the appropriate amount of protein to maintain muscle while losing weight. Simply cutting calories may not be the answer! And remember, just like for you and I, increasing exercise coupled with decreasing calories typically results in the best weight loss.