Dog diet & exercise advice

Fat facts

Over the last four years, PDSA has assessed the weight and general health of nearly 30,000 dogs across the UK. Here’s what we found:

• The percentage of overweight dogs seen has risen from around one-in-five (21%) to more than one-in-three (35%).
• Should the next four years follow the same trend, then by 2013 nearly 50% of UK dogs could be overweight. 
• This means a reduced quality of life and the likelihood of an early grave due to obesity and its related health issues such as diabetes, heart disease and arthritis.
• Overweight dogs are less mobile, less willing to play and more likely to develop a number of serious health conditions.
   

But you can make a difference to your dog’s quality of life by following our advice and by talking to your vet about your pet’s health and happiness.

Dog Diet

• Feeding a complete, commercial dog food is preferable to a homemade diet. It’s not easy to achieve the correct balance of nutrients if you make a dog’s diet yourself. 
• Treats should only be given for training purposes or on a very occasional basis. On days when a treat is fed, the amount of food given in the dog’s main meal should be reduced. 
• Lifestage (i.e. whether puppy, junior, adult or senior) and packet guidelines as well as weight and body shape, should be taken into account when choosing what and how much to feed a dog.

Dog & puppy diet & exercise advice

Dog Exercise

• Daily exercise is important for dogs, not only to keep their weight in check but to keep joints and muscles healthy. 
• Consult your vet for exercise advice as different dogs need different amounts of exercise. Ideally though, a healthy adult dog should have two or three walks a day.
   

Dog Body shape

• Dogs come in all shapes and sizes so it is hard to say what the ideal weight of your dog should be. Body shape is a much better measure. To find out your dog’s ideal body shape, take a look at our body condition score information (PDF - 424 KB) and our Getting your dog into shape (PDF - 1.77 MB) leaflet.

Shocking dog obesity statistics

The PDSA Animal Wellbeing Report (PAW) assessed the overall wellbeing of pets. When it comes to the diets dogs are eating, the Report revealed some worrying findings:

• 29%, or the equivalent of 2.4 million dogs, are fed on scraps or leftovers as one of their main types of food when they should be getting a complete balanced diet.
• 98% of dog owners give their dog a treat at some point, with 42% giving a daily treat.
• Only 16% of dog owners decide how much to feed their dog based on its weight or body shape, and just 14% ask a vet or seek other veterinary professional advice. Knowing the correct body shape and weight for your pet is the first step to helping your pet stay a healthy weight.
• Only 33% of owners actually feel their pet’s body to determine whether it is a healthy shape.
• Owners enjoy giving their pets treats with 49% saying it makes them feel happy and 36% saying it makes them feel caring. Only 3% mention a negative emotion such as guilt. 66% of owners say they think treats make their pet happy and whilst this may be true in the short term, the long term effect is that owners are killing with kindness.

Find out more about the state of our pet nation by reading the PAW Report