In my life I have always had overweight dogs. Even the one dog I had during my childhood, a beagle mix, was overweight. I always saw an overweight dog as a well-cared-for-dog.
As an adult, I’ve gotten several dogs and of course they were all overweight. From my Chihuahua mix, to my sheep dog mix, on down to my Shetland Sheep dogs. All overweight. Some overweight to the point where they had very bad arthritis and had trouble walking. Most people assume the overweight dogs were the result of overfeeding, too many treats, or something like that or possibly too much table food. No, none of that was going on.
Feedings were limited. I did not give any table food, and treats were definitely only given every once in a while, yet still my dogs were very overweight. I found that my dogs were not getting enough exercise and I lived in a neighborhood that did not provide opportunities for much walking. Through research and time, I learned that being overweight could lead to a lot of bad health conditions such as heart problems or hypertension. For nine months, I have been feeding my dogs human grade, cooked food from the crockpot.
Years ago, I learned that the dog treats were not very healthy. A lot of processing. So I started having homemade treats baked in the oven using fruits and vegetables and gluten-free flour. Now that I’ve started to feed them human grade food, all my dogs are examples of healthy weight and thriving. Their coats are shiny and some of their coats are completely different than they were on processed dog food. Their energy levels are even higher.
Paws of Happiness 