Why do so many pets are overweight?

You will hardly be surprised by the fact that obesity is not a problem only in humans. And in pets it has reached epidemic proportions.

Almost half of dogs and cats around the world are struggling with excess weight.

Yes, they are forced to deal with the social stigmas characteristic of humans. However, medical and emotional damage there.

Obesity in animals can cause complications in almost every system in the body of the animal, and lead to conditions such as diabetes or osteoarthritis.

Owners often are not worried by the fact that their house pet is "thick" - just have more creatures to cradle!

The cruel truth is that overweight shortens their lives, said veterinarian Deborah Lindar. Research shows that Labradors that are 10-20 percent overweight (not even obese - to such weight they should be 20 percent above normal) live on average 1.8 years less than a zhivotinchetata ideal weight.

Another study shows that overweight have emotional consequences for zhivotinchetata. They are less vital, lead a life of poor quality and have lower performance in terms of pain and emotional disturbance. The good news is that all this can be improved by downloading a few kilos.

Love through food

Where exactly is the problem? Too calorie Is their food? Or maybe animals do not move enough? Genetically Is? Or simply luring look past dear puppy and allow him to overeat?

According Lindar - a bit of everything.

Quite veterinarians prefer to focus on the traditional diet and exercise rather than the reason why these pets are heel first. This should be fairly easy, right? Still, the dog can not open his refrigerator in himself.

Recently it is becoming increasingly clear that obesity in pets has much to do with the human-animal relationship than the food in the bowl.

We tend to treat The animals as members of our family. And this is wonderful as a whole. Available, however, a much deeper emotional and psychological connection between us and them, which did not exist at the time when the dog was just a family dog.

If veterinarians can recognize one owner who likes to prezadovolyava pet, then they can develop strategies to exclude the expression of love through food.

A more healthy relationship

To combat obesity in pets, veterinarians, doctors and psychologists need to work together.

Many veterinary schools now include social workers who help vets understand the social aspects of human-animal relationship and how it affects the care of the pet.

For example, a dog owner who has lost his partner and share ice cream treat every evening with his dog, probably trying to find a replacement for tradition that has been characteristic of the completed connection.

Social worker with psychological experience could prepare a plan that respects the relationship of the owner of the animal and not a negative impact on his health.

Source: www.euroscientist.com , www.pixabay.com