Pet Ideal Weight and Preventative Breed Specific Nutrition

With winter ice & snow here (making exercising our pets difficult) and the holidays past (extra treats are the biggest reason pets gain weight too!) NOW is the time to talk about Ideal Weight in pets.

Unless steps are taken now we are going to see many pets get more overweight before spring comes. Calorie counting & a good exercise program are very important throughout a pet’s life (especially during our cold snowy winters here in Wisconsin) no matter what breed we are referring to.

That said if you happen to have any of these breeds or you have rescued a mixed breed that has a large percentage of one of these breeds it is even more important.

Labrador, Golden Retriever, Beagle, Pug, Scottish, Yorkshire or Rat Terrier, St Bernard, Bichon, Bulldog, Boston Terrier, Corgi, Basset Hound, Dachshund, Dalmatian, Newfoundland, Cocker Spaniel, Chihuahua or a “designer breed” (Puggles, Labradoodles, Golden doodles, etc)

1) Why do we need to “go there”?

A groundbreaking study done in 2002 (using Labradors) showed a literal guarantee that if a pet is their ideal weight from birth through their whole life they will live an AVERAGE of 15% longer and feel better... That’s why…This would mean over 2 years for a Labrador retriever and even longer in a smaller breed! I have met very few clients in my past 25 yrs of practice that didn’t want more healthy years for their pet.

The other reason it is preventative care is the best care. The myriad of diseases that are caused or exacerbated by pets being overweight is constantly growing. With the rising cost of pet care (just like human health care) preventing disease is vital in these economic times. I frequently tell clients that keeping their pet at their ideal healthy weight is the best health insurance plan they can invest in.

Less veterinary bills, less drug bills for diseases like osteoarthritis and less dog food cost are all pretty much guaranteed! With diabetes, osteoarthritis, cancer and an even urinary & skin disease now linked to pets being overweight a preventative ideal weight approach prevents disease and saves money, period.

A good friend Dr Dave Brunson DVM, ACVA, a board certified veterinary anesthesiologist has voiced another very valid concern. He first "walked the talk" by getting the weight off his own pet Pearl, a Beagle AND a Katrina survivor (talk about easy to "emotionally feed") and who now speaks nationally about how important it is to keep pets lean for safe anesthesia. With dental cleaning required in all pets it is not a matter of IF they need anesthesia to prevent dental problems it is a matter of WHEN making ideal weight throughout life safer with regard to necessary to routine procedures like dentistry too.

Here is a good video link to “start the conversation” especially when it is imperative that all household members be on the same page.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/34204934#34204934


2) How does a pet owner know if their pet is over their “Ideal Healthy Weight”?

Dr Kathryn Michels DVM, MS Dipl ACVN, a board certified veterinary nutritionist recently stated in Veterinary Practice News “There is a skewed difference between owners and vets on what a healthy weight is” I agree, and the time is now to have a good definition.

With over 200 different breeds (from pugs to Great Danes!) there is no good Body Mass Index (BMI) like in people because of the incredible variation. There is however Purina has developed a good 9 point body condition score (BCS) and Hills has one from 1 to 5. These are great tools that we use as veterinarians and of course a reliable scale is needed keep track numerically. We often use a pet’s weight at 1 yr of age as their ideal healthy weight.

A very simple and effective tool to determine if a pet’s weight has reached ideal weight is one Dr Michels recently described when she spoke to area veterinarians. She advised us that a pet’s ribs (just behind their shoulder) should feel just like your fingers below the knuckles when you make a fist (pronounced ridges & valleys) NOT like the skin above the knuckles where you can’t feel any ridges or valleys. This works for all breeds and is a great way to know if we “are there yet!”

If your pet is 20% over ideal weight or has any health issues an assessment by your veterinarian is needed complete with blood work, nutritional consultation and an ideal weight guess…. but be prepared…It will probably be lower than you expect …but it is very important that an accurate assessment be made for your pet’s behalf.

3) Are just a few pounds overweight a big deal?

We know that fat is metabolically active and produces inflammatory and disease causing compounds (see below) so yes even 2 to 3 pounds is detrimental to health. Further the 15% longer life benefit applies if dogs are their ideal weight their entire life so let’s accomplish this by starting now!!

In small breeds like pugs (and I am not picking on them… they are a great breed!) where a pug comes in for its 2 year annual wellness exam weighing 15 lbs. (and its ideal weight is 12 lbs) it is already 25% over its ideal weight. It is very challenging to keep small breeds less than 20lbs because they need so few calories and today’s foods and treats are so calorie rich. So just like dentistry, ideal weight can be breed specific and we will spend much more time discussing it at an early age to prevent problems in many smaller breeds and certain larger breeds like labs & goldens.

Update: I was asked recently to speak at the Milwaukee Pugfest to discuss breed specific preventative nutrition. It will be great to hear from all of those owners (dedicated pet owners who do their own research always teach me something new!) I hope to be a pug nutritional specialist after May 16th!

http://www.milwaukeepugfest.com/

In the United States, over 40% of pets are considered obese and many more than that are over their ideal weight with certain breeds being overrepresented it is very important that we take a close look at how to prevent this before it occurs.

4) What is the most effective to way to get weight off if they are already overweight?

Ah, down to the nitty, gritty of it once the deed is done! It is not rocket science but it is not easy, either because of the emotional attachment we have to our pets and to food in general! There is actually no great secret of how to get weight loss accomplished. It is simply good evidence based education & a firm owner commitment to carry it out (despite those pleading eyes!). Knowing how many calories in each cup of food and especially measuring at every meal time & keeping track of treats are key to any program.

We realize there is a strong emotional bond and that many people show their love to their pet during the feeding process. We know that we have to work with pet owners to find ways to augment that interaction to include the right number of calories.

Some great tools can be found at American Association for Pet Obesity Prevention

We have outlined some important concepts gleaned from working with pet owners on our website as well

http://www.westsidefamilypet.com/nutrition-introduction/ideal-weight/

5) Calorie counting or exercise … which is more important?

There is still some confusion out there even among my veterinary colleagues about whether calorie reduction or exercise is more effective. I recently moderated 3 days of veterinary lectures at our state veterinary conference where at two of the sessions two different board certified veterinarians (one an endocrinologist and the other a boarded nutritionist) each told the audiences that they hadn’t had much luck in dieting pets using caloric restriction alone. My staff and I almost fell out of our chairs. Our experience has been quite different!.

With a fitness center as part of our pet health care center it would be tempting for me to give every pet a “Fitness Rx” (and we do for some) but it just isn’t practical or economically feasible for every pet owner. I personally am an outdoor athlete and would always prefer to exercise any personal pet in the woods or fields of our beautiful state. So exercise is important part but I personally feel counting calories is key.

A personalized program outlined by your veterinarian following your pet’s annual wellness exam is the best place to start.

6. What is the cutting edge of preventative ideal weight pet nutrition?

Credit where credit belongs to Gail, Kealy et al who did the study showing lean dogs live an average of 15% longer. The study was done in 2002 at Purina’s research facility using Labradors but by totally independent outside researchers and is one of the most respected and longest running nutritional study ever done in dogs (It took 14 years!)

http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/article.php?id=144

The short version is that fat is not the inert substance we once thought but more a very active endocrine organ. Producing and interacting with many other hormones in the body. The most destructive products they produce are a group of chemicals called cytokines which can be inflammatory mediator which makes inflammation elsewhere in the body worse it these cytokines or adipocytokines makes it worse for example in osteoarthritis.

http://www.michvma.org/documents/MVC%20Proceedings%202009/Schickel,%20%20Weight%20loss%20proceedings.pdf

Royal Canin ® has formulated some breed specific diets’ Dr Brent Mayabb, technical services director for Royal Canin states about Labradors “This breed is predisposed to excessive weight gain because it was bred to have a layer of fat insulation as a dog trained to retrieve game from water” Quite interesting (although not an excuse!) and may explain why they are so challenging! For the record I am not as convinced regarding some of their claims that their foods prevent plaque and tartar as they have not obtained the vohc seal of acceptance to back up their claims regarding preventing dental products. I am all for a similar program that would prove a food would help maintain an ideal weight for each breed.

http://www.royalcanin.co.uk/my_pet/dog_products/breed_health_nutrition/labrador_retriever.aspx

As part of their new DNA test the Wisdom Panel Professional ® is now predicting ideal weights based on a dogs DNA. This is the most comprehensive DNA test on the market, requires a blood test and detects over 200 breeds. The concept of predicting an ideal weight range is a great concept which should help “plant the seed early about the importance of ideal weight for mixed breeds too.

http://www.wisdompanelpro.com/

What about cats? Cats present a further challenge. Just how do you exercise a cat? The indoor cat initiative by Dr Tony Buffington is brilliant but we still have to count calories big time. I can tell you it isn’t easy as one of my cats (sorry Lance buddy, have to call you out) would love to weigh 15lbs. (His ideal healthy weight is 10#) more on cat challenges in coming weeks. .Here is one of my favorite nutrition sites for cats & dogs.

http://vet.osu.edu/index.php?id=1846

We already know we can treat and prevent disease with food so breed specific prevention using food is pretty compelling. My feeling is that if done with an evidence based approach it could revolutionize the pet food industry. We know the pet food industry is way prone to over marketing so evidence based nutrition is mandatory.

I will be devoting more time to these and other specific challenges weekly in our clinic website’s nutrition section as we ramp up towards our 3rd Ideal Weight Contest and 2nd annual "Pets Reducing for Rescues" Ideal Weight contest with proceeds from every pound lost donated to contestants favorite rescue.

Contest kicks off this Sat Jan 16th from 12 to 2PM at our Preventative Nutrition (Ideal Weight & supplements) Open House.
“Iron Dogs”(just 5 to 20% over ideal), “Biggest 4 Pawed Losers” (20% or more over ideal) and “Fat Cats” and "Iron Cats" (most cats do “virtual weigh-ins”) are all part of the fun.

Good luck with your efforts getting your pets to ideal weight!

Dr Ken

Join our FB fan page at Facebook.com/westsidefamilypet to see previous contestants from 2008 & 2009 and some great pictures of clients who got the job done! New contestants for 2010 will be posted this week.