{"id":6442,"date":"2020-01-18T07:11:28","date_gmt":"2020-01-18T07:11:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.healthysuppliesshop.com\/?p=6442"},"modified":"2020-01-17T00:22:01","modified_gmt":"2020-01-17T00:22:01","slug":"how-to-tell-if-your-dog-is-overweight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.healthysuppliesshop.com\/2020\/01\/18\/how-to-tell-if-your-dog-is-overweight\/","title":{"rendered":"How to tell if your dog is overweight?"},"content":{"rendered":"

While often overlooked, <\/span>overweight dogs<\/em>\u00a0don’t have the quality or quantity of life they deserve.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Muscle mass and body fat determine whether we are at health risk from our weight being too high or too low. Human doctors use Body Mass Index (BMI) scores to evaluate a patient’s health risks.<\/p>\n

The number on the scale does not always tell the whole picture of our pet’s physical well-being. The weight of your dog is only part of what shows his fitness and reveals any health risks.<\/p>\n

Dogs have their own way to be determined if they are over or underweight. Knowing your pet’s Body Condition Score (BCS) is a valuable measurement of their wellness.<\/p>\n

A dog’s BCS is a visual assessment that is hands-on as well. It evaluates the amount of lean muscle and fat your dog carried and if your dog may benefit from a change in diet if lacking in muscle mass or having a high percentage of body fat for their breed and weight.<\/p>\n

A healthy BCS validates the findings of the scale and makes sure that your dog is fit.<\/p>\n

Just like us humans, the same weight is not healthy for all dogs and some dogs can be determined to be needing to lose or gain weight by examining and establishing your dog’s BCS.<\/p>\n

The BCS Criteria
\nScoring is based on numeric scales.<\/p>\n

The Association for Pet Obesity Prevention offers guidelines on a five-point system. Many vets, however, use a nine-point scale for their canine patients.<\/p>\n

The middle is a healthy medium. An ideal score is four or five on the nine-point scale.<\/p>\n

Lower scores (one to three) indicate a dog is too thin and higher scoring dogs (from six to nine) are considered overweight to obese.<\/p>\n

Body Condition Score uses how easily a ribcage is felt, the visibility of a waistline and abdominal tuck and how thick a layer of fat or muscle is palpable under a dog’s skin.<\/p>\n

A healthy dog will have ribs that can be felt in the exam but not seen.<\/p>\n\t\n \n

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