City dogs going obese with ease

Pet concerns

Reasons for growing obesity among canines can be attributed to the fact that people buy dogs on an impulse, without considering ground realities like - facilities or space to breed dog, devoting time to set a routine for feeding and exercising, regular health checkups, etc.

Dr L Ranganath, professor and head of the department, Department of Surgery and Radiology, Veterinary Hospital, points out facts which ma- ke pets obese and unhealthy.
He says, lack of physical activity due to lack of space makes the dog temperamental, stressed and ferocious, apart from adding extra flab. Over-feeding or improper feeding like treating the dog with junk food not only gives your pet tummy troubles, but also makes it obese. To keep canines healthy, it should be understood that different breed of dogs require specific dietary requirements and fitness routines which should be followed strictly.

With the help of the apparatus ‘obesity scale’ you can detect if a dog is obese or not. The scale is marked from one to ten and any canine within 5 on the scale is a sign healthy and anything above 5 is considered to be obese. The demand to own pets has forced dog lovers to take evince interest in learning behavioural patterns of different breeds of dogs and their management skills, Ranganath adds.

Special care

“Dogs, especially, the pedigree variety, require special care. I have a Labrador Retriever, which, due to a dearth of space at home, has become restless and this has led him to gain lot of weight. Even exercise seems futile. All this due to a small home with not much scope for developing good habits and behavioural patterns in the pet,” says Kiran, a dog lover.

Obesity makes animal ill and drastically reduces its lifespan. Diseases range from heart and liver, to arthritis and diabetes. So pause before you happily toss a treat to your pet. You might actually be doing more harm than good.

To cater to the growing need of medical facility to the animal community, The Veterinary College, in collaboration with the University of Minnesota, are planning to set up a super speciality animal hospital in the City. The hospital will be first of its kind in the country and the reason why Bangalore has been chosen as the destination is, it has large number of animal population and growing potential for health tourism.

“This venture will provide western expertise to tackle animal health issues. This will also be a teaching hospital, where faculties and studies can learn latest medical developments in Veterinary, says Yetiraj, Dean, Veterinary College.