Pugs, beagles, golden retrievers, and English springer spaniels have been revealed as the UK’s most overweight dog breeds.
Dog owners may be loving their pups too much by feeding them as new research shows that 50% of dogs are currently overweight or obese, and this number is only rising.
Chunky dogs are often seen as cute or cuddly, but if your pup is carrying an extra few pounds they could be at risk of a number of health conditions, just like us.
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Dr Dan O’Neill, a senior lecturer in Companion Animal Epidemiology at the Royal College of Veterinarians, said: “To defeat your enemy, you need to know your enemy. Obesity is the enemy of the health of our dogs.”
(Image: Getty Images)
The lines between healthy dog food and feeding your dog human food are blurring over time and it is one of the reasons our pups are gaining more and more weight, reports Mail.
Around 77% of owners may think their pooches are a healthy weight, but this new study completed by UK Pet Food shows we are wrong as a whopping 50% are overweight.
In their new study, the researchers surveyed 148 vets about the pets coming into their clinics this year.
(Image: Royal Veterinarians Society)
Breaking the results down by breed, the researchers found that Shih-tzu, German shepherds and Yorkshire terrier’s are those least at risk of being overweight.
From their rankings researchers pinpointed beagles, golden retrievers, English springer spaniels and pugs as being at the highest risk of being overweight.
(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
The report also found that 43% of cats are overweight, an increase of 3% compared to 2014.
Dr Nathalie Dowgray, Head of International Society of Feline Medicine, said: “The opportunistic nature of their feeding behaviour means they may still take advantage of food even when they are not hungry.”
Vets are urging pet owners to take the health of their pups seriously by helping them to lose some extra pounds and reduce their health risks.
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