Fat is not inert and has significant affects on inflammation in the body. Read on to find out more…
Who am I?
I am Dr Caroline, The Slim Pet Vet, a first opinion vet in the UK,with a passion to help dogs reach and maintain their ideal weight.
In veterinary practice, I witness too many dogs struggle into their middle and older age, without being able to enjoy their lives to the full. They are suffering from diseases caused by carrying too much weight – diabetes, heart disease, breathing problems and all too often – arthritis.
This problem has been dealt with in practice for many years, with ‘weight clinics’ and support provided in the clinic to promote weight loss and a healthy lifestyle.
But clinic time is constantly under time pressure and the covid restrictions prevented the routine, preventative healthcare to continue. Rightly urgent and emergency care was prioritised.
During the repeated lockdowns, I was in contact with owners online, and this proved to be a far more effective way to identify and tackle the cause of weight gain, and start implementing change.
No more embarrassing, awkward trips to the vets to be shamed at the result on the scales. We could concentrate on planning exercises and enrichment, as well as examining the nutritional needs, at a time that suited both the vet and the owner in a non confrontational environment. When they did finally visit the clinic again, the scales were moving in the right direction!
I prioritise the relationship you have with your dog, to develop a stronger bond, because that is how you can maintain consistency and enhance both your lives.
What is obesity?
In the simplest terms it’s a mismatch between the number of calories consumed and the amount of calories burned off. This inevitably leads to storage of the ‘excess’ energy, stored as white adipose tissue (WAT) as subcutaneous fat and around the internal organs in the abdomen.
This excess fat tissue has consequences. We now know that this fat tissue is not inert. It exerts significant effects on many tissues around the body. It leads to insulin resistance, increased pro-inflammatory enzymes and ultimately a ‘Pro-inflammatory state’ which makes the pain of arthritis worse and much more difficult to manage.
How do you know if your dog is over their ideal weight?
Breed standards can vary hugely, and many dogs are now a cross of two breeds, so it can be tricky to know what your dog should weigh as they grow up.
In a few centres in the UK we have sophisticated tools available to calculate body fat index for dogs – known as a DEXA scan.
Otherwise known as dual energy X-ray Absorptiometry, a DEXA scan uses a low dose x-ray to measure both bone density and is the most accurate way to estimate fat percentage of the body.
Is there an alternative to a DEXA scan?
Yes, just like in humans, where we use BMI to estimate body fat, we can use a subjective score, called a BCS – Body condition Score in dogs.
This can be used to estimate if your dog is overweight, and even be used to calculate their ideal weight. Further information is available to help you work out your dog’s body condition score with this video.
There is also a simple ‘rule of thumb’ test to use when to feel over your dog’s ribs from the side, called ‘The Knuckle Test’. See more here https://theslimpetvet.co.uk/ in the video called ‘Is my Dog Overweight?’
So a normal body condition score is around 4.5 to 5 on a 9 point scale.
But we know dogs with arthritis, or at risk of developing OA, have a lower risk of deterioration if kept at a leaner body condition, such as 4 out of 9.
It’s certainly not easy to slim down our dogs, especially if their exercise is limited.
But even though it feels counter-intuitive, exercise changes only account for 10-20% in weight loss or weight gain. Most of the effect (70-80%) comes from changes we make to calories consumed.
Help! I must be a really bad owner, if my dog is so overweight?
Ok, so we know that the weight can sneak on over weeks and months but sometimes many years. Why has it gone unnoticed?
Unless you are regularly checking both your dog’s weight and their body condition score, extra weight can creep on without us noticing.
But maybe you have been feeding the food manufacturers recommendations and they have still gained weight.
Unfortunately food manufacturers have to work according to averages and guidelines, and they do not know precisely how active your dog is, or what temperament they have.
If your dog is neutered (spayed/castrated) they may need as little as 20% less than advised on the label.
Injury or illness of ourselves and our dogs can significantly affect how many calories they are burning off.
Many medications can alter our dog’s hunger or thirst level, and maybe effect other body systems as well.
All these factors, and more, can influence our dog’s metabolic weight and activity level.
And don’t forget…
We don’t just need to adjust our dog’s food intake so they stop gaining weight, we need to adjust it enough, for many weeks, for them to be in a negative energy balance. This means that they will start using some of those stored calories from their subcutaneous tissue, as energy, and finally start to lose the weight on the scales.
Why does being overweight cause extra problems for managing pain in dogs?
There are many extra concerns when managing an overweight dog.
Overweight dogs are in a chronic inflammatory state, with higher risk of developing osteo-arthritis, respiratory and heart disease. There is an increased risk when undergoing anaesthetic, because many drugs used are fat soluble. This means it takes higher doses to keep them asleep and it takes longer for these effects to wear off. They have a longer ‘hang-over’ after a GA, with a prolonged recovery.
We also know that life expectancy is reduced, along with a reduced quality of life.
Typically we recognise there is wear and tear on the joints, due to the mechanical effects that the extra weight causes. There are greater ground reaction forces found in overweight dogs, which might lead to greater compressive forces within the joint influencing the development of arthritis.(2)
But not ONLY this mechanical stress that can lead to arthritis. As well as this, there are changes in hormones from fat – known as adipokines – that lead to changes in leptin, leading to insulin resistance and an inflammatory cascade.
But it’s not a lost cause…
In research published in 2020, 11 overweight adult dogs were studied before and after weight loss. (1) The study confirmed high levels of circulatory inflammatory markers, much higher in the overweight dogs. Despite higher levels of fructosamine, triglycerides, insulin, leptin and IGF-1 at the start, all these levels reduced after weight loss and body fat percentage went from 41.6% to 29.1% at the end of the study.
Weight loss reduced concentrations of the inflammatory and insulin resistance markers in dogs, back to normal levels.
We now think of obesity in dogs as an ‘incurable disease’. If your dog becomes overweight, for the rest of their life, they will have a tendency to gain weight. They will need to be managed on much lower levels of food than ‘normal’ dogs.
But we shouldn’t use this ‘disease status’ to make us feel helpless!
We know that the changes we see at the cellular level in overweight dogs are REVERSIBLE and when they reach a lean body weight, have similar levels of dogs that have never been overweight.
Why is it so hard to tackle?
Sometimes it feels too hard to make the lifestyle and nutritional changes that are needed for many months and sometimes years.
Maybe your dog won’t like the diet food, or still beg for treats, or your relatives will feel sorry for them and undermine all your efforts!
Don’t be disheartened!
Even as little as 5% weight loss can mean your dog can move more easily.
Less than 10% weight loss (6.10-8.85%) has been shown to improve kinetic gait analysis assessments (3). Very often the dogs will need less medication, or stop altogether if they reach their ideal body weight. (5)
Many studies show the benefit of even marginal weight loss on subjective and objective lameness scores. Subjective scores are more prone to bias, but objective measures, like kinetic analysis of gait, proves that weight loss alone, without any other intervention or medication, can improve the lameness scores in both elbow osteo-arthritis and hip OA. (6)
Just like us, on a weight loss program, it takes consistent effort and sustained change over time to be effective. Coupled with the fact that safe weight loss in dogs has to be done slowly. A maximum of 1% of body weight per week is safe and achievable.
There must be no crash diets or severe calorie restriction. They are counter productive in humans anyway! Many restrictive human weight loss diets lead to significant macro and micro-nutrient shortages, which are not advisable in dogs.
But it’s not just about the diet. Why not choose a program that is sustainable and takes account of your need to look after and care for your dog? To combine fun and enrichment into your daily routine, so the diet plan doesn’t become a chore, but a process that you are learning to manage you and your dog’s needs and desires better.
Drop the guilt and join the most supportive online weight loss program for dogs available! The Slim Pet Vet Community!
References
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4.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20237844/
5.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11259-010-9348-7
6.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195561601500455
