Obesity
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One of the most devastating and potentially serious diseases to affect our dogs is that of obesity. Thankfully, it's also one of the most easily prevented and treatable diseases. Usually the result of neglect or misinformation, oftentimes all it takes to reverse the adverse affects of obesity is education and a willingness to help your dog improve his or her quality of life.
Obesity is a condition in which your dog's percentage of body fat is significantly higher than it should be, resulting in their carrying around a lot of extra weight. This extra weight affects the entirety of your dog's health. It places them at a much greater risk during any surgeries that might be necessary for other diseases; weakens their joints and cartilage, leaving them prone to injuries; and creates an incredible amount of stress on organs and bones that are surrounded by thick walls of fat. [...]
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Besides hip dysplasia and eye problems, Redbone Coonhounds, like all coonhounds, also have a tendency to suffer from obesity. They are active dogs, needing a good amount of exercise, but they all too easily will adjust to a sedentary lifestyle if their owner does not provide them with activities to vent their energy; if deprived of exercise, they will also develop behavior problems. Also like many hounds, the Redbone has a tendency of overeating if given half the chance and these factors contribute to somewhat of a predisposition for gaining weight in the breed. This may not seem like a life-threatening disease, or as painful as something like entropion (inward turning of the eyelid), but obesity in dogs, as in humans, is not to be taken lightly. Obesity can lead to a variety of medical complications and can even contribute to shortening your dog's life, so measures must be taken to prevent your dog from becoming obese or getting him back to his proper weight. [...]
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There are almost as many specialized diet dog food products on the market as there are typical dog food diets. Usually these specialized diets are only found in the dry kibble and canned foods, however there may be some found as frozen products as well as in the semi-moist formulations. These specialized foods are usually for dogs at different ages and stages of growth as well as for dogs with dietary restrictions or requirements due to health or allergic problems that the dog is experiencing.
The specialized diets, like human diets, will work well with some dogs and not as well with others. Often a bit of shopping around and a lot of research is required to ensure that you find the right diet to match the issue you are wishing to address with your dog. Carefully read the label including the ingredients and guaranteed analysis to verify what the label is indicating is actually what is contained within the feed it the correct ratio for your pet. A vet or animal nutritionalists can often recommend a few different brands that may work for your dog, plus they can also advise on types or ingredients to avoid in specialized diets. [...]
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Regardless of what type or breed of dog you may choose, all dogs need regular, routine exercise. It is also important to note that while some breeds are naturally more active or energetic, no breed of dog has been bred to be a complete couch potato. This means that even the toy dogs that love to just sit on their owners laps still need to get out and go for a walk, a run in the park or play games that encourage physical exercise. [...]
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Like most of the hound dogs and dogs that were bred for an active, robust lifestyle with their owners, the Dachshund is typically a very healthy pet. Like any dog breed there are health issues that are associated with the Dachshund, several which are genetic while others are more likely to develop with poor diet and lack of exercise. [...]
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All of the American Hounds are considered to be coonhounds, which means this is the primary game they have been developed to hunt. All of the dogs can also hunt virtually any other animal as well, with a history of hunting deer, rabbits and even predator animals such as bear and coyotes in many of the different breed histories. As such these dogs have been developed to be very healthy, athletic and strong animals and they are remarkable free from most of the major genetic issues that can be found in other purebred dog lines. [...]
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Basset Hounds, perhaps because they were originally developed by using dwarf lines found within Bloodhound and other hunting hounds, tend to have slightly more health concerns than most of the other hound breeds. They have also had significant spikes in popularity throughout history, leading to poor breeding practices by many backyard types of breeders only in it for the money. Reputable breeders and kennels have maintained very healthy and genetically sound Basset Hounds that have few of the health issues listed below. [...]
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If you are one of those people that sets yearly weight loss goals for yourself on New Year's Eve, maybe you might want to include your dog in your plans this year. According to results obtained by a national survey of vets, approximately 44% of all domestic pets, including both cats and dogs, are considered to be obese. Cats are actually worse than dogs with almost 57% of the cats examined by the vet clinics on the survey date coming in at obese or overweight. This same study, done by the Association of Pet Obesity Prevention estimates that in the United States alone there are some 26 million dogs that are overweight and at least and additional 7.2 million canines that would fit into the category of obese. [...]
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Obesity
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