AS we all know maintaining a healthy body weight has a lot to do with getting the correct ratio between how much food goes in and how much exercise "goes out". But this article is about addressing the unexplained overweight problems.
From time to time I'm asked to treat a dog for obesity where the owner has tried their best to control the food intake and increase the exercise with little result. In these cases usually one can find other health issues present which underlie the cause of the obesity. Let's take a look:
Underactive thyroid:
The thyroid gland and its hormones control the metabolism of the body. If the thyroid is under active then the dog becomes slow, sluggish, possibly cold temperature to touch, poor coat, overweight and may appear depressed in demeanor. They may feel too tired to exercise much. Often it is thought that the dog is simply lazy and greedy. However s/he won't be feeling all that well and needs a little help.
From a natural therapies point of view there are things we can do to help. Kelp added to the diet can in many cases stimulate the thyroid gland to become more active. Also homoeopathics can be very useful in treating the dog to help normalise thyroid function.
General unwellness:
Even when the thyroid gland is functioning okay, if the dog has a chronic illness causing it to feel generally unwell, there will be a reluctance to exercise without necessarily reducing the dog's appetite. It is best to consult with a medical herbalist or homoeopath and/or a vet if you suspect a problem with your dog's general health.
The kinds of health problems that can cause general unwellness are liver problems, kidney problems, respiratory problems and digestive problems. Some of these, of course, will show signs of other symptoms. But very often it is difficult to pick liver problems unless you know what to look for. Sometimes unwellness will occur following a specific vaccination. A homoeopath can generally address this problem by giving the matching homoeopathic to sort this out.
Dietary problems:
Occasionally an intolerance towards certain foods, e.g. grains, may cause obesity. Aside from this there are the obvious problems where the owner or the dog independently is consuming too much food.
Mobility problems:
This is a more obvious cause. If anything such as arthritis is causing the dog pain on exercise, then the problem arises in some dogs of a reluctance to exercise. The signs of this are easy to pick and most responsible owners will get the pain treated and if necessary will reduce the food intake to match the lessening of the exercise.
In summary:
If you have a dog that has become overweight (despite controlling his/her food intake), reluctant to exercise and may appeared withdrawn or depressed, you need to suspect a general health problem such as an under-functioning thyroid or liver. It is recommended to have a general health check. If your dog checks out ok from your local vet then I suggest you consult a medical herbalist or homoeopath who can assess your dog using a different set of criteria which may pick up the underlying problem. Contact Pat at: www.animalherbs.co.nz
Go to the next page to see reader's questions answered by Pat
