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See how fit your dog is with a Petometer

Thu, 23 Feb 2006

The UK’s leading pet insurance provider, Petplan, is to launch a Petometer that measures how many steps a dog has taken in one day. The aim is to try and tackle the spread of obesity in British dogs.

The problem of dogs becoming obese is ruining the lives of many pets as 41 per cent are now thought to be overweight or obese.

Obesity in humans has severe consequences. This can be the same for pets but it is also a contributory factor to diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and liver problems as well as osteoarthritis and cruciate ligament ruptures. The insurance company paid out over £7 million on claims caused by obesity.

The Petometer will accurately count the number of steps a dog takes each day. The device uses an electronic sensor to record the dog’s front leg movement and will be attached to the dogs’ collar.

To coincide with the launch of the Petometer, Petplan have put together a Petsercise Programme to monitor a dog’s exercise routine. The programme has considered which breed of dogs are most popular in the UK, the programme then advises the number of steps each breed should take each day.

The table below outlines how many steps the most popular dog breeds in the UK should take:

German Shepherd 23,000 – 25,000 steps;

Golden Retriever 18,000 – 25,000 steps;

Labrador Retriever 20,000 – 25,000 steps;

West Highland White 20,000 – 25,000 steps;

Cocker Spaniel 25,000 – 27,000 steps;

Boxer 30,000 plus steps;

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel 15,000 – 20,000 steps;

Yorkshire Terrier 16,000 – 18,000 steps;

Staffordshire Bull Terrier 30,000 steps;

Springer Spaniel 25,000 – 30,000 steps;

Scott Miller, Petplan veterinary consultant and TV vet said, "Obesity is becoming a huge problem for our pets and it is pet owners who are to blame. It’s a direct result of lack of exercise and poor diets. We hope the new Petplan Petometer will give pet owners the wake-up call that’s required to begin sensible exercise regimes for their dogs."
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