PDSA Dog Obesity League Raises Concerns

Tue, 27 Jul 2010

Dog owners in the UK are being urged to keep their pet in good shape after some worrying trends emerged from the annual PDSA dog obesity league table. The animal charity has examined the health and weight of nearly 30,000 dogs across the UK over the past four years, during which time the percentage of overweight dogs has risen from roughly 20 per cent to more than 30 per cent.

The PDSA has warned pet owners that if the trend continues, almost half of Britain’s dogs will be overweight by 2013, increasing the likelihood of a shorter lifespan and lower quality of life. In 2009, the areas with the highest proportion of overweight dogs were the Midlands, Scotland and the South West, while Northern Ireland and the South West saw the biggest yearly increase in the proportion of podgy pups – 14 per cent.

As part of its efforts to combat the problem, the PDSA has once again launched the PDSA Pet Fit Club – an annual pet slimming competition backed by vet and leading animal obesity specialist Dr Alex German. Competitors are given a free six month exercise and diet programme, with the charity due to select 10 dogs and 10 cats to take part.

Link to this page

Copy and Paste the following HTML into your page.