What happens if you overfeed a Yorkie
Overfeeding your dog: Is it possible and how dangerous is it?
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As a small dog owner, you may be wondering if you can feed your pet too much and how risky this could be for them. Surprisingly enough, there are many risks associated with overfeeding your little dog, and its pretty easy to do.
Overfeeding your dog is not only possible, but its also dangerous. The reason why people overfeed their dogs is that they want to make sure that their dog will always have food available when they want it, they will tend to feed them with love, by giving the dog some of their food to eat, throwing them a bone or two or by simply giving them too many treats. By combining these habits, you can quickly see how easy it is to overfeed your beloved pooch.
Read on to find out how dangerous overfeeding is, what symptoms to look out for, and how to stop overfeeding your dog.
How dangerous is it to overfeed your dog?
If your dog is overweight, then the most straightforward answer would be that its very dangerous. Overfeeding a pet can lead to bloating, obesity, heart disease, or even diabetes. In some cases, this could also cause cancer.
The problems of obesity are not only physical but psychological as well. Dogs can show signs of aggression and have problems getting along with other pets. It can also shorten the life span of your dog by two years.
What are the symptoms of overfeeding?
Depending on the weight, age, breed, and metabolism of your dog. They will need different amounts of food each day. However, there are some common signs to look for to check to indicate your dog may be overfed.
- Low energy levels
- begging
- bloating
- diarrhea
- constipation
Your dog could have many of these signs or just one or two; it is vital to have your dog checked by a veterinarian if you are concerned. Some of these symptoms may also indicate another health-related issue, so checking with your veterinarian is necessary to diagnose and treat your dog correctly.
How to avoid overfeeding your dog
If your dog is overweight, there are some steps you can take to help them lose weight. However, before you start drastically changing your dogs diet and routine, talk with your veterinarian first, as not all dogs will have the same process.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself as this may be helpful information to provide to your veterinarian when you go in for a checkup.
How much food are you feeding your dog each day?
You may be asking whether this includes bones, scraps, and treats. Yes, yes, it does!
When training, you will need to take the amount you have given in treats out of their food at mealtime. This also applies to any bones or kongs given.
Is the food you are giving nutritional for your dog?
What do I mean by this? You may be feeding your dog, but are they eating nutritious food that fills them up?
Do you feed your dog routinely every day?
Dogs are creatures of habit, and a consistentfeeding schedulecontributes to an animal that is happier and more content overall.
How much exercise is your dog getting daily?
If this answer is not really, it may be as simple as taking your dog for a walk daily, or even 2-3 times a week depending on your schedule to help shed the extra weight.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know how much food my dog needs?
Your dog should be eating the recommended amount of food for its weight, age, and metabolism of your dog. Refer to further information on the back of the food you buy for your dog for serving suggestions, consult a vet, or ask them for a diet chart specific to your type of dog; this will give you insight into roughly how much your dog should be eating per day.
What happens if a puppy eats too much?
If your puppy is eating more than it should, you may notice these symptoms such as bloating, diarrhea, acting lethargic. We would advise consulting a vet.
What can I give my dog to make her feel full?
Try adding vegetables to your dogs meals; vegetables like carrot, green beans, and broccoli contain vitamins and nutrients that are great for your dog!
So there you have it overfeeding your dog is very much a reality. As mentioned above, overfeeding your dog can be easily done but can be dangerous for your beloved pooch. This weight gain may lead to long-term health problems later in life. Make sure to consult a professional before making any changes to their diet, so you know what will work best for your dog.
What type of dog do you have? let us know in the comments below
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What Can Happen if You Overfeed a Puppy?
A well-balanced diet is essential to the health of your growing puppy, but owners often overfeed, hoping their puppy will grow up big and strong. Overfeeding puppies is a serious concern that will affect your puppy for the rest of his life. Feed your puppy the proper amount of food as instructed by your veterinarian and keep a close eye on his weight to avoid overeating-related health problems.
Digestive Irritation
A puppys digestive system is very delicate, and packing it with too much food is a recipe for irritation. Puppies who overeat will often vomit to relieve pressure on their distended stomachs. If your furry friend manages to keep the food down, it may reappear in a few hours in the form of diarrhea. Puppies who overeat for just a day or two should be back to normal in a couple of days; chronic overeating may result in diarrhea that lasts for weeks, even months. To avoid this unpleasant issue, feed your puppy the recommended amount on a consistent schedule.
Weight Gain
Excessive calories from overfeeding will lead to weight gain. Run your hands over your puppys back and sides; if you cant feel his ribs under your fingers, hes too heavy. Eating too many calories can increase the number of fat cells in his body, which can lead to heavier body weight later in life. Before you put your pudgy pup on a diet, ask your vet how to safely cut back his caloric intake.
Skeletal and Joint Development
Overeating may result in rapid growth in young puppies, and this condition can cause permanent skeletal damage. Osteochondrosis, a condition aggravated by rapid bone development, occurs when the cartilage and connective tissue do not receive enough nutrients. Puppies suffering from osteochondrosis may have swollen joints, limp or whine in pain. This condition mainly affects large breed puppies who take in too many calories, but may be present in smaller or mixed breed puppies who are allowed to eat too much.
Hip Dysplasia
While hip dysplasia is not a side effect of overeating, the more weight your dog has to carry, the more likely it is to impact his hips. Hip dysplasia is a condition in which the ball joint at the hip does not fit together correctly, due to injury or malformation. The ball does not wear evenly, resulting in chronic pain and lameness. Puppies who overeat and rapidly gain weight place unnecessary strain on the hips and may cause uneven wear on the hip socket. If you suspect your puppy may have hip dysplasia, schedule him for an exam and diagnostic tests with your veterinarian.
Can You Overfeed a Turtle? (with Pictures and Video)
Does your turtle always seem to want more food, and it will never stop eating? Most likely the answer is yes, as turtles are opportunistic feeders, which means that they will eat as much food as they will get. Unfortunately, this behavior can easily lead to overfeeding which is one of the most common problems among pet turtles.
Turtles can be easily overfed, which can result in serious health problems like obesity and pyramiding. Since turtles are opportunistic feeders this is one of the most common problems for pet turtles.
Overfeeding is a serious problem, but fortunately, its easy to remediate. But before adjusting the diet of your turtle, first, you have to look for signs of overfeeding.
Visual Signs of Overfeeding
There are two things that will happen if you overfeed your turtle. The first thing that will happen is that your turtle will get fat, which wont only make your turtle look chubby, but will also damage some internal organs. And the second thing is that its shell will develop improperly.
Lets start with obesity.
Obesity
Turtles dont have that much skin exposed, the only parts covered with skin are the limbs, neck, head, and tail. So those are the parts where the excess fat will gather.
In the picture above you can see how the skin on the neck is basically hanging due to the excess fat. So if you notice that there is a fat buildup near the neck, this is a sign of overfeeding.
The next palace to look for fat is the limbs. When turtles retract their limbs in the shell, there should be nothing left on the outside, but if you notice something similar to this you are defiantly dealing with an obese turtle:
Another place fat tends to appear is the base of the tail, but here its harder to spot compared to the other places.
The pictures that I used are taken from a video posted by a veterinarian. If you want to take a better look here is the video, but I warn you some of the images are extremely unpleasant to look at.
Overall you should remember that turtles shouldnt have any fat at all, as they are generally fit creatures.
Pyramiding
Pyramiding is an extremely bad thing, as its irreversible.
Pyramiding referees to the improper development of the shell due to excess proteins( so basically food)
Here is how a normal shell should look like:
And here is how a shell with pyramiding looks like:
Or in extreme cases like this:
How pyramiding manifests depends from turtle species to turtle species, so it can look different. But regardless of how it looks, its never a good thing, and its always irreversible.
Pyramiding can be stopped by changing the diet of the turtle, but it can never be reversed.
The good thing about pyramiding is that it has to be very advanced in order to affect the health of the turtle. So if its stopped as soon as it starts to develop it wont affect the turtle. But be careful if the turtle will be overfed again the pyramiding process will continue from where it stopped last time.
How to Feed Your Turtle the Right Amount of Food
The simplest and most efficient way of feeding any turtle is the size of the head method.
This method says that you should feed your turtle the amount of food that it would take to fill its head.
So, to put this method into practice look for a small container, like a measuring spoon, medicine cup, shot glass, anything that is that has the same size as the head of your turtle. Fill that recipient with food and give it to your turtle. And thats all.
If you would like to know how a feeding schedule should look like, and how often you should feed your turtle check out this article: How Often and How Much Do Red Eared Sliders Eat? + Schedule. While the article is about Red Eared Sliders, the same principles apply to any turtle.
How to Make Your Turtle Fit Again
If your turtle is starting to get fat you can easily rectify this by giving it a proper diet. But as we all know losing weight isnt that easily achieved just by eating the right things, you also need to exercise.
Since you cant take your turtle out with you jogging, you will need them to provide enough space to exercise. This means that they need to have a properly sized tank. As a rule of thumb, turtles need to have 10 gallons of water for every inch of the shell that theyve got.
If you give it enough space, and a proper diet, your turtle should get back in shape in a few weeks or months, depending on how to overfeed they were.
But if your turtle is extremely obese, like in the pictures from the start of the article I would recommend you to go to a veterinarian. Obesity can affect their internal organs, which might need some treatment.
Final Thoughts
Turtle obesity shouldnt be taken lightly, as it can lead to grave consequences.
But while this is a common problem, most cases are not too bad. A little extra fat wont affect the turtle immediately, and can easily be corrected.
Serious problems arise only when turtles end up looking like the one in the pictures from the start.
The best way to make sure that you dont overfeed your turtle is to use the size of the head feeding method and to provide it with enough space to exercise.
I hope this article answers all of your questions, but if you still have unanswered questions you can leave them in the comment section below and I will answer them as soon as possible.
