How would you evaluate your pet’s body condition score, and level of activity? From one pet parent to another, this question may be very subjective. We will often evaluate the level of activity based on what would be for us a physical effort. We see our pets every day and may not be able to stay objective, and notice that they might be carrying extra weight. You may also have been told that a breed should weigh over 100 lb, as if pounds were truly a criteria of health and breed standard.
Body Condition Score (BCS)
On this day dedicated to Pet Obesity Awareness, we want to help pet parents better understand and evaluate their pet’s activity level, what a healthy body condition looks like, and how to maintain a healthy weight. We want to move away from a simple number on a scale, and from preconceived ideas about a particular breed or type of dog, to make a more informed decisions about what a healthy weight actually looks like.
Let start by explaining the body condition score. This scoring system takes into account a pet’s fat reserve and muscle mass, rating it on a scale. For this article, we will use the 5 point scale and refer to the image below, to be used as a visual guide. On this chart, 5 would be obese, 1 would be dangerously thin, and 3 would be the goal – ribs can be felt but not visibly seen.
It is important to keep in mind that from one breed or pet to another, the fat storage locations may be different. Some pets store fat at the shoulder before we stop feeling the ribs and others, a lack of good weight is more visible at the hip bones. For scoring to be accurate and helpful, it is important to evaluate the whole body, visually and by touch.
But, one thing is sure, there are no breed standards that call for an obese or malnourished dog. Some breeds will have bigger muscle mass, and others will have more prominent bones. But for every dog of every breed, too much fat will create substantial health and mobility issues in the long term, and an underweight, malnourished pet puts them at risk for injuries or disease.
A 30 lb Border Collie might need more food than an 80 lb Bernese Mountain Dog, to keep a healthy BCS. Their individual metabolism and Resting Energy Requirement (RER) simply aren’t the same. Even within pets of the same breed, one could weigh more and have a better BCS than a dog that weighs less, because muscle is heavier than fat. Most commonly though, a dog outside of breed standard is probably overweight rather than underweight. On the other hand, feeding a pet to achieve the breed’s weight standard is not a good strategy. Weight is just one piece of measurable data, and shouldn’t be the only consideration – this is where the BCS comes in.
Healthy Lifestyle: Physical Exercise & Activity Level
How does a dog become obese? And how do pet parents not notice? While it is not always as simple as calories in and calories out, physical exercise and diet are key components of a healthy lifestyle, for humans as well as dogs. Dogs are athletic endurance animals: standing still in one spot, burns the same number of calories as walking on a flat, straight surface. For a dog a short 15-minute leash walk a couple times a day is equivalent to asking your dog to simply stand still – walking really should not be considered physical exercise.
To increase energy consumption and encourage calorie and weight loss, you need to increase two things: duration and intensity. Walking on an incline from a straight, flat surface increases the calorie burning factor 6 times and doing nose work/hunting is 200x more effective than leash running. This means to truly get our dogs exercising, we need to change the definition of exercise and get involved ourselves.
Increasing the intensity can look different for different pets and owners. Brain work, like scent detection and training sessions, are a great way to engage some dogs and increase activity when weather doesn’t cooperate or there are time constraints. For pet parents that really want to get active with their dogs, long leash run/walks are great for encouraging sniffing, running, sprinting, and rolling or to increase the effort for Fido even more, make him pull you (canicross), or you can learn and practice a new dog sport together!
Healthy Lifestyle: Diet
Increasing physical exercise for some might not be enough. Obesity can be the symptom of other health issues like diabetes or hypothyroidism and even lack of other hormones from sterilization could be keeping your pet unable to maintain a healthy weight. There can also be distinctions made for some breeds – though not every dog of that breed might fit the mold, some breeds will seem to gain weight just by looking at food, while others, even if not considered overly active, need 3-4 times the recommended portion.
One thing is sure though, not all calories are equal. Protein and fat have many important roles in maintaining the body from maintaining muscle to brain function, but carbs, on the other hand, serve only one – to provide energy. And if the energy isn’t needed, it will be stored as fat.
Studies show that for diets containing the exact same number of calories, when these calories come from protein instead of carbs, dogs lose weight more easily. It’s understandable then that for many pet parents, simply switching their dogs to a raw diet kick-starts the weight loss journey. Reducing carbs from being 50% of the diet (processed kibble) to 5% has huge effects on metabolism. Providing high quality protein from meat, gives the body what it needs to build muscle mass and burn fat, when combined with adequate physical exercise.
When our pets aren’t able to be as active as they should, whether due to injury, age or mobility, it is possible to feed less than Big Country Raw’s recommended food portion. All BCR Dinner, XL and Fare Game recipes are formulated and balanced based on calories, so feeding slightly less will not create nutritional deficiencies. Your five-year-old sterilized Golden Retriever will very probably need to eat less than a two-year-old intact Malinois, even if both have the same ideal weight.
Clinical Trial
Did you know that we are currently conducting a clinical trial? After being the first Canadian raw pet food company to conduct a feeding trial, we want to demonstrate that raw pet food can help with minor health issues, and our first clinical trial is for weight loss. If you have a pet that is overweight, or know someone with an overweight pet, reach out to us at info@bigcountryraw.ca so we can get you on board! It is even better if the pet is currently on a kibble diet. Together, we can prove to pet parents that raw is the way to a healthier life!
