Podgy Pooches

Are you feeling guilty about over pampering your dog with too many treats? Are walkies becoming a little more than just a walk in the park?

According to the BBC nearly 50% of the UK’s Dogs are overweight and as the colder weather draws in its easier to swap any outdoor activity with your dog for a quiet snooze at home by the fire.

Just like humans dogs can suffer from weight problems if they don’t get enough exercise and if we become lazy then it’s highly likely that our pooches will get podgy.

So it goes without saying that your dog’s health depends on yours. If you exercise your dog regularly, not only will you help strengthen his immune system and yours, but you may also help combat some critical dog illnesses like joint and heart problems.

To check your pet’s ideal weight visit your vet for advice or look up petsgetslim.co.uk to make sure he isn’t overweight.

There are many simple doggy exercises both at home and outdoors that you can do together with your pooch to keep both of you fit throughout the colder months. Here are some ideas.

1. The simple answer to keeping your dog fit is that magic word, W.A.L.K.I.E.S. Letting your dog out into the back yard to exercise by himself is just not good enough. You must give your dog plenty of petcercise every day. To work out how much you should be walking your dog check out this online guide on breeds that do need a lot of exercise and those that don’t.

2. If you want to go the extra mile why not start organising your very own local dog walking club or begin organising regular dog walks to raise money for animal charities. The PDSA offer a platform to help dog walkers raise money for vets and dogs by organising sponsored walks throughout the UK.

3. If you are looking for a bona fido way to workout with your pooch and shed some puppy fat forget the Wii, your dog is the answer to keeping fit. To find out more ways you can stretch and fetch check out the online answer to the pet gym, petfit.com. The website provides expert tips on how you and your pooch can help each other get fit with a range of fun routines.

4. Power walkies is the new ‘jogging’. This is a great new way to get fit with your dog just combine your daily walkies routine with a good old fashioned jog. That way you get to tone up and give the dog a good workout at the same time!

5. If your dog has already gained weight over the summer it’s never too late to kick off with a healthier routine. Try a probiotic supplement like Bionic Biotic which can be used in a similar way to how we would use Slimfast. Feeding the supplement allows you to provide your dog with the nutrients they need in a very small volume of food. This means that you can cut down the overall amount of food that you feed your dog - helping them to loose weight. In addition to this it aids better digestion and helps your dog absorb more nutrients from their diet.

Don’t forget to reward yourself for your hard work so the next time you cringe about going out in the cold to walk your pooch look up your nearest pet friendly boozer to reward yourself with a drink.

Enter this month’s Pooch and Mutt prize draw to win a bag of Bionic Biotic.