Add Two Years to Your Dog’s Life
Feeding your dog a healthy diet can help increase their life ‘pet-spectancy’ by up to two years, says leading veterinary charity PDSA.
Research shows that dogs fed a suitable diet containing the appropriate number of calories throughout their lives have a greater life span than those fed high-calorie diets.
This means that by simply feeding the right food, giving appropriate exercise and keeping them at a healthy weight, you can increase the life ‘pet-spectancy’ of your dog by 15 per cent.*
To help more UK pets enjoy healthy diets and a full, active life, PDSA has launched its fourth annual PDSA Pet Fit Club competition and is appealing for owners of overweight pets to enter their flabby furry friends.
PDSA Senior Veterinary Surgeon, Sean Wensley, said: “Obesity can have serious and life-threatening effects on our pets. It can cause them to develop conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and arthritis, reducing both the quality of life and life expectancy.”
Eight overweight pets from across the UK will be chosen to take part in PDSA Pet Fit Club 2008. Each will follow a 100 day diet and fitness programme, especially tailored by PDSA vets, to help them shift their excess inches. The closing date (Friday 22 August) is fast approaching so apply online today at www.pdsa.org.uk/petfitclub.
Sean continued “PDSA has seen a 9 per cent rise in dog obesity in the past year, which means there is a real need for owners to help their pets lose their excess pounds. Pet Fit Club offers them the perfect opportunity to do just that, with the support and guidance of PDSA vets.”
PDSA data shows that 30 per cent of the dogs in the UK are now overweight. The North West has the greatest proportion of podgy pets (31%) whilst the Midlands and Scotland have seen the largest percentage rise in animal obesity (10% and 11% respectively) over the last 12 months.**
Over the last three years PDSA vets have helped Pet Fit Club finalists shed an incredible 120 kg or 19 stones, equivalent to the weight of a one-year-old polar bear, a Giant Panda or the former All Black star Jonah Lomu.
At the end of the diet and exercise programme, the pet with the most significant weight-loss that, in the opinion of the judges, has best followed their new regime, will be crowned ‘PDSA Pet Fit Club Champ’. The ‘Champ’ will win its owner a ‘pet-friendly’ holiday, courtesy of Coastal Cottages of Pembrokeshire.
So if you’ve got a podgy puss, hefty hound, huge hamster or a rotund rabbit, why not enter them in PDSA Pet Fit Club? Entry forms are available at all PDSA PetAid hospitals and shops, by calling 01952 204748 or online at www.pdsa.org.uk/petfitclub.
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