As a result, a Waterford company have developed a slimming aid for dogs, which is currently being tested by a group of owners from the city and county.

The seven dogs and their owners are currently taking part in focus group run by Waterford company NutriScience and CityVets.

“I could have filled the trial three times over, about 20 per cent of the dogs we see would have problems with their weight,” explained David Thompson, co-owner of CityVets. In the last week the dogs have been weighed, given their target weight to lose and a regime to follow, which will hopefully help them over the next three months.

During this time, their food has been reduced significantly, they will take the slimming aid twice a day and be given low fat treats that are part of the programme.

“The product is a fat that is badly digested by the dog’s body. It enters the small intestine and sends a message to the brain that they are full,” David explained.

“It is hoped that each dog will lose about one per cent of fat a week,” explained David.

“They will come back to the surgery every three weeks to have a weigh-in and see how they are doing,” he continued. Although the perception would be that the cause of the problem is lazy owners, this is not always the case. “Numer-ous factors may predispose an individual dog to obesity including genetics, the amount of physical activity, and the energy content of the diet,” explained Louise Grubb, of NutriScience.

“The main medical concern of obesity relates to the many disease associations that accompany the overweight such as conditions affecting the heart, bones, lungs, joints and general condition of the dog,” she continued.

As a result the age and weight of the dogs taking part varies greatly but the common factor is their owners have all become involved in the trial in an effort to help their pooches lose those extra pounds they have piled on.

Over the coming weeks Waterford News & Star will track the progress of two of the dogs involved in the trial - see profiles here.

 

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