{"id":27956,"date":"2016-02-08T16:29:49","date_gmt":"2016-02-08T15:29:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.petspyjamas.com\/blog\/?p=27956"},"modified":"2025-03-03T13:06:37","modified_gmt":"2025-03-03T12:06:37","slug":"pdsa-tackle-pet-obesity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.petspyjamas.com\/blog\/pdsa-tackle-pet-obesity\/","title":{"rendered":"PDSA tackle the rising pet obesity rate"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pets are experts at tricking us into giving them treats. Pampered pooches who enjoy a slice of ham before dinner, or maybe even a moreish moggy who loves an extra bowl of cat food or two, can dupe us humans into feeding them more than they need. Luckily, PDSA have launched a Pet Fit Club,\u00a0a six-month diet and exercise programme for pets.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Rolo
Rolo the Pug before and after<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The sad fact is the nation\u2019s pets are getting porkier, which is leading many to suffer from an array of health issues. In fact, 80 per cent of vets surveyed in vet charity PDSA\u2019s Animal Wellbeing (PAW) report, believe there will be more overweight than healthy weight pets in five years\u2019 time.<\/p>\n

PDSA Vet Vicki Larkham-Jones, said: \u201cWe treat thousands of pets every year who have piled on the pounds and we know that many more are struggling with bulging waistlines, which is why we launched our Pet Fit Club competition. Not only to help some of the UK\u2019s most obese pets reach their ideal weights, but to raise awareness of this important pet health issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Boycus
Boycus before with owner Sam Denning<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Boycus
Boycus after being weighed<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now in its eleventh year, Pet Fit Club is a six-month diet and exercise programme, tailored and overseen by expert PDSA vets and nurses.\u00a0 The charity will select up to 12 overweight dogs, cats and rabbits from across the UK to participate.<\/p>\n

PDSA Pet Fit Club has already helped 74 dogs, 32 cats and 6 rabbits lose a total 63 stone 11lb – equivalent to over 400 bags of sugar, 6,500 tins of tuna, 7,000 sausages or four heavyweight boxers!<\/p>\n

Meet Daisy<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

A formerly bulging Bulldog \u2013 who was so lazy she had to be bribed with ham to exercise \u2013 \u00a0was crowned \u2018pet slimmer of the year\u2019 after shedding over a quarter of her bodyweight.<\/p>\n

\"Daisy
Daisy before and after with PDSA Head Nurse Steph Williams.<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Diet queen Daisy, from Middlesbrough, beat off competition from huge hounds, fat cats and round rabbits, who were all battling the bulge in a bid to become PDSA\u2019s Pet Fit Club champ.<\/p>\n

When Daisy (8) began her diet, she had ballooned to over 28kg (4st 6lbs), making her more than 40 per cent overweight. Daisy\u2019s passion for extra portions had caused her waistline to expand, along with her preference of hitching a ride to pounding the pavement.<\/p>\n

Owner, Gillian Turrell, (62) had tried to help her beloved pooch to slim down \u2013 even encouraging her to go on a treadmill under her close supervision, plus walks to gradually increase Daisy\u2019s exercise levels. But exercise wasn\u2019t Daisy\u2019s thing \u2013 when out walking she\u2019d been known to jump into any available car to catch a ride home when she\u2019s had enough \u2013 hence her family nickname \u2018Lazy Daisy\u2019.<\/p>\n

\"Daisy
Daisy after with PDSA Head Nurse Steph Williams, the potatoes show how much weight Daisy lost!<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gillian said: \u201cDaisy always begged for food, and has even been known to steal things out of the fridge. I also got into the habit of spoiling her with treats and titbits. The weight crept up slowly, and I didn\u2019t notice how big she\u2019d got.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I couldn\u2019t get the car harness around her, and she was struggling to get up the stairs, I knew things had to change. I love Daisy to bits, and I want the best for her, so when I heard about PDSA\u2019s Pet Fit Club, it was the perfect solution to helping her lose the weight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Daisy started the competition weighing in at a hefty 28.3kg but with PDSA\u2019s help and Gillian\u2019s determination, she was able to lose around 8kg in weight \u2013 meaning that she\u2019s shed an impressive 27% of her bodyweight.<\/p>\n

More pet slimmers:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"PDSA
Duke the Labrador weighed 61kg but his ideal weight should be around 28-30kg.\u00a0<\/em>He is pictured with PDSA Vet Karen Jones at the Pet Hospital in Cardiff.\u00a0<\/em>\u00a9 WALES NEWS SERVICE<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"PDSA
PDSA Pet Fit, Duke the dog pictured in the Cardiff Pet Hospital after his weight loss.\u00a0<\/em>\u00a9 WALES NEWS SERVICE<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Shown
Shown is Hooch an overweight Rottweiler from Hull. He was selected as a candidate for the PDSA Pet Fit Club as he currently weighs over 80kg. Pictures \u00a9 Darren Casey.<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Shown
Here is Hooch at PDSA Pet Hospital Brunswick Avenue in Hull at one of his final weigh ins. Pictures \u00a9 Darren Casey.<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"PDSA,
Kayla, an obese Bullmastiff with her owner Agnes Higgins, was on a strict diet as part of Pet Fit Club.\u00a0<\/em>\u00a9 Malcolm Cochrane Photography<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"23Nov15:
Pictured is Bullmastiff Kayla from Glasgow who with the help of the PDSA is pictured at the end of Pet Fit Club having lost almost 17kg.\u00a0<\/em>\u00a9 Nick McGowan-Lowe 2015<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If your pet is a little on the portly side, you can enter them at www.pdsa.org.uk\/petfitclub<\/a>. Entry forms are also available from PDSA Pet Hospitals, Shops and Pet Hut superstores nationwide.\u00a0 The deadline for entries is Sunday 6 March.<\/p>\n

PDSA is the UK\u2019s leading veterinary charity, treating more than 470,000 pets annually across its 51 Pet Hospitals. The charity strives to improve all pets\u2019 lives through education, preventive care and emergency treatment. For more information visit www.pdsa.org.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PDSA are helping to tackle the rising pet obesity rate with their six-month programme, Pet Fit Club. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":27967,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[69,800,4,18,34,379],"class_list":["post-27956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-cat","tag-charity","tag-dog","tag-health","tag-obesity","tag-vet"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nPDSA tackle the rising pet obesity rate \/ PetsPyjamas<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"PDSA are helping to tackle the rising pet obesity rate with their tailored six-month diet and exercise programme, Pet Fit Club...\u00a0\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.petspyjamas.com\/blog\/pdsa-tackle-pet-obesity\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"PDSA tackle the rising pet obesity rate \/ PetsPyjamas\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"PDSA are helping to tackle the rising pet obesity rate with their tailored six-month diet and exercise programme, Pet Fit Club...\u00a0\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.petspyjamas.com\/blog\/pdsa-tackle-pet-obesity\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PetsPyjamas\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-02-08T15:29:49+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-03T12:06:37+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pets-blog-prod.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2016\/02\/05115151\/Hooch-after.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"3000\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1997\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Imogen Rayfield\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Imogen Rayfield\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.petspyjamas.com\/blog\/pdsa-tackle-pet-obesity\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.petspyjamas.com\/blog\/pdsa-tackle-pet-obesity\/\",\"name\":\"PDSA tackle the rising pet obesity rate \/ PetsPyjamas\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.petspyjamas.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.petspyjamas.com\/blog\/pdsa-tackle-pet-obesity\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.petspyjamas.com\/blog\/pdsa-tackle-pet-obesity\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.petspyjamas.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Hooch-after.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-02-08T15:29:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-03T12:06:37+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.petspyjamas.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/7b4442a36c75f6121dccdcaf6f4acbb5\"},\"description\":\"PDSA are helping to tackle the rising pet obesity rate with their tailored six-month diet and exercise programme, Pet Fit Club...\u00a0\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.petspyjamas.com\/blog\/pdsa-tackle-pet-obesity\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.petspyjamas.com\/blog\/pdsa-tackle-pet-obesity\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.petspyjamas.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Hooch-after.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.petspyjamas.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Hooch-after.jpg\",\"width\":3000,\"height\":1997,\"caption\":\"Shown is Hooch an overweight Rottweiler from Hull. 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