Why you should keep your beagle off the bagels...

Fat dogs live shorter lives, study finds

IRELAND’s obesity crisis is no longer confined to humans – now it has spread to man’s best friend.

And new research has found that overweight pooches could see their lives shortened by more than two years – that’s a whopping 14 years for the average canine.

Researchers tracked more than 50,000 dogs from the 12 most popular breeds over two decades to see how their weight affected their health. They found every breed had shorter lives.

The future is most bleak for overweight Yorkshire terriers, which die two years and six months earlier than normal weight dogs of the same breed. German shepherds see their odds of mortality fall the least, being found to die five months earlier if they are overweight.

Researchers from the University of Liverpool say overweight dogs, like humans, are at risk from cancer, high blood pressure and heart and kidney problems.

These can all cut their lives short, with owners advised to weigh their pets, make sure they get enough exercise and stop feeding them treats from the kitchen table. The study’s coauthor, Alex German, professor of small animal medicine at the University of Liverpool, said: ‘For many owners, giving food, particularly tasty table scraps and tidbits, is the way we show affection for our pets.

‘What they may not know is that, if their beloved pet is too heavy, they are more likely to suffer from other problems such as joint disease, breathing issues, and certain types of cancer, as well as having a poorer quality of life. These health and wellbeing issues can significantly impact how long they live.’

It is estimated that one in three dogs in Ireland are overweight or obese. Small dogs are most likely to see their lives cut short if they are overweight, with Chihuahuas and Pomeranians losing around two years.

That may be because smaller dogs tend to live longer, or that certain breeds are worst affected by illnesses caused by obesity.

The study is based on vets’ records from the US for middleaged dogs aged 5.5 to 9.5 years old which were seen between 1994 and 2015.

Researchers also found being overweight reduced the lifespans of American cocker spaniels, beagles, dachshunds, boxers, and pit bulls, when compared to normal weight animals of the same breed and sex of a similar age. The largest dogs tracked in the study – German shepherds, golden retrievers and Labrador retrievers – saw their lives reduced by less than a year.

The study is published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine.