Award-winning pet food company Burns Pet Nutrition has launched a brand new support group exclusively for owners of overweight and obese dogs. The aptly named Hounds Dropping Pounds weight loss group was launched on the social media platform Facebook early in January as a way to combat the growing crisis of overweight pets in the UK.
According to PDSA, the well-respected UK veterinary charity, it is believed that over half of all pets in the UK are overweight or obese. In a survey of veterinary professionals, most UK vets identified obesity as one of the top five welfare issues of the UK dog population.
It’s believed to be an issue that has grown significantly over the last two years, but staggeringly, only 26% of UK dog owners can identify a possible weight issue with their pets. This means that the growing size of our pets is setting a new, worrying norm for pet waistlines, and one which is making it impossible to identify what a healthy weight actually looks like.
The Hounds Dropping Pounds group offers free, friendly and non-judgemental advice and support to dog owners who are concerned about the weight of their pets. The group aims to empower pet owners by providing them with the right tools to be able to identify and take control of a potential weight issue with their dogs, while using fun incentives such as prizes for the best doggy weight loss of the month.
Hounds Dropping Pounds will be managed by the famed nutrition team at Burns, who are well-known for administering advice and guidance to pet owners via a free helpline and chat feature on the Burns Pet Nutrition main website. The new group will offer weight loss resources, such as bespoke food plans and tailored dietary advice, as well as regular weigh ins to keep dogs on track to reach their weight loss targets. Hounds Dropping Pounds will bring together a community of owners to share their own tips and experience on how they’ve achieved results with their own pets, offering an extra cushion of support for owners.
Burns Pet Nutrition has been at the forefront of the healthy pet food market since the company was founded by veterinary surgeon John Burns in 1993. A pioneering pet food brand, Burns specialises in using simple, wholesome and holistic ingredients to create its award-winning, hand cooked recipes without the use of nasty chemicals. Since the creation of its Original Chicken and Rice recipe, Burns has released a variety of pet food ranges, including its recent Weight Control Range, which was designed specifically to support natural weight loss and help super hungry dogs feel fuller for longer.
With January being the optimal month to start a healthier lifestyle, and a third lockdown keeping us all close to home, Burns Pet Nutrition are on a mission to help both dogs and their owners stay as fit and healthy as possible. Alongside their new weight loss support group, Burns Pet Nutrition offer great advice via social media and through their educational and entertaining website blogs.
One of their most popular recent blogs was designed to tackle the growing sense of boredom amongst those who have taken up walking during lockdown. The blog offers advice on how to make lockdown walks with your dog more interesting, and explores methods such as playing games, learning tricks, taking pictures and even taking part in local wildlife initiatives, such as the RSPB’s Wild Challenge. With so much support and motivation for the UK dog owners, hopefully the collar sizes of our pets, and the crisis itself, will soon start to shrink.
Join the Hounds Dropping Pounds Facebook group today, via the handle @HoundsDroppingPounds, or visit burnspet.co.uk/hounds-dropping-pounds/ for more information.
