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The People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) has revealed startling statistics of how UK dog owners are not looking after the waistlines of their pets.

The veterinary charity has looked at the overall health of 30,000 dogs in the United Kingdom. During this period, the proportion of dogs that are overweight has increased from 20 per cent to around 33 per cent.

Should the trend continue, the PDSA predicts that half of all dogs in the UK will be overweight by as soon as 2013, and this could affect an owner’s ability to obtain dog life insurance .

An overweight dog can suffer similar health issues as an overweight person; namely heart disease, arthritis and diabetes.

Scotland, the Midlands and the South West are the regions that displayed the highest proportion of obese dogs last year. The South West, along with Northern Ireland, has shown the largest increase year by year with a 14 per cent rise from 2008 – 2009. The sole area to experience a decrease was London, but this was one by 1 per cent.

Overweight dogs are becoming so common that the PDSA is giving a boost to the Pet Fit Club, its yearly pet slimming contest, which takes several of the UK’s portliest pets and aims to provide them with a new lease of life.

The competition has won the approval of the UK’s premier animal obesity specialist, Dr Alex Garman, who commented:

 “PDSA is doing great work in highlighting this important animal welfare issue via its slimming competition. It’s vital that owners recognise their pet’s weight problem, seek veterinary advice and do something about it."

The PDSA points out that there is much that an owner can do to help keep their dog fit and healthy, as not only would it improve the quality of its life, but can reduce the need to claim unnecessarily on any pet insurance for their dog as the chance of illness, and therefore a trip to the vet, is reduced.

The charity emphasises the need to start them on a healthy diet whilst young. If your pet is already overweight, advice should be sought from a vet in drawing up a diet and exercise plan to enable it to lose weight at a steady, healthy rate.