WagbookTracking your pet’s weight: why and how often?
Why regular weighing is so useful for dogs, cats, rabbits and birds, how to do it at home and when a change is a reason to see your vet.
Weight is one of the simplest things you can track about your pet’s health, and one of the most useful. Many illnesses show up on the scale first, long before you notice anything else. And excess weight often creeps in unnoticed too.
How often to weigh?
- Adult dog or cat: about once a month is a good habit.
- Puppies and kittens: more often, because they grow fast. Your vet can tell you what’s normal.
- Rabbits, guinea pigs and birds: ideally every week or two, in grams. For small animals a few percent is already a lot.
- On a diet or medication: as often as your vet advises.
How to weigh at home
- Small dog or cat: step on the scale yourself, then weigh yourself holding your pet, and subtract the difference.
- Large dog: many vet practices and pet shops have a scale you can use for free.
- Rabbit or bird: use a digital kitchen scale with a box or a perch.
When to see the vet?
Small ups and downs are normal. But contact your vet if your pet keeps losing or gaining weight without a clear reason, or if there is a big change in a short time, especially in small animals. If your pet eats less, drinks more or behaves differently, weight is useful information to bring along too.
A line says more than one number
One weighing says little. Only when you see a few months in a row does it become clear whether weight is stable or slowly changing. That is exactly what your vet wants to know.
How Wagbook helps
In Wagbook you add a weighing in one tap, in kilos or in grams for small animals and birds. You see a chart over 3 months, a year or everything, with the change since last time. With PRO the weight history is also included in the PDF for the vet.
This article is general information, not veterinary advice. Ask your vet what a healthy weight is for your pet.
Never forget when the next time is
Wagbook remembers vaccinations, deworming, medication and weight for all your pets. Free, no account.
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