Maintaining a beagle's weight can be rather difficult - but is extremely important. Sometimes, all it takes for a person to spare that extra treat or get the beagle out for a walk more often is education.

• Knee injuries can occur if the beagle overloads the joint while running and turning, so take it easy. 
• Musculoskeletal, circulatory, liver, and pancreatic disorders tend to appear more frequently in overweight dogs.
  
• Fat beagles have trouble cooling off in hot weather and are prone to heatstroke.
  
• Overweight beagles are more likely to develop diabetes, heart and respiratory problems and arthritis.
• Loud snoring is also prevelant in overweight dogs.

One of the best ways to avoid these problems? Diet and exercise. Just as we as humans often struggle with weight issues - beagles do too. The difference is they can't run to the store and buy a whole box of Twinkies - they rely on us feed them. That means the problem lies with the humans. So, be aware of what you and the whole family are feeding the beagle!

A good quality dog food goes a long way to helping maintain a beagle's weight. But if given too much of even a good quality food, a beagle will put on weight.  Along with feeding smaller portions (not the amount given on the back of the bag!) - avoid giving snacks or food from the dinner table. Human food is filled with salt, which can be very damaging to a dog, and a ton of other things that dogs simply don't need. We've found that giving a regular portion of a low-calorie dog food is easier than giving a smaller portion of regular dog food. You'll get fewer evil looks from your beagle.

Monitoring food intake is a fine thing, but without exercise it can only do but so much. All dogs need exercise, whether they are overweight or not. A nice walk a couple of times a day is a good start. If you're anything like me, I could afford a walk or two a day too!

Please go answer our poll question - and think about whether YOUR beagle needs a diet intervention.