...erm thats how it works

im not saying your dog is fat,i do not know your dog,but, i have learnt over the years to never express my opinion if their dog is fat unless asked to lol.

My point was people assume you stuff them full of crap, give them huge meals, or give them loads of treats.

When Jed was on kibble we tried diet foods and small amounts too. Even the vet couldnt understand why he wasnt losing any weight on the amount and kind of food he was getting.

I monitor each dogs food, both Flynn and Jessie are perfect weight and if they go above or below then I can easily adjust and they come back into line but it isnt so with Jed.

I dont believe it's just about giving them too much food in every case.

I hate seeing fat dogs and will talk to people about their dogs that I think are carrying extra pounds if I think the owners haven't a clue that their dogs are overweight.

A lovely dobie comes to the same training class as me and had no waist what so ever! Brought it up in conversation and she was feeding a really high protein/fat food without realising it, has now changed her food and she looks lovely.

Teg could do with putting on a little weight but I'd rather he be a little underweight than overweight.

Makes me laugh when people are horrified when they get their hands on Teg as he looks quite plump (big coat) then they can feel his ribs! Normally it is the people with fat dogs too

Jed isn't exactly huge Leanne!

My grans collie is usually a little heavier than I'd like, she has a tiny amount of food (1/3 recommended amount) and just doesn't lose it.

Dont want to go on about this as it would be OT but some have it more noticable than others, if they didnt their skin would have to stretch.....I remember asking a breeder who shows what it was years ago and thats when I found out its normal lol My males have it more noticeable than my females. I'm not talking about massive bags of skin...the vet also confirmed they should have this and its normal....

Should have said not as noticeable (at least I found that with mine and other 'fat cats' Iv seen going around. Probably not explained that very well at all but dont want to go totally OT taking up a page to explain... also, its not to swing side to side, its back and forward (with leg movement)....as I said not the best at explaining!

With regard to overweight cats, it can sometimes be really difficult to reduce the weight by dietary methods alone. If you reduce the calorific content, many cats will reduce their energy expenditure, i.e. just stop moving around much. Then you end up feeding less & less till they're having such small amounts that it's dangerous & te cat becomes very sedentary. Either that, or the cat just finds itself a new home!

It's very important to increase exercise levels with overweight cats ~ probably more important than reducing calories. I know that's it's easier said than done, especially with elderly cats. But I use techniques that require some activity from the cat to get at least some of it's food each day & gradually increase the exercise levels.

Cats can be prone to eating disorders, like anorexia & obesity, because the hunting - killing - eating physiology is linked to the behaviour sequences. So any malfunctioning in the breaks between these phases can lead to the behaviour sequences going wrong, i.e. too much eating, too little eating & without the normal behaviour sequences beforehand.

BTW Dobermann ~ I know what you mean about "hanging tummy syndrome". One of my cats is very slim but still has this little undercarriage ~ I don't think that it's a sign of obesity in all cats.

I too hate seeing overweight dogs, but in my opinion if the owners of they're overweight dogs are happy then so be it, if they want they're dogs to die early then let them carry on, at the end of the day it's they're dogs, they can feed them what they like and do what they like with them, as long as my dogs are fit and healthy i don't really care if other peoples dogs are. The only time i will say something is if a fat dog owner tries to tell me mine are to thin My dogs are fed raw food and dry food when i run out on the occasion, food doesn't get weighed out ever, i feed by looking at the dogs, no need to touch them, they are short haired and if i can't SEE that they are overweight then feeling won't make a difference

My dog is fine I think (and someone even told us how nice it was to see a dog which wasn't overweight - although given the crap that people often spout on walks I wouldn't set too much store by that )

OT alert: NOW I'M WORRIED ABOUT THE CAT who looks to have a skirt (the little tranny ) Can someone allow me an OT question - how do I know if he is a porker? My old family cat was a big boy but never got pulled up for being fat (although vet groped him once as he thought he looked like a big ol' Tom). Trouble is, how would you control a cat? The little git is out n about half the day doing goodness knows what, where. He has caught a mouse before and probably goes begging round neighbours knowing what cats are like.

LOL (tranny)

Pretty much as a dog in some ways, look and feel, you should feel a bit of rib and tone under the fur, not just even weight, if that makes sense. Again, I feel condition is better than the scales as average male cat weight should be about 4kg at the vets, I have one at 8.5kg but he is just a strong cat, I can feel his ribs and muscle tone so he is fine. My other one is about 4kg and is a little on the thin side as his hips are becoming prominent. Just cut food back and try to get them playing by running up/down stairs etc to help them burn cals - at least if he is out and about hunting then he is actually fairly active in catching his dinner so just feed less at home. Cats can be hard but it doable.

EDIT; many cats have a bit extra over the winter so no harm there (unless he is a totally fatty then he needs to diet) and in spring summer shed the weight a bit..

o/t soz

does baffle me that,my own was 6kg,mums 5kg and after all my years in practise i would defo say that 4kg is not the average!!....i think its another clever ploy for meds etc