Obesity in Dogs

We have had a lot of lectures at uni recently on the problem of obesity in dogs and it's shocking, once you know how a dog should look, how incredibly overweight many people's dogs are.

I noticed that my own dogs are a little bit on the porky side if I don't watch them and I also got worried because I knew the associated health risks. I also know how hard it is to keep the weight off dogs who appear to be prone to putting it on!

We were told in our lectures that obesity is such a problem partly because owners do not like to be told that their dog could do with losing a bit of weight, and I have really noticed that people often take it very personal and are incredibly offended if told that their dog is overweight.

So .... how would you feel if you were told your dog is overweight? Is your dog overweight?
Do you think vets are qualified to say whether your dog is overweight or not?

It wouldn't bother me. But I get told the opposite and told one of them could do with putting on a few pounds.

My cat always has her booster in March I always get told she is a bit fat and to watch her weight. The reason being she spends most of the day and night on top of my wardrobe asleep in the winter my when the weather is warmer she only comes in to be fed then off out again and even sleeps in the garden on the trampoline. Then she thins out again.

My MIL gets the hump when I tell her her dog is fat. I just don't understand how you just can't feed them a bit less or just go for a extra walk or two.

We have always know that Ollie has been overweight and I tried so hard to keep the weight off. Ages ago when I asked the vet who had told me he needed to lose weight was asked what sort of weight would be ideal to feed as I knew that he asked what I fed and when I said raw he went off the wall gave me a lecture and I rung up when I got home so they flagged us never too see him again and I wrote too him complaining of the way I was spoken too.

About two months ago we changed vet and Ollie had a limp and pain in one of his front legs so severe he couldn't lay down so we went to see a new vet recommended to us.

Ollie hates vets so there was no way this vet could examine him and didn't want to stress him out on his first visit he could tell by looking at him he was overweight and said that was more than likely his problem he was able to lay down again by this time. He watched him walk and trot round outside nothing the previous vet had thought to do and then gave us a guide line on the amounts to be feeding was happy that we now by this time fed part raw and said if he hadn't improved much it would be sedation x-rays and thyroid test.

A month later Ollie had lost 10 kg a shock to everyone especially the vet Ollie still odes not like him.

I think it is the way you are told sometimes. If told nicely and spoken too like an adult it is easier too take if showing very little help and slated for what you feed and made to feel foolish and uncaring you can sort of understand why people don't bother.

Ollie is much better enjoys his walks more, looks younger and comes up the stairs at a fair old pace now so ignoring those big soulful eyes is much easier.

I would not be bothered, (got thick skin being overweight myself and now doing something about it!), with springers there seem to be lots of different builds from pretty slim to pretty chunky.

Our young pup is very muscly (sp!), so am thinking he should not grow into one of the stockier ones, the vet have given us the advice of the 'waist' etc so hopefully we wont fall into the trap of overfeeding etc

What I do find amazing is that people don't seem to understand the correlation between what they feed their pets and the size they end up! I met a neighbour with her lovely working lab bitch who I hadn't seen for a few weeks and, with my usual tact , commented how much weight the dog had put on. She explained that it was really her son's dog and he had been overseas for a while so she wouldn't be getting the same amount of exercise - but they were still feeding her exactly the same amount! One of my dogs is on lead walk for a few weeks and I've almost halved his daily food amount so that he doesn't end up porky!

I think there`s too much fuss about weight. I have a friend with 2 dogs from the same litter. One is well-covered. One is skinny. They live the same life. Not everyone is the same.
In winter or hard times a layer of fat is a good thing.
Agreed, if an animal is too fat it puts a strain on the joints etc but that`s pretty easy to determine isn`t it?
Why would you need a vet to tell you that?
I wish vets would comment more on under-exercised dogs than overweight ones.

Sometimes visiting dogs are a bit portly but I often find that it has come about by accident and in fact the dogs are eaier to manage and so they stay that way.

One collie who belongs to an elderly couple would be even more difficult for them if he was fit! THe others are collies and one was a springer/collie (he is down again now). One goldie is just spoilt!

I don't like it but OTOH the dogs have good homes that they may well not have had given the breed and temperament of the collies etc.

An aquaintance in agility aquired an iffy temperament collie----it went for anything in sight! He overfed it till it was so fat it wasn't bothered about other dogs then gradually got it back into shape. I was amazed it worked but it did seem to. Not recommended though.

Mine are OK, Etta and Celt probably a bit under raather than over. Champa and Polly want watching now. Coo is just barrel shaped anyway!

rune

1) I wouldn't mind being told
2) Yes I do think they are qualified to tell me.
However, firstly not all dogs are a bit lardy because of lack of exercise or being overfed, Rio one of my female Dobermanns was just that, a bit lardy, she carried a few too many kgs despite being the most athletic of the bunch, getting masses of exercise and being fed far less than she should have been. Personally I don't think vets have much of a clue how to deal with it and simply refer you to lighter versions of their favoured kibble, which I declined. I did get her to lose the weight by switching her on to Fish4dogs and she dropped the excess weight fairly quickly. Sometimes dogs just do better on one food rather than another, I've now switched them all to raw and she has maintained her new svelte like figure. My vet while happy with her weight now actually thought she was fine before the weight loss, where as I was concerned that if she was a bit lardy while young, athletic and in her prime it didn't bode well for when she was older and less able to run around to shed the excess.
I would say currently all 5 of mine are in the ideal weight bracket, I have 2 fosters one is overweight and one is far too thin so they are being dealt with accordingly.

I think a good deal of the time, people have no clue their dog is fat! Especially people with bigger breeds like GSDs and Mastiffs and Danes, they get so wrapped up in "My dog weighs 130 pounds" that they don't realize the dog is massively obese! I think its partly because those breeds and other deep chested breeds tend to carry their weight better than like beagles and spaniels, who tend to look like walking foot stools.
Then there are people with Labs. I swear, a lab of good weight is as rare as hens teeth around here. People are so used to seeing fat labs, they think a lab of proper weight must be sick or something. It always astonishes me.

one of my springers got obese only cos i wasnt told by vet when she was spayed to cut the feed down mine have never been given titbits only a small biscuit at bed time.
she was naerly 27 kilos but it took me a long while to get it off her(feeding raw did wonders) aND Now she weighs 21kgs keep being told shes fat but the weight is correct on the chart and she has scruffy curly hair in winter which makes her look larger than she is al;so she has a massive lump on her side (fatty) that makes her look bigger so yes when people tell me shes fat it does upset me cos shes not! vet is happy with her weight and really thats the only person i think has a right to comment on her weight