Overweight Dogs

That is sad.  I thought my dog was over weight!  He is lab/boxer mix and he weighs 60lbs.  Some people are so ignorant when it comes to animals and children for that matter

Wow thats disgusting[:'(]

Kind of reminds me of those Maury babies.

This is something that really bothers me about my parents. Their dog is overweight and they refuse to do anything about it. Their excuse is "Loki doesn't want to go on a diet!" Dogs pretty well eat whatever is fed to them, so it's the responsibility of the owner to feed them good stuff. This is why I plan to take him when I have more room.

Yes, I saw it too.  And, was also very annoyed with the owner of the huge Rottie, Beau I think his name was.
If you watched the whole show in the very beginning she took him for grooming and the groomer tried to tell her the dog was way too big.  And, she basically got really upset and wouldn't listen to anything.  What concerned me was she said the dog had been to the vet and was healthy!  What kind of vet wouldn't comment on a dog being that big?  I know my vet will weigh Willow and comment like, "she's right where she should be".  I'm sure if she wasn't I'd be told.  And, she was feeding the dog "fresh meat"--fresh cooked meat and THAT was it.  Sorry, but that's not a balanced diet either. 
 
Ugh, I was really frustrated watching that show. 

I will never understand how people can do that to their pets. 
 
Actually, before I got Abbi she weighed 72 pounds, she 50 pounds now.  Last time we were at the vet the receptionists joked about staying with me so they could go through our exercise schedule and lose weight too.
It is amazing how much healthier and happier she is now.

Errm what was the purpose of the show? Was it about helping the dogs get thin? Did they involve a nutritionist? Or was this simply some fluff show?
 
And because I have to ask...were the owners also overweight?

Overweight pets disgust me as much as BYBs and puppy pills, even though the owners think they are being kind to their pet.  Pets depend on us and trust us for everything, so our #1 responsibility should be nutrition.  I've had so many pets over the years and unless the dog/cat has a medical problem, IMO is more difficult to get them overweight than keep them healthy.  It really disturbs me when people I know brag about their cats that weigh some 20+ pounds and they think it's cute.

Yes Gina, the owners were overweight themselves.

Ugh. I am overweight myself (partially due to serious health problems, and partially due to my inability to shut my mouth and stop freaking eating) and I would NEVER wish it on anyone...especially my own friggin' pets. []
 
I see SO many fat dogs. It makes me ill. Even worse is that people CONSTANTLY comment on how "skinny" my dogs are. Especially Butter, who is going through a lanky, lean, doofy puppy phase right now. People think that puppies are SUPPOSED to be fat and rolly. When I explain t them that he's actually a healthy weight, they scowl at me.
 
Everytime my father comes over, he comments on the fact that I need to "Fatten  Madison up, since she's had such a hard life and has been so deprived." Um, WHAT!? Yes, I'm sure she'd LOVE for me to "Fatten her up" and shorten her life span, exacerbate her joint problems, and maybe add some heart problems on top of that. [8|] Jeez.
 
People think that shoving massive amounts of food down their pet's (and kid's) throats shows that they "love" them. They have personal inadequacy issues and unfortunately, their kids and pets are paying the price for it. They worry that they're not good pet parents, or good HUMAN parents...and so they give their pets and kids whatever they want in the form of food to assuage their guilt. It's sad, and maddening.
 
People also seem to hint that I'm being "selfish"...because I am overweight myself but have pets that are "too skinny." (read: a healthy weight.)  As if I'm eating up all of their food myself and not leaving them any. [8|] Jeez.

My mother in law did this and it just drove me crazy. She meant well, but refused to ever see that she was dramatically shortening their lives and also making it difficult for them to enjoy play or exercise. After being told by vets of the harm she was doing, she'd just get mad and go to a different vet, or none at all until she found one that didn't say anything.
 
She wasn't overweight herself. She was 5'5" and 120.
 
To balance the equation a little though, during her later years, she took in several very geriatric dogs well into their teens. Some were blind, deaf or close to both, and gave them a comfy retirement home when no one else would have.

When I groomed, overweight dogs were simply the norm.  When dogs that came in that were weighing right about what they should weigh, it was a nice suprise (ok maybe a little dramatic by the majority of our clients dogs could have stood to lose some weight). 

The worst was a shepard mix I used to groom.  She was obese.  I told her owner so, as did her vet.  The woman "didn't want to deprive her of her favorite foods, b/c she'd be depressed".  Mind you some of her "favorite foods" was a bigmac and fries with a shake...no not kidding.  The dog had a gazillion skin problems (she was continually itchy and most of her fur was sparse and in some areas practically non existent), thyroid issues, borderline diabetic, and other problems.  The dog was one paw in the grave.  The saddest part was the dog really was a sweetie, though she had some behavioral issues...which I was convinced were in part due to a crappy diet full of human foods that quite frankly most of us shouldn't eat with any regularity!  The other part of the behavioral issues was the owner herself who was an emotional wreck.

The happy ending however came when the owners divorced and the husband took custody of her (the wife was the one turning her into a butterball...she was basically working out her own emotional problems through this dog).  He slowly worked the weight off, and managed to get her off 3/4 of the meds this poor dog was on!  We didn't see the dog for sometime after the divorce...but when she made an appearence again in the groomshop I seriously DID NOT RECONIZE her at all!  Her fur had grown back in, most of her skin issues were cleared up (he was still working on some allergy issues) and she was SLIM!  She was also calmer and happier than I had ever seen her. 

Long story short, 9 out of 10 owners I have seen with overweight dogs are overweight themselves.  Additionally, I notice quite a few seem to work through personal problems through their dog.  Having an overweight dog was never an option when I lived with Nikki (my Mom's shih tzu) nor was it for my Mom.  Mind you both my Mom and I area overweight (admittedly) but our dog should not suffer our poor eating habits!  Nikki was regularly excercised and fed appropiately.  Once she got older, she put on a few pounds b/c the Mom didn't adjust well enough for her decline in activity.  But our vet said she could probably stand to lose just  a few pounds, before the problem escalated.  By next visit she was at ideal weight.  There's no reason to short change your dog their health.  I don't care how much Fido likes "this or that" food. 

I am often accused of getting my fosters slightly overweight.  When I am told in comes in the form of a bold statement.  I see the dogs everyday and I don't notice.  When it is pointed out, I adjust the diet and increase the exercise.  Now one of my residence dogs has increased in size/weight since January.  We are thinking it may be thyroid and we are testing.  See, it is not always intentional.

I watched that show also.  It made me so sad to see that poor King Charles Spaniel - poor guy could barely walk.   But that was one of the happy ending stories - the owner finally took his weight seriously (she was the one feeding him piece after piece of birthday cake) and at the end the dog had lost a nice amount of weight and was running in the yard.
 
My previous dog (Michelle, my cocker) was overweight.   My husband just could NOT resist those cocker eyes watching him eat and he always wanted to "share".  DH is obese, btw and I think he felt better about himself not being the only butterball in the house.   He did turn it all around when Michelle was (erroneously) diagnosed with congestive heart failure.   Michelle was a healthy weight when she passed on (from a brain tumor) over a year later.
 
DH watched the show with me and several times said "I will NEVER let Prancer get like I let Michelle get" - goooooooooood husband ! LOL 

People think that shoving massive amounts of food down their pet's (and kid's) throats shows that they "love" them. They have personal inadequacy issues and unfortunately, their kids and pets are paying the price for it. They worry that they're not good pet parents, or good HUMAN parents...and so they give their pets and kids whatever they want in the form of food to assuage their guilt. It's sad, and maddening.

 
Oh yes, point well made, wherever you see Fat Pets, Fat Kids are (usually) not too far away.... I personally hate my current size, although I can confidently say that it IS baby, not excess fat, and I hope to get back to my normal shape quite soon....  Having had a taste of what it is like to be big myself (because of being prego) I would not inflict that on my kids OR animals... and that's without even considering the health problems that go along with it!