Overweight Dogs

I found this a few months ago and think it's great:http://www.azhumane.org/artimgr/publish/article_544.shtml ; they did pursue cruelty charges against Tessa's owner. []

I hate seeing severely obese animals - my first dog was fat but our vet told us and she got to a healthy weight (20lbs lighter!) in about a year of careful management. Ever since then I've been very careful about my other dogs' weights and keep them on the light side of normal - Maggie does a lot of jumping and I don't want her to get arthritis or injure herself due to extra weight.

I think some of the problem is vets to be honest - many of them don't say a thing to owners of obese pets because they are afraid of losing customers. [:'(]

ORIGINAL: rwbeagles

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?

 
I think the purpose of the show was to highlight a problem.  Some of the owners were serious about getting their animals thin.  Three of them took their animals to the vet and took the proper steps to reduce their pets' weight. 
 
The owner of the 203 lb Rottie didn't seem to think she needed any help.  She got upset when anyone commented on the weight of her dog and constantly called him healthy. 
 
The owner of the King Charles Spaniel, on the other hand, actually brought in a person to teach her how to deal with her dog's constant begging and threw away her dog treats.  By the dog's next vet visit he had lost about 4 lbs (10% of his weight).
 
Some of the owners were overweight, but others looked average to me.  The show didn't really talk about the weight of the owners.  I'm a size 8 and some charts would consider me overweight. 
 
I have seen some cats and dogs that are a little on the chubby side, and while I get annoyed, I don't get angry.  These pets were making me angry because they were obese.

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....

Chuffy, my goodness, your due date is close!

I think some of the problem is vets to be honest - many of them don't say a thing to owners of obese pets because they are afraid of losing customers.

I've only seen ONE normal weight dog while waiting at our vets. And that was a 6 month old Boxer pup. All the other dogs were seriously obese. Some to the point that they had "rolls" of fat over their tails. Part of it may be that I go during in the morning when the clients are primarily senior citizens.

The vet did mention that one lady's dog could use a bit more exercise and less food while she was settling her bill. Her reaction - "Really? Do you think he's fat?" Vet just replied that losing a couple pounds might help. I think that was the undestatement of the century. That dog's belly was nearly dragging the ground. But you could tell that poor old lady was quite surprised to think her dog was fat.

My gramma (old-world italian and very soft-hearted) could NEVER turn down a pet that begged.  We had the fattest tabby cat, nearly 20 lbs, he was a chronic beggar and she couldn't stand it.  It's almost like she felt like he was hurting because he was hungry.  So he got a lot of handouts.  We didn't really have obese animals growing up except for Harley (fat tabby) which surprises me.  If an animal so much as gave her a sideways glance, she would just MELT and give them a piece of meat. 

My feelings on this are very strong.  I've always had to struggle with my weight.  And, I was determined to make sure that my dog did not have the same problem.  If I had kids I wouldn't let them get big either.  It's really no excuse being big yourself.  In fact, it makes me more determined that she doesn't have to go thru it. 
 
And, my family and friends with dogs all are very careful not to let the dogs get too big. 
 
That rottie was ridiculous.  The woman is going to be devasted when the dog dies early.

ORIGINAL: willowchow


That rottie was ridiculous.  The woman is going to be devasted when the dog dies early.

 
She made my blood boil.  Her head is buried in the sand when it comes to the weight of her dog.  When her poor dog dies, she'll probably blame it on something other than obesity.  The sad thing is that she'll probably just get another dog and overfeed it also.

Remember that obesity is a symptom of malnutrition as well.  (Too much isn't good at all!) 

DPU:  A little overweight is different than the extreme cases.  Anytime a dog weighs in at a multiple of it's healthy body weight (like twice or three times) that's the serious extreme.

And to think of it, I'm having to up the boy's diet so he can actually gain a few pounds.  Yikes!

I think it would help the owners to see themselves on TV with the dogs. It is very easy for a dog you see every day to be getting fat and you don't catch it. Maybe this will help them. The worst cases I saw was as an animal caretaker at my vet's practice.
1. A schiperkee (sp) that looked like the footstool from the Beauty and the Beast cartoon. When he boarded his owner gave him  just about what I feed my 70lb ridgie - a can of Mighty Dog and I forget how much of a cup of kibble AND treat. Once she was outraged when she got him back and he'd lost about a zillionth of an ounce. She was sure he was being deprived and insisted from then on he'd be weighed before and after boarding. LOL if I had a dog that fat and boarding him lost him weight he'd be in the kennel every freekin' weekend.

2. This was worse - an old, arthritic amd hugely fat german shepherd dog. She could not stand without a towel to help her, she was on rimadyl and she weighed about two german shepherds.

Paula

i haven't seen the show, but this makes me as mad as the rest of you for one simple reason:  our pets will eat what we provide for them.
 
example:  if i want to get up at midnight and eat a whole pot of mac-n-cheese, i can do that.  my dogs cannot fix themselves too much food.  their weight is completely under my control.
 
i understand obesity in humans.  i don't feel sorry for obese people whose joints are failing, but i understand it.  for dogs with weight-related health problems, my heart breaks into a million little pieces.[]

Last time I went to the vet every single dog in the waiting room was a waddling monstrosity. Every single one. And one of their owners actually loudly said "that dog needs a cheeseburger" about my dog-- in hard fit condition.
I think many people honestly have no idea what a dog in fit condition should look like. Even in agility classes I observe most of the dogs could stand to lose a few pounds.

When we were at the dog show a few weeks ago watching the jumpers, we were sitting next to a family and their overweight english lab. And my mom leaned over to me and whispered "Well I guess that dog's not going to be competing!". Guess again. I was really shocked. Especially in jumpers I'd think you'd want those dogs to be in peak condition so as not to overstress their joints taking all those jumps.

it is a problem for people who show in both conformation and performance events. For some reason most winning conformation dogs are overweight.

In USDAA agility I rarely see a truly fat dog, and a very low number of dogs are even slightly overweight. At the trial this weekend I saw one fat dog - he was a golden mix and actually measured half an inch taller than what was listed on his height card, unfortunately bumping him up to the next heigh class. I'm surprised he didn't refuse jumps, but he did knock a number of bars and just lumbered around the course. I felt so bad for the poor guy - he was trying sooo hard to run well but his weight really got in the way. []

I guess I'm glad my dogs are all pretty furry.    No one can tell me my dog's need a cheeseburger.  Though they get an occasional french fry every now and then.  We do agility and I don't want them to stress their legs jumping with excess weight.  I need to not stress my legs by running with excess weight...[8|]  I'm the one that needs someone to control my food intake.  []