What if the Elephant in the Room is….Your Fat Dog?
It’s an Epidemic
There are SO MANY overweight pets out there. More than 50% of dogs (and cats!) in North America are fat, many of them are obese. That is an astonishing and horrifying statistic.
Overweight pets are NOT healthy. It really IS that simple (and also more complicated). Carrying extra weight puts extra stress on their joints, their heart, their lungs… When we see pets in the morbidly obese range, where they literally can not comfortably move or breathe, that is appalling.
Chubby pets have a wealth of other associated health problems. We see secondary urinary issues because they are just literally not moving around, going outside or to the litterbox to pee, or urine scalding because they have no choice but to pee on themselves.
We Control Their Calories
Carrying extra weight is not healthy. This is not safe. And this is not fair. We control what they eat. That doesn’t mean that my dogs aren’t sometimes faster and more determined than I am, so they get to something before me :), but ultimately I control their calories. You can look at weight loss and weight management in MANY different ways, but it will still boil down to calories in vs. calories out.
Metabolism and Thyroid
Whether you’re feeding kibble, raw, a homemade diet, or whatever, you control how much they get. I *often* hear people proclaim, “he has a metabolic issue”. Maybe. It isn’t impossible. It’s not overwhelmingly common but also not rare. If he does, then treat it. Hypothyroid dogs often gain weight - so supplement their thyroid. It is actually one of the easiest and cheapest issues to manage. Even if your dog’s metabolism is genuinely working against your efforts to maintain a healthy weight - you can still get their weight down.
The veterinary team will be VERY eager to help people get their pet to a healthy, lean weight. They can make recommendations for appropriate diet and treats. They can guide owners on safe exercise. Rehab clinics exist with underwater treadmills. Dog pools exist. The support is out there, and these amazing teams WANT TO HELP. Let them.
My Vet Said He’s Fine
Speaking of the veterinary team, another common excuse I hear is “my vet said he’s fine”. Let’s unpack that one a bit. Maybe a vet DID say he was fine. I’ve had the pleasure of working with veterinary team members around the world for many years. Most of them are exceptional. But like any profession, some are not. Maybe this vet truly doesn’t recognize this pet is overweight.
More likely? This vet HAS told the owner (probably multiple times) that their pet is fat. Or maybe they only said it once and were then subjected to a tirade of vitriol. I have seen it happen. People get INCENSED when you bring up their pet’s weight. So maybe the veterinary team tried to say something, and it was such a horrible interaction that they then made a note in the file “do not discuss weight”.
Or maybe the veterinary team has already had the “your pet is fat, and it isn’t healthy” discussion 14 times today, and they are exhausted. Maybe they are just not bringing it up anymore because the discussions always go so poorly. It’s unfortunate that our wonderful veterinary professionals have been subjected to so much verbal abuse that they are shying away from important topics.
Do you really want to know what your veterinary team thinks? Ask them. Be honest. Say you want to understand how to evaluate your dog’s body and muscle condition score. Have them go through the resources like the Purina BCS chart and the WSAVA MCS chart. Take an active role in your pet’s health. Be open to hearing that your pet needs to lose weight.
Learn about Muscle Condition Scoring
Learn about Body Condition Scoring
Fat = Unhealthy
Fat tissue is not just inert tissue. Fat cells are actually your dog’s largest endocrine organ. Fat impacts your dog’s health in so many ways…..stress on the joints, stress on the heart, urinary health (even more important for Dalmatians!), etc etc etc.
Read more about fat as an endocrine disease.
Stop Fat Shaming My Dog
People on the internet can be total garbage, I think we all know that. At the same time, someone seeing a photo of a dog that appears to be significantly overweight and feeling compelled to address it with the owner can also be coming from a very good place. When we are in breed-specific groups and see an example of our beloved breed carrying enough extra weight that we *know* their health is at risk, speaking up is us advocating for the pet's health.
After many years in the veterinary industry and continuing on in the dog world, I am fully aware that not all owners will recognize when their pet is overweight. Right now, so many pets are fat that pets who are fit look too thin in comparison. The first step to helping these chubby pets is educating owners. I believe that MOST owners are caring and want the best for their pet. I believe that MOST owners do not want to put their pet at risk. So if those owners have fat pets, they need to know so they can help them.
I like to think a future exists where we get the pet obesity epidemic under control. Where lean dogs don’t stand out, they become the norm, not fat pets. They aren’t “chonky”, they aren’t “fluffy,” they are fat. And it is impacting their health.
We aren’t shaming them. We aren’t shaming you, the owner, we are trying to help.
He’s Not Fat, That is SOLID Muscle
It was actually a dog sport friend who helped me understand this misconception. I was confounded by how often I would hear this while looking at a photo of a dog who was clearly significantly overweight. The different is, when dogs are quite fat they feel *solid*. The same amount of excess weight on a person would feel….squishy. So just because you can’t squish your dog, does not mean they are not fat.
You should be able to feel ribs easily. Not by pressing, just by gently running your hands along your dog’s side. Active, working, sport dogs often have a few ribs visible. These dogs are not too thin. They are in a lean, healthy condition.
Want Your Dog to Live Longer?
I love my dogs more than anything in the world. I would do anything to extend their life and keep them happy and healthy. There was a landmark Purina study that had two groups of Labs. One group ate 25 % more than the other group and was overweight. The lean/healthy group had a lower incidence of hip dysplasia, those that had hip dysplasia presented later in life, and….most exciting….the lean group lived, on average, two years longer.
Two years. I would give anything to get more time with my dogs. If I can achieve that simply by watching their weight and feeding appropriately? How bloody exciting! They will also be mobile further into their senior years. They will be more active and healthier.
So - talk to your veterinary team. Let them help (because they want to!). Keep your dog at a healthy weight or GET them to a healthy weight. It can be done. It is worth the effort. You owe it to your dog, they’d do anything for you.
