Overweight Pets.

krlyr

I always kept Kiki a lean 32kg, ribs easily palpable without being completely on show, great tuck, and she was always very well muscled too.
Thyroid problem and chronic shoulder injury later, she's often sat at 35-36kg with a right old flabby neck, layer of fat over her ribs, and some loss on muscle too.
Very similar routine - if anything, more forced exercise in terms of lead-walking and running whilst attached to me (we moved house, less off-lead space nearby - and we had to restrict this for her shoulder problem too) and the same diet, yet the weight can creep on when her thyroid starts playing up.

Judging a dog's care by the 5 minutes you spot it walking past you will lead to many false assumptions. As cavework says - at least they're out there walking said dog! The same goes for the owner - who's to say their weight isn't due to health issues, too.

I wonder if we have Katie Hopkins in our midst, or someone with a very similar narrow minded attitude!

RuthnJasper

lisawood78 wrote: »

Didn't you post the other day that you didn't have dog and had actually never had a dog?

Oh yeh

Oh no, really?! Sorry I wasted time on a considered reply now.

Just to reiterate, as I am far from perfect myself, a dog that's on the chunky side because of thyroid issues or other health conditions, or is packing a few extra pounds because it can't resist a scavenger-hunt is one thing. What really upsets me are those cases where a dog is overfed to a point where it can no longer walk or breathe properly. I don't think that anyone who has taken the time to post here (save, possibly, for the unknown quantity behind the OP) would treat their much-loved pet like this.

Gisele the dog and I wish you a very waggy Christmas. x

Whoop

I'm a vet nurse and obesity is a massive problem and I'm afraid most of it is caused by people overfeeding their pets. The trouble is people now think that overweight is the norm and don't realise that they are killing their pets with kindness. The amount of young dogs who I see waddle in breaks my heart. It is cruel and people need to be educated but most are in complete denial.

minimad1970

lisawood78 wrote: »

Didn't you post the other day that you didn't have dog and had actually never had a dog?

Oh yeh

I read Babbawah's post as he'd never needed the help of a book or trainer, rather than he'd never had a dog. I could very well be wrong though

SeduLOUs

minimad1970 wrote: »

I read Babbawah's post as he'd never needed the help of a book or trainer, rather than he'd never had a dog. I could very well be wrong though

I understood the same thing. Was clearly talking about books to read about how to treat dogs and went on to say couldn't recommend anything particular (i.e. a specific book) because had never had the need for one...

RuthnJasper

Whoop wrote: »

I'm a vet nurse and obesity is a massive problem and I'm afraid most of it is caused by people overfeeding their pets. The trouble is people now think that overweight is the norm and don't realise that they are killing their pets with kindness. The amount of young dogs who I see waddle in breaks my heart. It is cruel and people need to be educated but most are in complete denial.

I'm posting from a veterinary perspective too. Responsible owners of a dog overweight as a side-effect of a legitimate health condition (such as Chris n TJ) are usually a world away from the sorts of fools who, when ordering a take-away, will also order in additional full portions for the dog.

I'm dreading my Christmas shifts - I had two raisins/sultanas-poisonings last week already... ... "But it was a party! He WANTED a mince pie! It's CHRISTMAS!!!" :wall: :wall:


p.s. Chris - I am sorry about TJ. I lost Jasperdog @ Christmas a couple of years ago. I miss him every single day. xx

mellymoo74

This is miss porkey

System

Whoop wrote: »

I'm a vet nurse and obesity is a massive problem and I'm afraid most of it is caused by people overfeeding their pets. The trouble is people now think that overweight is the norm and don't realise that they are killing their pets with kindness. The amount of young dogs who I see waddle in breaks my heart. It is cruel and people need to be educated but most are in complete denial.

Some NOT all !

My dog has put on weight after a cruciate ligament repair earlier in the year.

I may be more inclined to listen to my vet if he didn't try to sell me large bags of expensive food .

Babbawah

The laws of physics dictate that an overweight animal is an overfed animal.

This is as true for humans as it is for cats & dogs. It is not possible to gain 1kg+ of weight for 1kg of food.

Food love is not real love.

GwylimT

My dog looks over weight, he has a problem with his lymphatic system, so unless he has recently had a very good massage he resembles a rather hairy Michelin man, he has received snide comments before, luckily he doesn't understand them.