Dog Obesity

My Dog's Not Fat!

Is He?..........

Dog obesity is nearly an epidemic today. At least 50% of the dogs that I see are overweight. I would bet that about 20-25% of them are actually obese – which means that they weigh at least 20% more than their ideal weight. And, most of the time, the owner is unaware that their dog is overweight or even obese.

Is the dog in the photos above overweight? Yes, he is about 15 pounds heavier than he ideally should be.

The thing about each and every one of these dog obesity situations is that the owners believe that they are showing love to their dogs, when what they are actually doing is overfeeding them. The pet looks at them with those big sad eyes, and that owner just melts and says “Oh I love you so much, here have a cookie!” Or, something like “You were so good today, you deserve extra dinner!” Or maybe it’s more like “Maybe if I give you more food you’ll go and lie down and sleep for a while, so that I can rest”, or get more done, or whatever. And the owner feels good about feeding them more, and the dogs are usually very happy to get extra food, and so the cycle begins…

Here's How it Happens....

Most puppies are growing so rapidly, and are so incredibly active, that it’s rare to see a truly obese puppy. Through about 6 months of age this generalization holds. Around this age most pets are either spayed or neutered, which likely causes a decrease in their metabolic rate (how fast you burn calories), and at the same time the pet’s rate of growth naturally slows. Both of these lead to a decrease in the number of calories needed by the pet.

The first mistake that most pet owners make is in not decreasing the amount of food they are feeding when they see that dog going from a gangly teenager (around 5-6 months) to a more filled out adult form (anywhere from 6-18 months, depending on breed). Prevention of weight gain is far easier than weight loss!

But, let’s say that you are a normal pet owner and did not decrease the calories as the pet’s requirements decreased. You take your friend in for his yearly exam and are surprised to learn that he is now a little overweight.

What Fat Does

Let’s look at what an excess of calories can do to your canine friend over his lifetime.

That extra fat is not just sitting there in your young friend. It is busy stacking the deck so that more fat can be made, and more easily. Did you know that fat cells produce a hormone, called leptin, that helps decrease appetite and increase metabolic rate? Indeed it does. It seems that the more fat there is, the more of this hormone is produced. One would think that this should be a good thing – but it’s not. The more fat hormone(leptin) there is running about, the less responsive the body is to it. So, the more fat there is, the more leptin is produced, the less that appetite is inhibited (or, put another way, appetite increases), and the more the metabolic rate is reduced (energy needs decrease).

Follow that? Basically, it means that the fatter the dog is, the easier it is for that dog to gain weight. You’ve now begun a snowballing cycle of weight gain, and the problem of dog obesity takes hold.

In addition to this, fat cells also make many “pro- inflammatory agents”. These little guys seem to be able to cause inflammation body-wide, and it's thought that this continues long term as a chronic disease process. This makes me wonder how many of the inflammatory diseases that I see every day – allergic skin disease, chronic ear conditions, arthritis or degenerative joint disease and inflammatory bowel disease – have at their very root dog obesity as their initiating cause. Perhaps we’ll learn more about that in the future.

Once a dog has reached the severely overweight or obese stage, many more medical issues arise. For larger dogs, all of that extra weight wreaks havoc on joints, and arthritis develops. As the dog gets more and more painful he exercises less and less (and is probably fed the same amount), so the dog obesity and arthritis both continue to worsen.

For the smaller dog, the extra weight often causes more respiratory difficulties – conditions like tracheal collapse worsen, and breathing gets harder and harder. Again, as it gets harder for the little dog to breathe, exercise goes down, the food remains the same, and respiratory difficulty and the dog obesity both continue to worsen.

All breeds of overweight or obese dogs are more likely to develop diabetes, and all of their hearts work harder than they have to, and harder than they were designed to work.

What To Do About It

So, this whole cascade is begun before your dog is even 2 years old. But, you listen to the wise advice of your veterinarian and decrease the amount you are feeding your dog. You try, you really do. And you go back to your veterinarian for a recheck, and your dog has gained even more weight.....

This is very disheartening for owners, because they were really trying to do the right thing. Don’t give up! Remember, the fat itself is working against you to build even more fat. Reduce calories a bit more, increase exercise whenever possible, and keep working at it!

Is it hard to get overweight and obese dogs to lose weight? You bet it is. Is it worth it? Absolutely it is. Still don’t believe me? Look at this poster (PDF file) of a study that was done by the Ralston Purina Company. They took litters of puppies and divided them into sibling same sex groups of two. They fed one dog of each of the pairs to be kept at a perfect body condition , or weight, for its entire life. The second dog of each pair was fed to a slightly increased body condition score, so was slightly overweight, for its entire life.

The study ran for a total of 14 years. The overweight dogs consistently had more health problems than their healthy weight siblings. AND, most astounding, was that the healthy weight sibling lived nearly 2 years longer than their overweight counterpart.

Dog obesity is a serious health problem!

Now is it worth it to you? Good! So, instead of expressing your love with food, tell them you love them with attention – pets, verbal rewards, walks outside, or play their favorite game with them – and enjoy the lifelong benefits!

If you are unsure if your dog is overweight, your veterinarian can help you decide. If you know that you have an overweight or obese dog and want help getting them to lose weight, talk with your vet. There are tests that can be done to make sure they don’t have a medical issue (like hypothyroidism ), there are prescription weight loss diets, and there is even a doggie prescription weight loss medication available if needed, all to address the problem of dog obesity. You can also go to the PetFit.com website for videos of some exercise activities you can do with your dog, and take the Pet Fit challenge! (Please note, this website is sponsored by Hill's Pet Food.)

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The information presented here is not meant to replace the advice of your own veterinarian! A valid veterinary-client-patient relationship (created when you take your pet to see your vet) is essential to providing excellent individual pet care. If your pet is ill, call or go to your vet or an emergency veterinary hospital!

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Page last updated 01/07/10.