I'm going to say this here because it's about the only forum where I can publicly say it: I've come to the conclusion that many owners just want fat dogs.
What is wrong with society? We know that obesity shortens a dog's life and limits dog's quality of life. We know that dogs can only eat the food to which they have access. We also know that there are a variety of options to either keep dogs from becoming obese or rescuing them from and treating their obesity. It is unfathomable to me when, after starting a patient on a diet/exercise plan or on the Slentrol plan and seeing real, measurable success, to then see the owner drop it altogether. These owners are witnessing improvement in their dog's lives, and they're dropping the plan that has facilitated the improvement. Why?
At the end of the day, I'm convinced this is a distinctly American psychological issue. I'm not a psychologist, and I only took Psychology 101 because I had to, and I don't remember a darn thing from it. But there is clearly something about many dog owners that wants to feel validation, to feel a connection to something. I guess it's a sad commentary on our interpersonal relationships these days, that a person would long to connect to something so much that he/she'd feed a dog anything and everything all day long to achieve a "knowledge" that a living thing not only needs them but wants them.
And it seems to be only a pet dog thing. Working dogs aren't obese. Neither are wild dogs. No, it's just the dogs that live in homes with constant access to food, and very little impetus to exercise.
Perhaps it's a self-control issue on the part of owners. We see it on the human side of medicine and nutrition, as well. Perhaps it is multifactorial in nature.
Whatever it is, these owners try to tell me in my examination rooms that they love their dogs, but their actions speak otherwise. The only evidence I need is to look at the patients. The human-animal bond is a neat, unique, and very strange thing. That it can become twisted in such a way that an owner can feel so connected to their dog that they would facilitate and speed its demise is truly sad.
I'm not sure that I'm looking for explanations or reasons for all of this, though I welcome your thoughts on the subject. It's just amazing to me that many in our nation speak through their actions and say, "I want my dog to be fat."
The only dog I ever tried to get fat was a VERY energetic Labrador...I figured it might slow her down a bit, but she got neither fat nor slow (unlike every other lab in the world)! I have struggled to take the weight off a couple goldens and it was very tough. They are REALLY.good at picking up drops, stealing cat food, etc. it is especially tough if young kids are involved -- they accidentally drop food, and purposely sneak food to the dog. BUT it can be done, and I am happy to say my current two dogs are a healthy weight!
ReplyDeleteI grew up with in an Italian family with the typical Italian grandmother Matriarch. To say that my sisters and I grew up equating food with love would be an understatement.
ReplyDeleteI know Italians are infamous for the food=love culture but I am seeing it more and more everywhere I look. With this type of culture growing is there any real wonder that it's being passed along to our pets?
I get so frustrated with my father when I visit home because he ALWAYS gives the dogs food when he shouldn't. Every time my dad sits at the table there is a dog on his left and a dog on his right patiently waiting for the scraps they know are coming. After breakfast, the dogs each get their own bowl of "left over" milk and cereal. Throughout lunch and dinner they get scraps of whatever fatty, meaty,, or starchy food my father is eating (my father skips the veggies and insists the dogs want to skip that as well despite the fact that one of the dogs loves to graze the garden for ripe fruits and veggies if no one is outside to stop him).
ReplyDeleteI scold him when I am home and my mother says she always tells him to stop but he will say something along the lines of "you only live once".
My dogs are fortunate not to be overweight because they get a lot of exercise but the senior dog is losing a lot of bone/muscle mass and I keep telling him he's getting fat despite the scale at the vet's office reading the same number but my father doesn't care.
In my family this extends beyond the dogs. Most of the family eats healthy and is active, but my father always treats his obese mother to meals that consist of greasy fried food and she has become too old and frail to support her own weight but every time I ask why he constantly gives my grandmother such unhealthy food his response is always "she likes that food, and she only lives once". Nevermind that he's also so afraid of losing his mother to old age, despite the fact that she is obviously unhappy basically being a vegetable and it's due to personal choices, not any illness. How do you get it through someone's skull that food does not equal love or happiness?
I constantly have to defend my dog's weight....because she is NOT fat. She is a 75lb GSD and is in working weight. Most people comment on how skinny she is or how I need to feed her more.
ReplyDeleteIts been a battle for the past 8 years...yes my hyper, no medical problem(I know I'm lucky), and people still think she is a 2 yr old because she is so energetic. I feed her a healthy diet and she gets tons of exercise.
I will continue to raise and feed my dogs this way because its what is best for them and I refuse to cave to peer pressure.....although I do get a little bit of sick pleasure from telling them that my dog isn't skinny.....theirs is too fat!
to paraphrase our friend Bob, we try to make it idiot proof but they just keep making better idiots:-/ waddle on
ReplyDeleteI pride myself on how fit and trim my dog is. All it takes is a little awareness of what's going into their mouths! I feed him a high quality, grain free food and he gets vegetables as snacks. He's perfectly happy and very energetic. I work in the surgery department at my clinic and I see more and more fat dogs undergoing knee and back surgery and cringe every time I see them. People really need a wake up call, fat dogs are money pits!
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DeleteI think people's perceptions of what normal weight is are starting to be off. So many people are overweight also. My older dog LOVED his groceries, and I had to be very careful to try to keep him at a healthy weight, especially as he had bad hips. My very overweight friend protested "But he loves to eat". I said "Well he also likes to walk, and if he gets too fat he won't be able to". She saw "depriving" him of being able to eat as much as he wanted as sad, or not as loving, or something.
ReplyDeleteHaving a greyhound, I get the weight question all the time. After adopting an overweight senior dog who was a physical disaster and losing her far too early as a result, I am no longer sentimental about food.
ReplyDeleteA lot more dogs are being adopted these days and it's as if the new owners can't let go of the fact that someone didn't want this dog they love. So, they decide to not deny them anything as a way of showing them they are wanted. I don't think they fully realize that the dog doesn't care about what happened - they care about the now.
Guess this explains my husband, our daughter, and the overfed, continuously begging goldfish.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who owns a pair of young highly energetic dogs I struggle to keep weight ON them. But the number of pudgy and outright FAT dogs and cats I see does keep going up and its frankly quite sad....
ReplyDeleteFat dogs are less active. We are a couch potato society.
ReplyDeleteThat said, my euphemism for a grossly fat dog is 'well loved'
Lovin' your pet to death. Good for you.
Urgh, my Jack Russell got a little pudge this year as his knees have started to go downhill and I was struggling with how much to cut his food back. Luckily, I seem to have found the sweet spot now as far as how much he should eat (HALF of what he ate this time last year) and he's steadily shedding the extra layer.
ReplyDeleteI also find myself constantly defending his weight when he's where he should be from pet owners who think a dog at a healthy weight is too thin. I take pride in my fit little fellow, and I'm always surprised when I get criticized for "underfeeding" him. -_-
I tell clients all the time that I will YELL at them for only two reasons....aggressive dogs, and fat dogs. Both will die before their time, and in both cases it is the owner's fault.
ReplyDeletemy long time friend and now roomate owns a bully,the dog is a thick muscular breed.i have taken pretty much all of the responsiblity for his care..which i dont mind because i have my dogs to care for at the same time.my friend who is morbidly obese has complained about his dogs new weight since he has moved in see he says hes too skinny that he likes his dog fat.now i know the only reason he purchased this dog was for status.you see bullies are a mix between american pitbull terriers english bulldogs and mastiffs.the end stature of these dogs is unhealthy umporportioned dogs with health problems..add the fact that he wants him to be fat even worse.he pays him no attention and would like to keep him locked in his kennel all day with unlimited food.this is making it hard to be his friend..
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