Concerned

[Sandra777]

Most vets love seeing lean dogs however if asked is this weight ok- mostly for a pet owner we are never going to get them to accept a lean dog- so we say it's fine.

Sorry but IMO that's just wrong.

A dog which is a bit chubby is "fine" - the vet said so you know!

A dog which is fat is just a bit chubby and dog which is obese is what?

Nope, shouldn't be "fine" it's a health issue and now people are realising the health implications of obesity surely it's long past time for them to recognise the same thing in their pets.

[vetrg]

You can nag all you want but some people will never diet their dogs.

I had a client with an OBESE 57kg golden retriever who ruptured a cruciate- they flatly refused to diet him saying he was fine. My cruciate repair failed due to his weight (they had declined referral). I then refused to operate again and referred him to an ortho specialist who refused to operate due to his weight. 4 months and 20 kg later the dog no longer requires surgery and the owners spent $1000 dollars in referral fees for the specialist to tell them he was too fat. Obviously the local vet telling them that for $20 was inadequate.

I tell owners every day their dog is fat. About 1 in 5 listen, 1in 10 actually try to get the dog slimmer (note not lean, just slimmer)

[poodlefan]

You can nag all you want but some people will never diet their dogs.

I had a client with an OBESE 57kg golden retriever who ruptured a cruciate- they flatly refused to diet him saying he was fine. My cruciate repair failed due to his weight (they had declined referral). I then refused to operate again and referred him to an ortho specialist who refused to operate due to his weight. 4 months and 20 kg later the dog no longer requires surgery and the owners spent $1000 dollars in referral fees for the specialist to tell them he was too fat. Obviously the local vet telling them that for $20 was inadequate.

I tell owners every day their dog is fat. About 1 in 5 listen, 1in 10 actually try to get the dog slimmer (note not lean, just slimmer)

I feel your pain.

57kg Golden =

Christine Zink made an interesting observation on vets and telling clients their dogs are too fat. She said you balance the risk of never seeing the dog again against giving the advice. A lot of people won't bring a dog in if they think they're going to get a "lecture".

Edited January 24, 2011 by poodlefan

[SkySoaringMagpie]

Christine Zink made an interesting observation on vets and telling clients their dogs are too fat. She said you balance the risk of never seeing the dog again against giving the advice. A lot of people won't bring a dog in if they think they're going to get a "lecture".

The tricky part is that many people are poor at managing their own diet for emotional reasons and feel shame about that, and many of them will be poor at managing their dog's as well for the same reasons. Not always the case, there are plenty of us mad dog people with lovely fit lean dogs who could stand to lower our food intake and up our exercise, but for your general punter I think it holds true.

Food is also one of the easiest ways people can think of to show love and get some peace and quiet. It is much easier to toss a biscuit than get off your rear and do 15 minutes training or go for a walk. I feel sorry for vets, because somehow they have to cut through all the denial and bullshit and emotional incompetence to get through to someone about the dog's weight. And they are not paid to be human shrinks.

Even my own doctor said he has stopped admonishing people about their weight because it takes too much time to deal with the defensiveness. He just has one of those plastic replicas of a kilo of fat sitting on his desk now

[poodlefan]

Dr Zink also said that a very fat dog has a lower desire for exercise.

Some folk opt for feeding over walking.

[wuffles]

I know people get defensive about it, but in my experience, a lot of people do take it on board if someone says their dog is overweight. I know a few people at the local dog park who have really slimmed down their dogs after seeing fit examples or having a chat about it with the other regulars. Peer pressure?

Edit: In one case, a 'new' labrador started coming to the park who was lean and muscular and everyone oohed and aahed over him and said things like 'this is what labs should look like!' I think that gave some other owners a kick up the bum.. they wanted their dog to be complimented too

Edited January 24, 2011 by wuffles