# SO sick of FAT dogs and their OWNERS.



## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

I can not for the life of me wrap my head around WHY the heck people let their pets get FAT, and then let them remain that way. 
DO people not get that their dog's weight (aside from a few health issues) is ENTIRELY controllable by diet alone. Even lazy dogs don't have to be fat! 
Do people NOT get that by indulging their pet in treat after treat, meal after meal, they are slowly but SURELY KILLING THEIR PETS?!
I am so tired of biting my tongue. I am so tired of watching people claim to care about their dogs and cats while they just keep feeding the problem, so to speak, and their pet's health suffers. And why? Because schnookie poo loves his din dins? 
People are SO stupid. 
And then I get comments on hoiw skinny my dogs are, because apparently no one is used to seeing what a dog at a HEALTHY weight should look like. I swear at least 80% of the dogs I see are morbidly obese. 


If you care about your pets, please, recognize the toll canine and feline obesity takes on their health, and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. It's not hard to feed less- and it's more cost effective, too! 


whew. 
Ok. 
/end rant


----------



## xxshaelxx (Mar 8, 2010)

OH MY DOG! I can't tell you the last time I saw a lab that was at the weight it was supposed to be, other than the ones on here. Oh wait, there was one, but she was a four month old puppy. Wonder what she looks like now?!

UGH!

It drives me absolutely bonkers, people who have dogs that are far too large for their own well-being... I am so thankful that I have a breed that isn't generally fat, though, because I never get the comments that my dogs are too skinny. I think people are used to the image of Siberian Huskies on television and in movies that are in trim, running condition. But seriously...STOP FEEDING YOUR DOGS! Okay, well, stop feeding them too much. haha.


----------



## Devils of York (Jul 28, 2010)

CorgiPaws said:


> And then I get comments on hoiw skinny my dogs are, because apparently no one is used to seeing what a dog at a HEALTHY weight should look like. I swear at least 80% of the dogs I see are morbidly obese.


I used to get those comments on my Airedale. That was 20 years ago. Things have gotten worse. Thank goodness my Yorkies have a lot of hair because people would be convinced that I'm starving them if they could see their bodies. 

The first thing my vet talked to me about when I first brought my Yorkie puppy in was diet and weight control. She gave me the same figure as yours -- about 80 to 85% of dogs she sees are morbidly obese.


----------



## RachelsaurusRexU (Sep 4, 2010)

Dude. This is one of my biggest peeves. Everyone I work with is horribly guilty of this and nothing that I say (and I've been pretty darn blunt!) makes a difference. The crap that they give the shelter dogs ON A REGULAR BASIS includes but is not limited to velveeta cheese, vienna sausages, lunch meat and cheese, McDonald's cheeseburgers, Dunkin Donuts munchkins (yes, they buy bag upon bag of fast food for these poor dogs) and recently an entire tray of brownies and an entire tray of sugar cookies that some of our previous adopters brought in for human consumption. Now, WHO in their RIGHT MIND would think it's appropriate to feed these things to a dog??? The main culprit has several dogs at home who are also terribly obese. It makes me so effing sick but I don't know how to get through to these people.


----------



## spookychick13 (Jan 26, 2010)

Haha Flip gained two pounds and I am freaking out and putting him on a diet!

Honestly it's probably mostly fur too, as he is super shaggy at the moment.

I agree, though.

The worst thing about this is when people come into the clinic and weight their dogs, then laughingly ridicule the dog for the weight gain. Really??? You realize this is YOUR fault, since you are the one feeding the dog, right????

"Oh Buddy, you little porker!! Hahahah!" Um, not funny, and you're fault. >.<


----------



## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

What I hear all the time that I think are the stupidest excuses for people to justify owning fat dogs:

1. "He's always been husky, its in his genes." Total crap. Yes some dogs (just like people) are more at risk for obesity. This however is not an excuse to allow your dog to be a porker.

2. "I don't feed him much food at all!" Total balogna....you may not be giving him much of his normal food but let's not forget the overabundance of treats and snacks through out the day. I can't tell ya how many times I ask people everyday "how much do you feed your dog?" and they say "not much at all!" but when I say "how many treats are you giving him" and they proceed to tell me this long list of garbage they feel proud to give their dogs. You would think a light bulb might go off with them but it rarely does. 

3. "I free feed my dogs." How bout you stop being so lazy, regain some authority and take some responsibility for your animal. You wouldn't put a 3 year old human child in charge of how much they eat and when would you? I'd hope not. I don't get why people allow their dogs to do so, especially when they are morbidly obese. 

4. "Well, the breed standard for (enter whatever breed) says that they should weigh this much." THE WORST EXCUSE EVER. Do you realize how dumb you sound when you say this? Apparently not. Just because the breed standard says that, male labs for example, should weigh 65-80 pounds in IDEAL condition means that EVERY male lab should weight as much as 80 pounds (although most labs I know and see are heavier than this and shouldn't be). Pay attention to body condition. Does your 100 pound lab look like a fatty? Yes, then do something about it.

5. "He's lazy." Two things...increase activity (if possibleh) and decrease rations. Enough said.

6. "Somethings wrong with his thyroid." Ok, lets do bloodwork and see what comes back. Probably 97% of the time there isn't anything wrong with the dogs thyroid. Just get control of your sense of feeding your poor dog. Unfortunately, fat dogs always reinforce their weak spined owners everytime they're fed or given a treat. These dogs give their owners a sense of accomplishment. So I guess you could say it's not only the owners fault? Ha! Except for the fact that you're supposed to be smarter than your dog, don't let them train you....YOU train the dog.

7. "Ugh! He just gets into everything!" Seriously? Am I the one who needs to tell you to dog proof your house??? Guess so! Get a grip of reality and pick up things your dog will get into. Or teach your dog some manners and boundaries. 

Thats all that comes to my mind this morning. Ahhh....kinda feel better now, I wish I could say these things to clients.


----------



## Devils of York (Jul 28, 2010)

Great post.


danemama08 said:


> 6. "Somethings wrong with his thyroid." Ok, lets do bloodwork and see what comes back. Probably 97% of the time there isn't anything wrong with the dogs thyroid. Just get control of your sense of feeding your poor dog. Unfortunately, fat dogs always reinforce their weak spined owners everytime they're fed or given a treat. These dogs give their owners a sense of accomplishment. So I guess you could say it's not only the owners fault? Ha! Except for the fact that you're supposed to be smarter than your dog, don't let them train you....YOU train the dog.


The dogs may have developed thyroid problems as a result of being obese. Certainly obesity, increased body fat percentage, lowers metabolism, compounding the problem.


----------



## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

I'll be blunt, and I don't care who it offends.

If your dog does not have a diagnosed health issue, that you're trying to work with.... and your pet is FAT..... you don't deserve to own animals, because you don't really care about them. Period.


ETA: I am not referring to those who could "lose a few" but rather really OBESE dogs, whose weight is taking a serious toll on their overall health.


----------



## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Devils of York said:


> Great post. The dogs may have developed thyroid problems as a result of being obese. Certainly obesity, increased body fat percentage, lowers metabolism, compounding the problem.


Oh we definitely take into account their weight when checking thyroid levels but you'd be surprised the fatty dogs we test and their thyroid levels are normal. It's almost comical how bummed the owners are when they learn their dogs are just plain fat....and it's their fault entirely.


----------



## malluver1005 (Nov 15, 2009)

Oh, where do I begin lol!! I seriously get ticked when I see these poor dogs and their ignorant owners. Almost every dog I see out on a walk is not fat, but OBESE!! I would have to say about 90% of them. I see the same thing at work every single day. Fat, fat, fat and more fat dogs walking through the door! Out of the 50-60 dogs we get on a daily basis, about 4-5 are ideal. Maybe. The worst dogs I've seen here at my work are a 55 lb. beagle and a 110 lb. male basset and his 90 lb. basset girlfriend!

ETA: You're not alone spooky. When Aspen goes over 121 lbs. I freak out as well and put him on a diet to get him back down to 120 lbs LOL.


----------



## spookychick13 (Jan 26, 2010)

We also get the occasional owner who is so proud of the 100lb GSD (for example) because they think a dog that big is a bada$$. Come on, that's all fat people! Argh.


----------



## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

spookychick13 said:


> We also get the occasional owner who is so proud of the 100lb GSD (for example) because they think a dog that big is a bada$$. Come on, that's all fat people! Argh.


Feeding for size and breeding for size- two of my peeves.
Right up there with people who breed GSDs (for example, of course) to be 120 lbs.


----------



## xxshaelxx (Mar 8, 2010)

malluver1005 said:


> The worst dogs I've seen here at my work are a 55 lb. beagle and a 110 lb. male basset and his 90 lb. basset girlfriend!






My Sibes are both on the small side for Siberian Huskies. Amaya is between 30-35 lbs, and females are supposed to be 35-50 lbs. Ryou is about 45 lbs, and males are supposed to be about 45-60 lbs.



On a side note, I also LOVE seeing HUGE Siberian Huskies, in, like, way of height. They're only supposed to be 20-23 inches tall, people!!! Do your flipping research! There were these two at my old vet's office once, and I asked to see them, so they let me go back there. Here's the story: the owners were regulars there at the clinic, so they knew the dogs, and the dogs got out that day, so someone had caught them down on a busy street and brought them in. They were GIANT, not only in height, but in width as well, and surprise surprise, the only real Siberian Husky trait they had was their escape artist tendencies, because when they saw my dogs, they went NUTS, barking and growling, snarling with hackles raised, trying to get at my dogs to attack. REALLY?! Love that people don't do their breed research, their socialization, and let their animals get...FAT!!!


----------



## BoxerMommie (Jun 26, 2008)

I agree. I pet sat for this family they had 5 dogs only ONE was a normal weight and good grief their lab was EASILY 20 pounds overweight, probably closer to 25 it was HORRIBLE, this dog was as wide as she was long and good god she was a jumper I thought for sure she was going to A) kill me and then B) blow out her ACL from jumping with all of that weight. It was horrible! They didn't feed her a ton of kibble (or any of them) but they had a huge treat bin and told me I could give 2-3 per visit (I was coming twice a day) which would be 4-6 treats PER DAY which is a lot IMO when your dog is overweight and two of the dogs were smaller 10-15 pound dogs that's a lot of treats! Very very very rarely do I see healthy dogs (mainly large dogs oddly enough) that are a healthy weight.

Now I will say in my case my girl was 82 pounds at one point and an ideal weight was 60-65 for her however we did find out (after I kept swearing she hardly ate) that she was hypothyroid. Put her on meds and she was down to 65 pounds in 6 months no exercise and she stayed between 62 and 65 for the next 5 years. So sometimes that's a true statement, however I will agree that in many cases it is not. I think people want their dogs to be happy and they feel that food makes them happy.


----------



## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

Not too long ago I was with Duncan at the vets. In walked this Basset Hound that was probably the most over weight dog I had ever seen. The poor thing could hardly walk...he waddled.

I couldn't keep my big mouth shut and I said "looks like someone needs to go on a diet." Thankfully the owner agreed and said that they had put the dog on a diet. But, I am thinking to myself...how on earth do you let your dog get this big??? I can tell when Lucky puts on a pound or two, I cut back on the amount I'm feeding and she slims down. Seems pretty simple to me.....


----------



## BoxerMommie (Jun 26, 2008)

saraj2878 said:


> Not too long ago I was with Duncan at the vets. In walked this Basset Hound that was probably the most over weight dog I had ever seen. The poor thing could hardly walk...he waddled.
> 
> I couldn't keep my big mouth shut and I said "looks like someone needs to go on a diet." Thankfully the owner agreed and said that they had put the dog on a diet. But, I am thinking to myself...how on earth do you let your dog get this big??? I can tell when Lucky puts on a pound or two, I cut back on the amount I'm feeding and she slims down. Seems pretty simple to me.....


Well don't be so quick to judge either. When I adopted my first Boxer he came out of rescue overweight. I'm the one that put him on a diet to slim him down but it took about 4 months. Someone could have thought the same thing about me when I took him into the vet right after we got him...but I wasn't the one that did it. That may or may not have been the case, just saying unless you know the background, don't be so quick to judge either.


----------



## xxshaelxx (Mar 8, 2010)

BoxerMommie said:


> Well don't be so quick to judge either. When I adopted my first Boxer he came out of rescue overweight. I'm the one that put him on a diet to slim him down but it took about 4 months. Someone could have thought the same thing about me when I took him into the vet right after we got him...but I wasn't the one that did it. That may or may not have been the case, just saying unless you know the background, don't be so quick to judge either.


 You would think that rescue workers would be only too happy to put the dog on a diet. haha. Means they feed less and save more money. Not only that, but rescues should know enough about dogs to know that overweight isn't normal. lol. And this is no offense to all of the people on here who know better, and all those rescues that do know better. Heck, I don't even know how long your dog was at the rescue for. haha.


----------



## Mia (Oct 4, 2010)

I completely agree totally with everything you guys have said. I have never seen a lean beagle YET! Only at dog shows. The way they are suppose to be! Not like some overgrown marshmallow waddling down the street. When I got Rye he was about 110 or so maybe even 115. I can't quite remember. He is down by 95 now. I don't care English stock or not. He was FAT! I had to go so slow and cut the amount of food he was eating. I really had to be careful with his exercise too. He hadn't had a work out in a while. LONG while.

None of my dog's have ever been fat. Remotely fat. I am always looking and making sure they are at a nice weight. 

Very sad that owners let them get to that point. No reason for it. Just pure laziness and neglectful.

Like table food, the treat their dog like a garbage pail rather then a first last class champ dog.


----------



## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

BoxerMommie said:


> Well don't be so quick to judge either. When I adopted my first Boxer he came out of rescue overweight. I'm the one that put him on a diet to slim him down but it took about 4 months. Someone could have thought the same thing about me when I took him into the vet right after we got him...but I wasn't the one that did it. That may or may not have been the case, just saying unless you know the background, don't be so quick to judge either.


I wasn't quick to judge....but thanks for making that assumption about my post. 

I wasn't rude or condescending when I said it and the owner didn't take it that way at all. And if that was the case then the owner was there and could have easily told me the story. Plus, I kinda put two and two together because she had another very over weight dog with her.

So maybe you shouldn't be so quick to judge my post when you weren't even there to see the situation.


----------



## Mia (Oct 4, 2010)

saraj2878 said:


> I wasn't quick to judge....but thanks for making that assumption about my post.
> 
> I wasn't rude or condescending when I said it and the owner didn't take it that way at all. And if that was the case then the owner was there and could have easily told me the story. Plus, I kinda put two and two together because she had another very over weight dog with her.
> 
> So maybe you shouldn't be so quick to judge my post when you weren't even there to see the situation.


Nah Sarah wasn't trying to be mean. Just we know how serious it can become, the life long diseases it can create and some cannot even turn back the time on it. Like diabetes for example, overweight dog gets this disease spends a life time of health care at the expense of owner. All because one owner didn't take proper care. I also do mention when I see overweight dogs as well Sarah. I can speak without a nagging feeling over my head, if dog's could talk they would tell you how UNCOMFORTABLE and painful it is for them to be in that condition.


----------



## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

Great post Kate. :smile:
Dogs don't have a voice, so we need to be their voice for them!


----------



## BoxerMommie (Jun 26, 2008)

xxshaelxx said:


> You would think that rescue workers would be only too happy to put the dog on a diet. haha. Means they feed less and save more money. Not only that, but rescues should know enough about dogs to know that overweight isn't normal. lol. And this is no offense to all of the people on here who know better, and all those rescues that do know better. Heck, I don't even know how long your dog was at the rescue for. haha.


Which is exactly what I was going to say. He was only there for 2 weeks, he didn't become overweight in rescue, he was that way when they got him.


----------



## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

Just because it applies- 
Feeding a Corgi - by Susan Strickland

I came across this a couple years ago when I was researching breeders on the hunt for a Corgi puppy. 

yes. Reba. The SEVENTY pound corgi.

Disgusting.


----------



## cprcheetah (Jul 14, 2010)

OMG! Don't get me started....so many excuses from people, I've heard them all...
He's older so I'm just letting him enjoy life to his fullest....um NOW is the time he needs to be trimmest so he's not obese and hard on his joints/organs!

He's neutered, neutered dogs are fat & lazy....not necessarily, yes it changes their metabolism...so adjust the food

He loves food so much....so do I doesn't mean I stuff my face 24/7 (okay well so I do and YEP I have a weight problem but I also have hormone problems I am battling and working on losing weight).

Fat is healthier than skinny....nope actually it isn't, have seen dogs literally die from being too fat.

This being said, my dad (who is a Vet) was WAY overfeeding my sisters Bouvier...he was giving her a LARGE bowl full every day and Maggie will eat ANYTHING put in front of her, I had to take a measuring cup home to him and SHOW him how much to feed...she has gone from 130 to 80# and looks & acts like a puppy again...she's 12 years old. She eats EVERYTHING she can....case in point we had to make her puke on Christmas as in the time we were eating breakfast (30 minutes MAX) she helped herself to some sugar free goodies my hubby & I had made for everyone (dark chocolates included...and lots of them).....


----------



## KC23 (Nov 17, 2010)

We saw a lady at the park with 2 little dogs. They were SO fat that their bellies were dragging on the ground. She even said that the one dog's belly was bare from dragging!! How pathetic and cruel--yet she had that dumb attitude like it was cute. I felt really sorry for the dogs--it was so hard for them to walk. I know a few people with some gigantic fat cats too.


----------



## Spaz (Sep 3, 2009)

You know what really gets on my nerves are people who allow their animals to get fat but are so worried about their weight. 

I know a lady that has two horses that are obese yet she just made sure she lost 100lbs.

My dad is another fine example. He always watches what he eats but is constantly giving my rabbit treats. I've had this rabbit for 8 years and for the last couple of years my dad has really grown to love her. He is always feeding her something and telling me I don't feed her enough. Okay, yeah she's lived this long because I've starved her!  I'm always telling him that if he feels like she's starving give her hay, HAY, HAY, HAY!!!!


----------



## xxshaelxx (Mar 8, 2010)

Oh dear dog.... POOR REBA!!!

Fat cats, especially...that's just horrible. Because if your cat gets sick and stops eating, expect its liver to fail within 24 hours due to its obesity! Tricksie went 4 days without eating and was fine, because she's at a really good weight. Nice and trim. Saved her life. I've seen so many fat cats that it's just sad. Have you never heard of monitoring how much they eat?! When I was a kid, we had this cat, Max...he was overweight, would eat a ton, but he wasn't free-fed. Even so, he wasn't the epitome of good weight. When he was six, he had an issue with his bowls (pretty sure it was the kibble, but the vet said he got into too much human food through his life--BULL $%^& ?!). So anyways, after three days of not eating, we finally took him to the vet. His liver failed within the hour and they had to put him to sleep.

As for the BS excuses... "I'm trying to let him live out the rest of his years the best he can!" Um...by putting him in PAIN!? REALLY?!!!! That's. Just. Sad! Thyroid issues? Sounds like your making excuses for yourself. "He's always hungry." Yeah, so is my dog, and his dog, and her dog, and that dog, and this dog...and just about every other dog on this side of the planet (maybe not all, but about 50%). "It's so cute!" Um...yeah, and so are you, with your 200 pounds of fat rolls bulging over your too small pants. *cough, cough*


----------



## malluver1005 (Nov 15, 2009)

KC23 said:


> I know a few people with some gigantic fat cats too.


OMG, don't get me started on cats!


----------



## 3Musketeers (Nov 4, 2010)

Letting yourself get fat is one thing, it's your own fault so whatever, nobody cares, just cut on the brownies and cookies.

But making your pet get fat and thinking that it's happier by eating all it wants? NO! That's abusive. 
Some pets will eat as much as you give them, I'd want to eat a whole cake every day if I could, but the difference is that we know it makes us fat. 

They don't know that they'll get fat if they eat as much as they're allowed to. I think most animals will instinctively eat as much as they can, and to let them do so all the time is irresponsible.

And to come up with excuses like saying they are old or have a billion problems or are spayed/neutered, whatever, is just that, an excuse, unacceptable ones at that.


----------



## Guest (Dec 29, 2010)

All I have to say when I see an overweight dog is .... put the dog in daycare where it will surely be exercised, or send it to a boot camp for weight loss. But a morbidly obese dog should be checked out by a vet first to make sure that there's no medical condition then slowly introduce exercise and restrict food intake. My female Shepherd Mix is on the chunky side and always has been since I got her from a rescue. I have to encourage her to exercise everyday when she would rather be on the couch. She has a very restricted diet and gets no treats. Always begging for food, always acting hungry. Since I adopted her from rescue I've managed to get her to slim down a bit but she is not at her ideal weight yet. Vet check went well, she shows no medical issues. Gotta get her off the couch and outside exercising!


----------



## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

LabbieMama said:


> All I have to say when I see an overweight dog is .... put the dog in daycare where it will surely be exercised, or send it to a boot camp for weight loss. But a morbidly obese dog should be checked out by a vet first to make sure that there's no medical condition then slowly introduce exercise and restrict food intake. My female Shepherd Mix is on the chunky side and always has been since I got her from a rescue. I have to encourage her to exercise everyday when she would rather be on the couch. She has a very restricted diet and gets no treats. Always begging for food, always acting hungry. Since I adopted her from rescue I've managed to get her to slim down a bit but she is not at her ideal weight yet. Vet check went well, she shows no medical issues. Gotta get her off the couch and outside exercising!


And I would continue to cut back on food. No reason to feed her a lot if she's a couch potato!

My moms two shepherd mixes are heavy and while staying with me they get maybe 1 1/2 cups per day and nothing else. They both should weigh about 70 pounds. My mom just free feeds them....which I hate.


----------



## nikkiluvsu15 (Jun 9, 2010)

Couldn't agree with you more!

I get told ALL the time that Harleigh is way to skinny and that she needs to add some weight. Sometimes as much as 15 lbs  The person who says this the most to be has a VERY overweight Dachshund and do you think they care? Nope. They just say its because she is loved. Um okay? You think because Harleigh isn't OBESE that I don't love her? 'Cause thats logical.

Its so sad to see all these obese dogs. And poor Harleigh, she always becomes friends with either the most obese dogs or the oldest dogs at the dog park. This is the Golden Retriever that she played with last time we were there.. I don't know if you can see how big she was, but she was.


----------



## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

CorgiPaws said:


> I'll be blunt, and I don't care who it offends.
> 
> If your dog does not have a diagnosed health issue, that you're trying to work with.... and your pet is FAT..... you don't deserve to own animals, because you don't really care about them. Period.
> 
> ...


feel free to also refer to those who could 'lose a few'....because even a few pounds on a corgi or long back dog can mean the difference between a healthy back and an unhealthy back...

this is one of my biggest peeves, too.....i wish someone would watch my diet the way i watch theirs....neither dog that i own can afford to gain any pounds.....let alone a few....


----------



## 3Musketeers (Nov 4, 2010)

It's also very delicate with small dogs, because 2 pounds overweight can be as much as 20lbs on a normal size dog 

"Oh hes only 5 lbs overweight" some people don't seem to get their little bowling-ball of a dog is the equivalent of 50lbs overweight.


----------

