Seeing obese pets makes me sad. I don’t think fat pets are even a little bit cute or funny.
That’s because obesity in pets can cause all sorts of serious health problems. Many of them are similar to the ones that human suffer.
There is added danger with Dachshunds because the breed is prone to back issues. Excess weight around the middle pulls on their backs and can case disk disease or make an existing problem worse.
Although I refrain from offering unsolicited advice out in the real word and on social media, I talk about my feelings on pet obesity pretty openly on this blog. I will also be dead-straight honest if someone asks me if I think their dog could lose a few pounds (yes, I do sometimes get asked since I know a lot about dog fitness and Dachshunds).
I think that too many people tiptoe around the issue trying not to “hurt anyone’s feelings”. Unfortunately, I think this “whisper in the corners” approach does not raise general awareness around the issue and allows people with overweight pets to live in denial.
I know that my approach may be misunderstood by some and attacked by others because I can be blunt but I want to clear a couple of things up right now.
1) I don’t think there is any use in living in the past.
My goal in having a discussion is to bring awareness and offer helpful information to move forward from this point. I do not criticize, insult, or otherwise berate any dog owner for letting their dog become obese. My focus is on encouraging owners to take control of their pet’s health through a positive and supportive environment.
2) I recognize that reducing pet obesity is not always as simple as feed less and exercise more.
There can be many factors that lead to a pet becoming obese. While I believe that things like “Grandma won’t stop feeding Frank pizza” or “I just can’t say no to those sad eyes” are preventable, I recognize there are ailments such as Cushings Disease that can cause obesity and is largely out of the owners control.
While I do make general statements about pet obesity and fat dogs, it in NO WAY should be interpreted to mean that I am judging any particular person or situation. I strongly believe that only the owner can know their own unique circumstances and has the freedom to make their own choices about the issue.
3) I have followed a lot of conversations around obese pets and some are outright hateful.
There are always a few people who are so moved by these situations that they feel it necessary to exclaim “that owner should be shot”, “that owner should be arrested for animal abuse” or “those owners are stupid and shouldn’t own animals”. I kid you not, these are real comments I have read.
I appreciate that people are passionate about pet obesity. I am too.
Although I respect a wide range of views on this issue, any comment deemed by me to be insulting, attacking, abusive or “hurting more than helping” left on my blog or Facebook page will be removed.
4) I really do want people to be able to see when their pet needs to lose weight and want to do something about it.
Like human obesity, pet obesity is a growing issue in the United States.
When a pet is obese, it can lead to a whole slew of health issues and shorten their life.
For more information, check out the info graphic below.
Pet obesity graphic produced by Matt Beswick for Pet365 – a UK stockist of dog coats, collars and accessories. Click here to view the full post.
Bruce Sherman says
I like the saying that if you are overweight, you are not walking your dogs enough. I’m much better at my dogs weight than I am my own. I wish it were easy, and I’m sue a lot of people have similar problems with their dogs weight. When dogs are overweight, there can be a lot of reasons, and being judgmental probably won’t help anybody.
Jessica Rhae says
I agree – being judgmental does not help anyone. I am way better at Chester and Gretel’s weight than my own. It’s kind of embarrassing 🙂
KateS says
You are right, Bruce! My husband and I call the dogs our “personal trainers”! I guarantee we would not be as healthy as we are if it weren’t for our commitment to their health.
Jay from The Depp Effect says
I’m glad to hear you say this. I don’t believe rudeness or abuse every gets anything useful done and it can be very upsetting to read.
Having said that … that poor dog up there! And he looks SO unhappy! 🙁
Jessica Rhae says
The “upsetting to read” part is why #3 (I actually just noticed I listed #2 twice. Ha, ha) is on the list. I have followed the saga and comments on Obie the obese and, while I appreciate people’s passion, many of the comments have been abusive and mean and I won’t allow that on my blog or Facebook page.
Reeze says
My Emma has Cushings Disease, and that contributes to her weight issues. We have tried everything, cutting down on her food, not giving into her “sad eye” pleas for snack, increase her exercise, and so on. Nothing ever works. Years before our vet diagnosed her with Cushings, we were extremely frustrated with her weight gain.
She is still overweight for her size (or what we like to call “full size” mini dachshund), but the medication to treat her disease seems to help stop additional weight gain. Plus she has not put on an extra ounce since she was diagnosed with Cushings 3 years ago. It is extremely frustrating for us but one thing we learn throughout the process is to continue to love her the way she is while doing our best to help her with her weight issues. When we get frustrated at the issue, she seems to know and will get into a really sad mood without an inkling as to what is happening.
Sure it is important to help her maintain a healthy weight to negate the health risks involved but we make sure to remind ourselves daily that we are on some precious borrowed time with Emma. As long as the vet continues to tell us that she is doing fine despite her weight and that she is healthy and extremely happy, I can live with that.
When a stranger walks up to me and make a comment about her weight, my standard reply is usually, “She ain’t fat, she is just my Emma!”
Jessica Rhae says
Thanks so much for your comment!
I don’t really know anything about the Cushing’s disease weight connection. I’ve just heard “it might have Cushing’s disease” in defense of fat pets on Facebook…so know it can contribute. I am glad to hear a first-account of this so I can be more educated about it.
And kudos to you for not using Emma’s disease as an excuse to give up on her weight!
GizmoGeodog says
I think you’re very reasonable…I posted a photo of Cooper Doxie the other day and only one person mentioned how overweight he is…everyone else was too tactful…Cooper lost a sister Doxie not long ago and though she was 13 y.o. she was also very overweight and that certainly didn’t help…Since then Cooper has been on a diet and is now walking with some regularity…He’s already lost about 5# and if you know him you see the difference in his looks and in his activity level…Cooper mom is determined to get him back in shape and Giz and I are doing what we can to support them
Jessica Rhae says
I’ll be honest here…..Cooper’s weight caught my eye too. Just because I see an overweight dog doesn’t mean I will just blurt it out. It’s all about context and, and SlimDoggy says, education. If you had mentioned something about his health or asked my opinion, I certainly would have said something about his weight. However, it’s very awkward to hear or read when you are celebrating something or having fun and someone goes off-topic to comment on the dogs weight.
Jessica Rhae says
It’s like when I post a beautiful picture of the dogs and someone tells me I need to trim Gretel’s nails. That has happened several times on Facebook. In this case, the person is not pointing out anything I don’t know (her nails are long) but they don’t ask about why. I have tried and tried to shorten her nails up and they get clipped every week or so. Her quick just never moves back like most dogs. I feel bad but even if I trim just a tad off of the ends I always clip at least one quick. Poor girl.
Paws and Pedals (Kate & Scooter) says
I think by showing others how fun things can be if you embrace a more active life with the dogs in your life you can inspire and show others the way forward. What you’re doing is great & I’m sure better in many ways than attacking others for their mistakes. No-one’s perfect & life’s all about learning. Good teachings are in your words. 🙂
Jessica Rhae says
We aim to lead by example first. It’s WAY more fun for us 🙂
SlimDoggy says
You deserve to be shot 🙂
You are spot on Jessica. This is not about judgement, just education and information. We know for a fact that it is a hard topic to discuss– many vets have admitted that they find it difficult to bring up with their customers.
Many people don’t realize that their pet is overweight nor do they understand the consequences– both in terms of the dogs health and lifespan (shorter!) but also the financial cost (hundreds if not thousands of $$ per year).
Further, even if a dog is currently at a healthy weight, they need to stay active and be fed properly on an ongoing basis to ensure they stay this way. This becomes even more important as the dog ages as you want to reduce the load on their skeletal systems to reduce the impact of arthritis and other ‘old age’ conditions.
Thanks for joining the FitDog Friday hop!
Jessica Rhae says
You don’t know how many times I hear “my vet says my dog’s weight is fine” or “my vet hasn’t said anything about my dog’s weight so it’s totally fine”. I know for sure and from experience that vets can be hesitant to “tell it like it is”. Chester used to be 3 or 4 lbs overweight and my vet never said anything to me. I realized on my own and did something about it. THEN the vet mentioned that he had been overweight before and was looking good. I don’t know what their hesitation is with talking to people about their pet’s weight but they should! Hopefully that is starting to change.
Pamela | Something Wagging This Way Comes says
I’m glad that your stance will be one of support instead of judgment. But of course, I never expected anything else.
I suspect many pets become obese because their people are trying to show their love. But their imaginations are limited and they can only think in terms of food treats to show their affection.
Maybe if people can open up their minds to see the many great ways we can show our love for our pets we’ll see a big change.
Jessica Rhae says
Thanks Pamela…and you gave me a great idea for the Fit Friday post next week!
Paws and Pedals (Kate & Scooter) says
Have to agree on Pamela on this one. Many people are just stuck in the ‘give treats as a sign of love’ mode when there’s plenty of other ways they can show their love……just need to be given some fresh ideas……
KateS says
Jessica, I don’t think you are being too harsh at all. People ask us all the time how we keep our dogs’ weight down. A lot of pet owners either don’t realize their dog IS overweight to begin with, or do realize it, have tried to do something about it, and given up. Knowledge is power, and there’s nothing wrong with spreading it in a kind, non-judgmental way, and leading by example!
Jessica Rhae says
We definitely try to lead by example! I think that is the best “subtle” way to make people aware that obesity is a problem. In a lot of cases, if you were to increase your dog’s activity, it would take care of the weight problem….or at least help you realize your dog may be overweight.
Roxy the traveling dog says
I think you’re on the mark, but you always are. I think it’s really important that people start looking at this as a problem, and not something cute.
Jessica Rhae says
Ugh! I think it was Pamela who said someone didn’t adopt a foster because it wasn’t “cute” and chubby enough! The nickname sausage dogs gives people the impression that Doxies should be round and look “stuffed”. I have gotten on my soapbox about that a few times. Probably won’t be my last 🙂
SUGAR: Golden Woofs says
Woof! Woof! Not at all. Being educated about pet obesity is soooo important. Mom believes that it truly helps on prolonging the dog’s life and eliminates some of the uggghhh disease. Well, mom is getting lots of mmmm comments on our walks how small and “skinny” I am. Imagine that! I am a fit tone Field Golden dog. There’s absolutely nothing wrong on what you believe on … Golden Thanks for sharing. Happy FitDog Friday. Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar
Jessica Rhae says
I have gotten asked “what is wrong with them? They are so skinny” before. I just said “nothing. That is what a healthy weight doxie should look like”. The lady was actually receptive to that and sounded a bit “enlightened” by my comment. One can only hope 🙂
DogTread says
You are in good company! We agree – no more tip toe – it isn’t saving pets lives. But spreading the message and providing action plans for people will save lives – welcom to the fight to help our dogs!!
Jessica Rhae says
Yay for no more tip toeing! I am more passionate about saving pet’s lives than I am people’s feelings….to a reasonable extent of course. I like the idea of “action plans” because, as you can see, we are all about action 🙂
emma says
We feel that pet obesity is similar to kids that are obese, neither are really at fault themselves, it is the caregivers that have messed up. Yes, there are cases of illness that cause obesity but the majority of overweight dogs and kids are the result of the people in charge not paying attention to diet and exercise and look how many humans are obese, it is no wonder pets and kids are right there too. This subject makes mom furious, so we are always trying to promote diet and exercise for pet and parent!
Jessica Rhae says
I DO think people are too quick to defer responsibility to “illness” sometimes. I have heard from people with dogs who had a disease that caused them to gain weight easily but they were still able to keep it under control. Each dog is different though so some may have a disease-caused weight issue for sure. I have found that those people usually offer that info up within minutes of a conversation starting.
Peggy Frezon says
In a recent interview, I learned that in the past, many veterinarians have been reluctant to bring up the subject of pet obesity because of fear of angering the people and losing a patient. Thank goodness that is most often no longer the case. People are realizing the health risks of pet obesity and now I see so many veterinarians and others working hard to educate. You are spot on.
Jessica Rhae says
That would be my first guess as to why many vets have been reluctant to say something. I imagine it’s like people doctors who rarely say anything if you are packing a few extra pounds unless their is a health condition that is related. You might pick a different doctor if every time you walked in the door they said “hey…you are getting pretty chubb”. You better watch that”. Ha, ha. I am glad to see that more vets ARE educating though.
Chris Knowles says
I agree with you that tiptoeing around an issue doesn’t help, but also that harping on the past never creates anything positive. If you keep your format to something positive in that sense, than it could be said there isn’t much you could do but stay quiet and let the problem continue not to insult a person in that mindset!
Jessica Rhae says
Well, I am sure that in all of this I will end up upsetting, or “insulting” someone. Not my intention of course but…….
Dachshund Nola and Her Mom says
I think another reason why pets are so overweight is people try and show their love through food (my grandma and her 88lb lab who should be about 65lbs comes to mind).
However, I don’t think it’s…fair (not the right word at all, but I’m drawing a blank) to post a picture of a certain pet and say “this is what this breed should look like”. Just like with people, dogs have different body types. Take my two oldest girls Nola and Boston. They’re the same breed, and only 3 months apart in age. Boston has a ridiculously high metabolism, is a constant bundle of nervous energy and has a hard time keeping weight on (she looks thinner than Gretel currently). I feed her a lot, but she doesn’t gain. Nola is shorter in hight and length, and is built like a tank. Solid muscle, so much so I jokingly call her my little pit bull. If she looked like Boston or Gretel, she’d be severely underweight. Just a few weeks ago she was just a little thicker than Boston, and my vet told me bluntly that I HAD to put weight back on her. She’s at her ideal now. I can see last two ribs, and feel them. She has a tuck up and an hourglass shape, just not as exaggerated as Boston’s or Gretel’s. Does she need to be their shape? No! It’s downright unhealthy for her.
Rant over. 😛
Amanda
Jessica Rhae says
Ha, ha. Are you calling me out because I made that exact “mistake” the other day? I posted a photo of Chester with his hourglass shape clearly outlined in red and said “this is what a healthy weight looks like”. My “mistake” was not explicitly stating that I was referring to the hourglass shape. Some people did not interpret the highlighting to mean that I meant “a slight side curve the waist” and thought I was implying that all Doxies should look exactly like Chester (who is like your Boston…hard to keep the weight on). While I recognize that there are all different body shapes (yes, just like people), I can’t recall ever seeing an optimum weight Doxie that did not have some kind of slight curve in at the waist when you look down on it (hourglass). However, I am not claiming it’s impossible but speaking in generalities because it is true for the majority. As stated above, in the end I think that it is up to the owner and vet to determine what is a healthy weight for their dog. My intent IS to somewhat speak in generalities so I can get a conversation going. As with my “mistake” though, I guess I need to be very explicit about what I mean. Delving this deep into the issue is new for me so I am sure there will be many lessons to learn.
Dachshund Nola and her mom says
Ha, no. I’m not calling you out on anything, and besides, I’m not even on FB. 😉 I was simply referring to one of your older posts on here (some of the links in it don’t work, BTW).
Do you follow Ammo the Dachshund’s blog or FB page? Nola has a similar body type to his, obviously much smaller though. Muscled, but still lean. Tuck up and an hourglass shape, just not severe.
That was kind of my whole point with my original comment. 🙂 I’m not sure where you’re getting the “no defined waist at all” from. Nola has a waist, an obvious one! Hers just isn’t as dramatically defined as Boston’s or your dogs’. 🙂
Jessica Rhae says
Oh, No! The “no defined waist” comment was not at Nola at all! 🙂
What I was referring to was the photo I posted and reiterating that my point of the photo was to point out that a Doxie should have some sort of a defined waist. I encounter many people in my club that don’t understand that so I know some people are not aware. That being said, I DO recognize that there are some exceptions – Doxies who still stay “round” even at a healthy weight. Again, I was just making a statement about general awareness, not implying anything about Nola.
Thanks on the links. When I built the new blog and made the switch, many links go broken. I am working to fix them but with almost 1,000 it isn’t going to happen anytime soon 🙂
Jana Rade says
Well, the one thing is that when “under attack”, people withdraw and become defensive, which is not a place at which they are open to change.
Jessica Rhae says
Very true. It IS a challenge to be very honest while not making anyone feel “under attack”.
Jana Rade says
You know, just a shot in the dark …
I think that people might respond to incentive. For some weird reason, talking to people about the health benefits of keeping their dogs slim is falling on deaf ears. What if, though, similar to car insurance companies, which offer better rates for people of certain age with good record, people would get some financial break for keeping/or getting their dogs slim? What if pet health insurance premiums were lower for slim dogs? What if some other fees (for example, our vet offers “Family Veterinary Care Plans”) were also lower for slim dogs? Perhaps something like that would work.
Jessica Rhae says
You make a good point. I feel like the conversation about pet obesity is just beginning to become mainstream (being talked about more openly). Like you point out though, it may be falling on deaf ears. In my limited experience with the subject, people are either aware and supportive, it falls on deaf ears (you don’t hear from these people) or people feel “attacked” and dig their heels in. It WOULD be great if there was some kind of incentive program. I feel like we are just not beginning to head that way with humans so the discount for our pets may by a ways off. There is no reason programs for people AND pets couldn’t be developed at the same time though 🙂
Ann Paws says
Sounds like you have the perfect approach on discussing the topic. It’s easy to “offend” some people when it comes to their pet’s weight, even when you just tell them that their dog might be a hair too heavy… I know I’ve done it. It’s definitely a touchy topic for some.
Jessica Rhae says
With some, just bringing up the subject is “offensive” no matter how you do it. It’s a fine balance and if you are willing to talk about the issue you have to be willing to accept that it will be taken badly by some no matter how hard you try to be gentle.
2 brown dawgs says
Sounds like a very reasonable approach! What I hate is when I mention to someone that their pet looks overweight and they say, the vet said he/she is just fine. Don’t know if they are giving me a line, but they seem to believe it.
Jessica Rhae says
As Peggy mentioned a few comments up, some vets are probably hesitant to say anything in fear of making pet parents mad and losing business. I suspect “fine” can mean “your dog is overweight but it’s not causing any health issues right now so I can let it go”. Unfortunately, western medicine is mostly aimed at treating the problems and not preventing them in the first place (like suggesting your dog lose weight).
2 brown dawgs says
That is possible, but I think people have selective hearing which may be more of what is going on. You cannot look at the dogs I am thinking of an not see that they are overweight.
Jodi says
I think it is a touchy topic but if you come from a position of caring, that helps immensely. The first time someone broached the subject with me regarding Sampson I about bit her head off. Since then he’s lost over 20 pounds and now I can use that as a starting point. When someone says he looks so good, I can start with, he’s lost 25 pounds and here’s how we did it and can offer suggestions for their excuses.
Like the lady who asked, how can you deny your dog when she’s hungry? Well for one, she’s a lab, she’s always hungry. But I give her different choices, instead of buying grain/calorie heavy treats I offer them cucumber slices, baby carrots, peas, whatever I have. I gave her options for her dog and she listened.
Anytime you have to tell someone or discuss something unpleasant it helps when you come from a position of love and caring.
I’ll try to behave here, I promise. 😀
Jessica Rhae says
Thanks for your comment Jodi. My strongest nature is to be direct so your comment makes me to revisit how I could soften my approach by using empathy and storytelling. Part of the problem is for me is I don’t have a dramatic weight loss story like you do (congratulations by the way!). I just never let Chester get really overweight. However, he WAS a couple of pounds overweight at one time, which can be likened to 10 lbs on a big dog. I didn’t realize it and thought he looked good until I saw a healthy weight chart…then I immediately took initiative on my own to correct it. I do share that story with people.
Kelly Ann T. says
I so thankful there are classes that allow me and my dog to work out together. We love hiking and walking too. My dog keeps me motivated.