I overheard an owner calling her dog last week. "Fatty!" I heard. "Fatty, come here." I saw the dog and thought how appropriate the name was. The dog was indeed a fatty. Unfortunately, I thought, she is just one of many overweight dogs I see daily in my practice.
Studies now show that 50-60% of American dogs are overweight. What's more disturbing, however, is that we seem to have lost the ability to determine that our pets are fat in the first place. As our neighbors' dogs and our own dogs have expanded, the new "normal" is overweight.
So, how can you tell if your dog is carrying a little extra weight? The way we veterinarians do. Evaluate the Body Condition Score. This is a scale using either 5 or 9 points. Using the 9 point scale, 4.5 is ideal, 9 is morbidly obese and 1 is extremely emaciated. Evaluate your dog's body while he or she is standing. Look from the side and from above. Dogs primarily store their fat in their bodies and not in their legs. Does your pet have a waist when viewed from above? Can you easily feel the ribs? Is the chest area bigger than the belly area or does your dog look like a small ottoman? Only once you know he or she is overweight can you do anything about it. As they say, admitting there is a problem is the first step.
Turns out that "Fatty" wasn't really "Fatty" (although she was fat). I had heard her owner incorrecly. She was calling "Patty!" Now if I could just get her to admit Patty has a problem...
Studies now show that 50-60% of American dogs are overweight. What's more disturbing, however, is that we seem to have lost the ability to determine that our pets are fat in the first place. As our neighbors' dogs and our own dogs have expanded, the new "normal" is overweight.
So, how can you tell if your dog is carrying a little extra weight? The way we veterinarians do. Evaluate the Body Condition Score. This is a scale using either 5 or 9 points. Using the 9 point scale, 4.5 is ideal, 9 is morbidly obese and 1 is extremely emaciated. Evaluate your dog's body while he or she is standing. Look from the side and from above. Dogs primarily store their fat in their bodies and not in their legs. Does your pet have a waist when viewed from above? Can you easily feel the ribs? Is the chest area bigger than the belly area or does your dog look like a small ottoman? Only once you know he or she is overweight can you do anything about it. As they say, admitting there is a problem is the first step.
Turns out that "Fatty" wasn't really "Fatty" (although she was fat). I had heard her owner incorrecly. She was calling "Patty!" Now if I could just get her to admit Patty has a problem...
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