# Extremely Obese Pets: Could This Be Considered Animal Cruelty?



## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=201211

I know both Dr. Witzel and Dr. Drum down at the University of Tennessee. Best of luck to Mabel...


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## Selena van Leeuwen (Mar 29, 2006)

Poor dog....that people cant see she is wayyyyyy to obese.


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## Lisa Brazeau (May 6, 2010)

TOTALLY ABUSE! It's a pet pieve of mine, if you will.


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## leslie cassian (Jun 3, 2007)

My brother sent me this a while back

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-half-weight-6-months-ballooning-9-stone.html

Nine stone is about 125 lbs.

From the article - 
_'Unfortunately, when owners treat their pets as if they were humans and feed them the wrong food, they're simply killing them with kindness.'_

I understand the 'food is love' mentality, but still manage to keep my dogs lean.


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## Jackie Lockard (Oct 20, 2009)

Whoa unreal. My Lab is 68 pounds!!!


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## Don Turnipseed (Oct 8, 2006)

Personally, I don't get the heading of to thread. Animal abuse????? How much overweight are you Maren. Connect the dots for a change.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Don, your going over the top with that one. 
All, agree to disagree but knock off the personal insults.


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## Ricardo Ashton (Jun 3, 2010)

That isn't entirely a case of animal cruelty, but a severe issue of owner ignorance. A dog that weight for that size ismore likely to have a massive coronary episode earlier on in life than anticipated. Nothing's entirely wrong with a dog eating a lot of fried chicken and roast beef or whatever you decide to give them as treats or meals. But if they don't burn it off with some play or exercise is what causes these results.


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## Jennifer Michelson (Sep 20, 2006)

I do think it is abuse, same as parents who allow the same to happen to their children. When we have control over the food, there is no excuse for that much weight. The dog cant be comfortable. Should it be a punishable offense? I dont think so, but it is abuse.


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## Lisa Brazeau (May 6, 2010)

Jennifer, I still wish their was a 'Like Button' on posts.


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

I see on Mabel's Facebook page she just ruptured her cruciate ligament a few days ago.  That will definitely make the exercise harder. But she's down to 56.4 lbs!


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## Kristi Siggers (May 27, 2009)

I also think it is abuse. Whats her facebook page?


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Here it is for anyone who wants to follow her:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mabel/332532756771682


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## Thomas Barriano (Mar 27, 2006)

If you are following the facebook page of an overweight DOG?
You have waaaay too much time on your hands.


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Of all the silly things to follow on Facebook, this is far from the worst. 

Plus she's a bit more than overweight. She's kind of like a person who should be 150 lbs weighing 450 lbs. Will be an interesting case study to follow, for me at least. Plus I know the doctors involved. They're good people.


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## Thomas Barriano (Mar 27, 2006)

Maren

More interesting then what the Kardashians are wearing to the
Academy Awards? ;-)


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## ann schnerre (Aug 24, 2006)

IMO, and it's been MO for 30+ yrs (i'm just 29, so my parents bred it into me), the WORST thing you can do for your animals is over-feed. i don't care about the "big brown begging eyes". those eyes will be begging you to save them 5 years before they're due to die biologically.

my dogs know the "look" doesn't work. so, i'm proud to say, that i haven't had a dog that died of obesity or complications thereof, EVER. not that i'm a perfect dog-owner (at ALL), but i've never had a fat dog.

oh--except Gracie Mae, our "fat-bottomed girl", who no longer is....love Gracie Mae (and she has the "OMG, i'm starving" eyes). call me cruella de ville if you must...but Gracie is still with us


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## Sara Waters (Oct 23, 2010)

Thomas Barriano said:


> Maren
> 
> More interesting then what the Kardashians are wearing to the
> Academy Awards? ;-)


Not sure who the Kardashains are, must be a group from America?

Anyway I dont think there is any excuse for a fat dog. If we as humans are overweight our selves that is our problem, but we generally have control on what size our dogs reach. Cruciate ruptures and many other medical problems are way more common in overweight dogs.

I was looking after a friends dog when he was away for 6 months and this dog was grossly overweight to the point its belly was almost touching the floor. He used to bring her to work and unfortunately there was a lonely old chap there who was the gardener used to feed her things like whole christmas cakes etc. to win her attention.

Anyway I put her on a normal feed regime and started walking her. I also supplied the old chap with appropriate treats to feed her, so that he could still remain connected to her.

Well we were going along really well when the vet at work who was a little overweight himself accused me of discriminating against fat people. He told me that just because I was fit and athletic that I expected dogs to be the same. He seemed to take offence at the fact that because I wanted to trim the dog up it meant I was against fat and he thought that I should allow the dog to remain fat.

I told him that I really didnt really care about what weight humans are, but I was darned if I was allowing a dog to become medically at risk under my care. He was really mad at me and tried to tell everyone one at work that I was abusing the dog. Most people fortunately either didnt care or agreed with me.

Anyway I got the dog down to a more realistic weight - not like my dogs but at least more healthy and my firend on his return was absoutley delighted and said he had hoped I might try and sort it while he was a way. He also kept her at a better weight.


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

That would be a very unusual position in the States. It's typically the other way around, with owners having no clue their dog is not supposed to be an Ottoman with legs. And people can get tremendously upset if you suggest otherwise. One problem is that some vets are afraid to bring it up, fearing that the clients will just go down to XYZ Hospital down the street. I am very forward with people and explain it in terms of body condition score and percentages of body fat. That is a little less subjective than "Fluffy's fat, so lay off the Pupperoni." If I had a DEXA machine, that would be even better. Another issue is that vets in the States typically see overweight animals all the time and get desensitized to it. I think cats are actually worse in this respect than dogs as people think fat cats are "cute" even more so than dogs, but arguably overweight cats have more complicated problems than dogs. But way to go on getting the dog back to a more normal weight.


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## Lynn Cheffins (Jul 11, 2006)

I just finished sewing a custom dog coat for a labrador with a girth of 40 inches! The dog is SO fat and the owner was in denial that the dog was overweight. I saw the dog when he got it about 6 months ago and the dog was a nice, healthy weight - so he has porked it up in only 6 months 
I have to fit alot of fat house pets for eqpt and harnesses and alot of pet people are really in denial about the weight state of their dogs.


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## Sara Waters (Oct 23, 2010)

Maren Bell Jones said:


> That would be a very unusual position in the States. It's typically the other way around, with owners having no clue their dog is not supposed to be an Ottoman with legs. And people can get tremendously upset if you suggest otherwise. One problem is that some vets are afraid to bring it up, fearing that the clients will just go down to XYZ Hospital down the street. I am very forward with people and explain it in terms of body condition score and percentages of body fat. That is a little less subjective than "Fluffy's fat, so lay off the Pupperoni." If I had a DEXA machine, that would be even better. Another issue is that vets in the States typically see overweight animals all the time and get desensitized to it. I think cats are actually worse in this respect than dogs as people think fat cats are "cute" even more so than dogs, but arguably overweight cats have more complicated problems than dogs. But way to go on getting the dog back to a more normal weight.


Yes it is reletively unusual here too. I think the guy was just projecting his own weight issues and taking it personally.

There are plenty of charts in vet waiting rooms showing correct body shapes and scores etc. I see a lot of very overweight cattle dogs and people tell me it is just their build. My fav breed and my cattle dogs are definitely not overweight so that is such a lame excuse and I tell them so. Doesnt make any difference though. Same with sterilised animals, all my dogs are sterilised and I dont see why they have to be overweight, but that is a common excuse too. I think vets try but in the end it is down to the owners to get their shit together.


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## ann schnerre (Aug 24, 2006)

the "oh s/he's neutered and therefore MUST get fat" is another i've tried in my own small way to disabuse: i've always had neutered dogs,and never a one has been obese. and i tell ppl that. they don't listen, but i try...


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

slightly off topic, and maybe my experiences are not normal, but for YEARS every single owner i have ever had who brought an overweight (spayed or neutered) dog and considered it "normal" said they were told to expect that ... from their vet ](*,)

which of course makes it hard for them to consider an alternative opinion from a plain old dog trainer 
.... fortunately it becomes easier for me when they admit the behavior problems weren't fixed when the dog was 

don't know how the term "fixed" originated, but should never have been used in the first place // lol //


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## Charlotte Hince (Oct 7, 2010)

ann schnerre said:


> the "oh s/he's neutered and therefore MUST get fat" is another i've tried in my own small way to disabuse: i've always had neutered dogs,and never a one has been obese. and i tell ppl that. they don't listen, but i try...


One person didn't believe my male was altered because all her neutered males got fat afterwards (Uh-huh) and my little guy is "skinny" e.g. you can feel his ribs if you handle his sides. He was shaved down at the time so the lack of balls was pretty obvious but she muttered something about having one stuck and she'd heard of that before...](*,) Obviously I wouldn't know if my own dog was altered. 

Trying to explain to people that a tuck is healthy is unbelievably hard. I see some major obesity at the dog park a lot and the worst three I can think of are a beagle, a corgi and a golden all of whom waddle to an absurd degree and one of them has bad hips... I wonder why, Sherlock? One of those people has commented on my dogs' weights and it's hard not to get verbally judgmental about it. I try to work it in if they ask me about my training but it's not always easy to do. 

My elderly JRT was severely obese when I inherited her. I put her on a regular diet and took her for short slow walks and the pounds just fell off of her. I think it was 3 months and the 15 year old was running around like a mad thing and still is. The weight was like a 12lb backpack weighing her down and once it was off she was a different dog. The vet pretty much wants to erect a statue in my honor. I imagine his expectations are very low for owner common sense. :lol:


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## Sara Waters (Oct 23, 2010)

rick smith said:


> slightly off topic, and maybe my experiences are not normal, but for YEARS every single owner i have ever had who brought an overweight (spayed or neutered) dog and considered it "normal" said they were told to expect that ... from their vet ](*,)
> 
> which of course makes it hard for them to consider an alternative opinion from a plain old dog trainer
> .... fortunately it becomes easier for me when they admit the behavior problems weren't fixed when the dog was
> ...


I guess it depends how they interpret their vet and whether they actually listened. The last dog I had sterilised the vet told me that sterilisation will result in weight increase unless I reduced his food intake. She told me to reduce his food by a third if I remember correctly and to see how he went. 

My dogs are working dogs so I increase and decrease their food based on how much they work, winter or summer and what they look like. She gave me the standard advice she gives all her clients I would guess and I wonder how many really listen.


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## Skip Morgart (Dec 19, 2008)

I remember there was a TV special a couple years ago about overweight pets. There was a rott (in England I think) that was over 200 pounds..grossly, GROSSLY overweight, and the woman got pissed because the cameras were following her around...she disagreed with everybody that her dog was overweight. She was nuts. I think her boyfriend/husband even agreed about the overweight, and she ripped into him.


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## Sara Waters (Oct 23, 2010)

Charlotte Hince said:


> Trying to explain to people that a tuck is healthy is unbelievably hard. I see some major obesity at the dog park a lot and the worst three I can think of are a beagle, a corgi and a golden all of whom waddle to an absurd degree and one of them has bad hips... I wonder why, Sherlock? One of those people has commented on my dogs' weights and it's hard not to get verbally judgmental about it. I try to work it in if they ask me about my training but it's not always easy to do.


I think people get conditioned to what they see as normal. I visit my family in the city from time to time and take my dogs down to the local dog walking area for some exercise. I see so many plump dogs waddling around and I have people say to me about my dogs, oh aren't the poor things so skinny, almost like I am the abuser. 

A few people acknowledge how fit and lean they are, but there are quite a few who I am sure think I underfeeding them.

I try to explain that my dogs are fit and lean working dogs, and even point out that their dogs could lose some weight, seeing as they have rudely commented on mine, but it largely falls on brains that have no comprehension.


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## Charlotte Hince (Oct 7, 2010)

I certainly get the perceptions bit. I remember reading an article which shows that people can't recognize a cat in a healthy weight. A cat about 20% (I think) overweight looked normal and a 20lb cat seemed perfectly reasonable in your average shelter kitty when in reality that cat should be about 12lbs. I think cats are worse off than dogs in that respect but since most people don't take their cats in public it's not something we see often. I guess if all you see is fat dogs owned by your neighbors you can just assume your dog is in good health. It really is too bad that a "Your dog is fat. Walk it" doesn't work. 

In my case it doesn't help that my ACD is extremely tiny from what people are used to seeing which usually gains commentary. She's about 28lbs and really short to boot so they assume she's a skinny or underfed puppy rather than a fit adult and she's really not that lean. She needs to lose a pound or so but I haven't sorted out her food issues enough to fiddle too much comfortably. 

I saw a severely obese BC the other day and it made me unbelievably sad. Such a fit and active breed reduced to panting heavily after walking from the car to the office. What a waste.


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## Sara Waters (Oct 23, 2010)

Charlotte Hince said:


> In my case it doesn't help that my ACD is extremely tiny from what people are used to seeing which usually gains commentary. She's about 28lbs and really short to boot so they assume she's a skinny or underfed puppy rather than a fit adult and she's really not that lean. She needs to lose a pound or so but I haven't sorted out her food issues enough to fiddle too much comfortably.
> 
> I saw a severely obese BC the other day and it made me unbelievably sad. Such a fit and active breed reduced to panting heavily after walking from the car to the office. What a waste.


Its odd how people expect cattle dogs to be whoppers. My girls are around 18.5 inches at the whithers and weigh in at around 40-41lbs if I have my conversion right. 

Nothing worse than an obese BC. I have seen ones that resemble a coffee table, it is so not right.


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