Overweight dogs. Health

Overweight dogs is one of my pet hates. Im sure we have all fallen victim to it at some point in a small way, i for one have Phoebe made it to 61kg once!!. But we have a dalmation at work that looks like a block with legs. She has stretch marks on her belly and her skin is so tight you cant even pinch it. I feel awfully sorry for this dog and i want to beat her owner with a stick . They have brought her in for 3 weeks to lose weight but i honestly see no point as she is going back to the same owners. She is double the weight she should be. When she loses the weight she is going to look like a deflated balloon as i very much doubt the skin will ever go back. I was really shocked when i saw her as dalmations are usually such slim dogs. Were giving her 3 short walks a day but its hard work as she is not for moving and 2 meals of light food for the size of dog she should be. I was getting so mad when the owners were telling me about this dogs life she eats human food and it sounded like mainly takeaways and snacks. Im also not sure how much weight she will lose in 3 weeks but the owner is expecting dramatic results ( i fear she will be disappointed ). Dont the rspca class this as animal abuse now? Ive seen a few overweight dogs at work but nothing to this extent before. The vet wants 25kg off!! i think the only way thats going to happen is if we chop her in half.

I once fostered a Dobermann who weighed in at a hefty 64 kgs, when Syd who was a big boy was 46kgs. His owners apparently were incapable of saying no, he had no training at all the only command he knew was sit and tbh he did that automatically cause standing was too much effort. We got him down to 45kgs and his owners wanted him back, I took a step back at that point because to me I'd wasted 6 months shifting the excess weight for them to consider returning him to the owners who didn't care enough to do it themselves.

It bugs me too,
How many times do we hear of owners being prosecuted for having emaciated dogs what’s the difference? An obese dog can cause just as many health problems as one being severely underweight yet we get organisations like the PDSA holding competitions for slimmer of the year the overall winner being awarded a pet-friendly break in the UK.)

Sorry but why should they be rewarded for letting their pets get into this terrible state.

Thats a little of how i feel. if she was so determined to lose the weight she would do it herself. its also going to take far longer than 3 weeks and im worried what ever weight we do shift will just be back on again. Hopefully the owner just wants us to get her started and she will continue at home and her dog wont get like this again

The thing was once he'd lost a fair bit he was used to 2 hours free running and rough and tumbling with similar dogs and I knew damn well they'd never keep up the exercise because he'd never been off lead until he came to me, he had no recall which was true, but he couldn't run if his tail was on fire though. Not funny it's tragic tbh.

I wouldnt reward them a holiday. We have a "fat club" at our vets run by the nurses where the dogs get weighed and can chat with the nurses about what they need to be doing. They do give out little certificates for slimmer of the week and a rosette for getting to the target weight. I suppose its just a bit of encouragement for people and sometimes having a place to go like that helps. It helped me quite smoking going to quit club as i couldnt face going in saying ild smoked a fag and seeing everybody be disappointed

Well, at least the owners of the Dalmatian are trying to get their dogs to a healthier weight. That should be commended and supported, regardless of your feelings. What's worse are the owners who refuse any help but know what they're doing to their dog is cruel!

Snap. we do a short walk with her, with a normal dog walking and sniffing around it takes about 7 mins, with her it took over 10 and she was panting her head off when we got back and looked well and truly knackered. ive got her owner some info about vets fat club and the local hydro centre as i think swimming may be better for her as im sure her joints are not enjoying lugging all this weight around. The owner said 25kg doesnt sound to much does it, i told her it was 2 of the sacks of dog food on the shelf and she tried to lift one then looked quite sad. I did nothing to make her feel better as i have zero sympathy for her, its the dog i feel sorry for. Shes also never been to kennels or left in her life so she is not taking to any of it very well.

25kgs must be like having another dog attached

yes the owner should be supported. if she had brought the dog in 15kg ago i may be a lot more supportive but you would have to be blind to not have noticed this a long time ago. Shes buried her head in the sand for far to long and as a result this dog has suffered, only time will tell how badly as im sure being so over weight for so long has caused problems we wont see till shes older.

yeah. its almost half what Phoebe weighs . She weighs in at 62kg right now and ideal weight for her breed is around 35kg. i think there is a long road ahead for this dog and just hope the owner sticks to it

I put my hands up & will say Kobi as been & is still a kilo overweight, I forgotten the golden rule about neutered dogs, but he has lost 2 kilo's already & is slowly losing the last kilo.

weve all had that. phoebe got 6kg over her ideal. but a bit chubby and morbidly obese are very different. do you ever get seriously over weight dogs in at rescue?

Normally Labradors Springers, Cockers & Boxers come in overweight, plus we have a few smaller breeds come in that are 3 to 6 kilos overweight these dogs are normally from the eldery who as gone into nursing homes.

yeah thats more of what im used to we get a lot of porkie dogs at work. This is the first time ive seen a dog this over weight with my own eyes

It's not fair on the dogs as when you put their food down its gone in seconds (we use anti gup dishes now) then they look at you with their sad I am hungry eyes, I have to keep saying to myself they not hungry they have had correct amount of food they won't starve.

its hard isnt it, this dog has got good sad eyes. so ive been going in and giving her a nice tummy rub after shes eaten to take her mind of it.

I tend to throw lots balls & toys in as distraction when I fetch the dishes out.

[QUOTE="6JRT's, I forgotten the golden rule about neutered dogs, but he has lost 2 kilo's already & is slowly losing the last kilo.[/QUOTE]
I think that’s a myth, Kyra was spayed at 18mths and is now 13 she has never put on any excess weight and eats normally.

I think that’s a myth, Kyra was spayed at 18mths and is now 13 she has never put on any excess weight and eats normally.[/QUOTE]

Non of my bitches put weight on it as always been my male dogs first Dexter, Milo then Nero & now Kobi I simply forgotten about reducing food by 2 ounces but now that I have reduce Kobi's food he's losing the extra Kilo's.