Help! My dog is obese!

[edible_hat]

Maybe I'm confused. I thought it was the parent's job to teach their children how to eat. Not the media's.

In theory you're correct. But in theory, communism works.

[Bradester]

I too have a fat cat, Mr. Blue, my Chunky Monkey, who weighs 19 lbs. He seriously looks to be about a 9 on the Body Condition Scoring scale (hello animal science nerd!).

But he's always been huge, and really doesn't overeat (I do portion-controlled free feeding, can be kinda difficult to monitor when you've got three cats, tho), and gets exercise through the good 'ol string-chaser method. The vet says he's perfectly healthy, so until I hear otherwise, I don't plan on any drastic measures.

My other cat, however, has gotten chunky in the past few months. She was not a large kitten like Blue, and eats like a little pig. She's the one whose weight I'm concerned with.

[KitterCat]

In theory you're correct. But in theory, communism works.

There’s a big difference between how a government system works, and parental/individual responsibility. Even with all the ad’s out there, the company’s are not forcing you to eat their product. If you don’t like it don’t eat it. If people think their kids shouldn’t eat it, they won’t feed it to them. If said people are willing to be push over’s, let their kid do what ever they want and effectively not parent, that is not the food company’s fault. Its then the parents fault.

[RetailWorkhorse]

Never had a fat dog. FUZZY yes (Sam, which he kept telling us wasn't his name but he refused to tell us his name, was a Pyranees-Lab mix so he was FUZZY and HUGE), fat no.

KC was lazy, specially after we moved into the campgrounds, but she never reached anything past 65 pounds (Borzoi-Collie mix, she was SKINNY) when she was younger. Slimmed down to 60 pounds when she got into her Golden Years (when she was really truly pampered, so yeah, really Golden). Still managed to outrun just about every dog in the neighbourhood.

[Mamadrae]

In theory you're correct. But in theory, communism works.

The chinese would disagree with you more then likely. I long ago learned though that what works for one does not work for all.

[Mamadrae]

There’s a big difference between how a government system works, and parental/individual responsibility. Even with all the ad’s out there, the company’s are not forcing you to eat their product. If you don’t like it don’t eat it. If people think their kids shouldn’t eat it, they won’t feed it to them. If said people are willing to be push over’s, let their kid do what ever they want and effectively not parent, that is not the food company’s fault. Its then the parents fault.

You said it much better then I could have.

[edible_hat]

The chinese would disagree with you more then likely. I long ago learned though that what works for one does not work for all.

When the Chinese government started allowing private ownership of companies, they stopped being communist. By definition.

[Sorianna]

Quite true. It's really a mindset. I blame McDonalds and Lays. They probably don't understand that feeding a dog human junk food has something to do with the dog being fat.

Wait. No, no, wait. People feed pets their own food? Human food for animals? I thought that was something that just happened on TV. I mean, huh? That stuff's bad enough for us, and it's made for us to eat. Dogs and cats and hamsters (etc.) have a completely different system, so why would that thought even occur?

[edible_hat]

Wait. No, no, wait. People feed pets their own food? Human food for animals? I thought that was something that just happened on TV. I mean, huh? That stuff's bad enough for us, and it's made for us to eat. Dogs and cats and hamsters (etc.) have a completely different system, so why would that thought even occur?

For the same reason we need a site like this one - people iz dum.

(and don't get me started on people who insist on feeding naturally carnivorous animals a vegan diet)

[LewisLegion]

Well, depends on your definition of people food. Prepackaged food saturated in preservatives and chemicals = teh bad for people and pets.

A good chunk of raw chicken, steak, or fish= what the animal is really designed to eat.

Never saw me no kibble trees in nature.

[Evil Queen]

That'd be a sight to behold. A Kibble Tree.

[edible_hat]

That'd be a sight to behold. A Kibble Tree.

Does it just grow the pieces or do they grow in bags? (like the bags are the fruit and the kibble is the seeds inside)

[Evil Queen]

hmmm, I would think it grows the kibble, and they put it in bags. Similar to those bags of fruit at the store.

[Pagan]

Wait. No, no, wait. People feed pets their own food? Human food for animals? I thought that was something that just happened on TV. I mean, huh? That stuff's bad enough for us, and it's made for us to eat. Dogs and cats and hamsters (etc.) have a completely different system, so why would that thought even occur?

Please tell me your being sarcastic and not really as naive as that sounds?!

We did feed human food to both of our dogs occasionally. I can pretty much say for sure that it had nothing to do with either of their deaths. Hilde (don't ask) had a bad heart murmur (vet said on a scale of 1-6 it was about a 5) and she was about 14-15 when she died. Domino developed cancer and we had to have her put down when she was about 13.

Well, depends on your definition of people food. Prepackaged food saturated in preservatives and chemicals = teh bad for people and pets.

A good chunk of raw chicken, steak, or fish= what the animal is really designed to eat.

Never saw me no kibble trees in nature.

What s/he said!

[edible_hat]

hmmm, I would think it grows the kibble, and they put it in bags. Similar to those bags of fruit at the store.

You mean there's no such thing as a fruit bag tree?

On the topic of what dogs should and shouldn't eat...

Bella (the dog in my avatar) eats a vet-prescribed diet of raw chicken and cooked rice and vegetables and is the happiest and healthiest dog I know. My uncle's dogs eat kibble and canned food and are OK health-wise but have a lot of flatulence. As in, when they want to go out they'll stand near the door and fart.