06/28/2024
SAME DOG, DIFFERENT WEIGHTS - I've been hearing a lot of concerning stuff lately regarding "healthy" dog weights and glorifying dog obesity, so I wanted to touch on this.
These are all photos of Brutus over the years. For a long time, I struggled to keep him at a healthy weight, and for some of that time, I didn't even realize I was the problem, but I make no excuses. I was his caretaker and I failed him when I allowed him to he obese. You can see what a visual difference it made for him to be at a healthy weight. He looks like a completely different dog in each of them!! And not only that, he was happier when he was at a healthy weight. Which ones look more healthy to you? Spoiler alert: they're not the ones where he's fatter. Fatter, well-fed, spoiled rotten ≠ healthy.
At the end of the slides, I've included a chart from the American Medical Veterinarian Association about what healthy weights look like. From the side, your dogs should have a belly that visibly tapers upwards from the ribs to the hips, and from above, their belly should slightly taper inwards from the ribs to the hips. You should be able to ever so slightly see the ribs under the muscles, and you should be able to feel them easily without having to push through a thick fat layer (similar to the feeling of the bones in the back of your hand). If the ribs or hip bones are protruding, your dog is underweight. If you can't see them at all, and/or if you have to push through a fat layer at all to be able to feel them, your dog is overweight.
Pet obesity is a pandemic. People all around the world allow their dogs to get this large in the name of "being spoiled." But, hot take, pet obesity is NOT. CUTE. And it's NOT healthy!! Veterinarians have proven time and time again that obesity in animals directly contributes to causing joint issues like arthritis, causing a plethora of other health conditions, and literally shortening their lifespans. People talk a big game about wishing their dog could live longer but don't put in the necessary work to actually achieve that, which includes keeping your dog at a healthy weight. Do the work! Trust me, your dog will thank you and be happier for it.
