Just back from a little walk, lovely day out there and it struck me our dogs were the only ones not over weight ! Not crowing I am not doing anything special just can't understand why others are not seeing how big their dogs are getting.

Elsie was spayed a couple of weeks ago and people keep saying to me she will get fatter but as none of my others ever have I doubt it.

Question is as I said why are people not seeing it ?

I despair! it seems like every time I go to the vets there is a dog that's double the size it should be poor things. I regularly see a huge doberman and he's only young, he looks like a seal. The vet has told her but she can't see it and was quite offended.
Spaying doesn't have to mean they get fat, non of ours have, its just an excuse for not keeping track of your dogs weight and feeding them accordingly.

I think a lot of people are killing them with 'kindness' when it's far better to take your dog for an extra walk rather than give it treats - as long as it's fit enough of course. If only they could realise they're condemning them to an early grave and a life of discomfort and almost certain early arthritis. Very sad.

I don't see too many overweight dogs around my way, but when I do see them they are usually accompanied by overweight owners!

My dog is at his ideal weight, but I've been told by an overweight friend that he's too skinny. She also calls me skinny, and I'm not. My BMI is right in the middle of the ideal parameters. I guess some people have a skewed idea of what a normal weight is!

My sister, her husband and her kids are overweight, as is their dog.

we're struggling to keep our mini- dachshund weight down as he's a little pig who if you're not careful will hoover up anything the other have left, our scottie looks overweight but it's bloating due to his liver condition we are struggling to keep his weight on, our staffie is a perfect weight

I hasten to add when we had a boy on steroids we had a struggle so I do understand medical problems causing weight gain I am not critical of that. It's the ones with no excuse are worrying me. I am over weight myself I always vow not to project that onto my dogs as it's no fun at all.

A spayed dog won' get overweight unless you let it, yes it can affect the metabolism, but if the owner alters and reduces the intake to compensate, there's no reason for it to get overweight. One of the worst overweight dogs I've seen was a Staffordshire cross type, that really put the 'bull' in bull terrier - it was HUGE, easily the size of two dogs, not one. It looked like an overinflated bouncy castle liable to explode at any moment waddling up the road with great difficulty. I think the reason is mainly because people are getting bigger, more and more overweight and so are their pets, but obesity isn't a dog complaint, it's a human one. A dog can only eat as and when it's owner allows it to, so apart from medical reasons, a dog can only become overweight if it's owner makes it that way.

I'm obese but non of my dogs have ever been and nor will they! And I've got one who had the highest dose of steroids for months to keep her alive due to an autoimmune disease. It was a nightmare stopping her eating anything she could get hold of. She's a rescue dog who was almost starved to death for a prolonged period and she's hard work around food at the best of times but she will not be allowed to get fat! She's not on any meds now thank goodness!

Some people do seem to equate loving their pets with over feeding them. My mother was one of them. She had a lovely springer spaniel, who she grossly overfed with chocolate and cream cakes. I would sometimes look after her and get her down to a reasonable weight, only to see the weight pile on when she went home. She died through heart failure at only 9 years old.
I learnt from this though! My lab will eat anything - but doesn't get the chance. A good quality dog food which I weigh out every day - plus a nightly dental rask. I want him to be with me as long as possible.

Its a situation I'm dealing with now too with the dog I've now got, also has early arthritis due to weight. It makes me angry why anyone allows any animal get in the state that puts their life at risk, I was told my wee lasses diet was exclusively cold meat and treats, Its hard being tough on her, I give her proper dog food and she's learning that's all she get, if she's doesn't eat it there's nothing else, its that or nothing.

I think she's seeing the lack of treats as a form of cruelty

Mine get treats but they love carrots and celery I wouldn't dream of giving them cake and the like, occasional chocolate spread in their kongs but just a smear is all they get.

Training treats come out of their daily allotment so no extras that way either.

Mine see playing a game with a toy as a treat too.

My grandmas dog - a chocolate lab, was overweight and we couldn't work out why as she dotes on him and takes him a at least 2 walks a day where he can romp around in fields.

Turns out she was getting confused with how much food she was meant to be feeding him, something to do with ozs and grams. Since we cracked this he has lost enough weight and is looking healthier, however,r she stills feel terrible about her mistake. I can't understand how some people could turn a blind eye to their dog getting fat.

Are you sure they aren't just bigger types of dog?

We were a little guilty of this last year with our younger dog (Mia).
She came to us last February, aged 10 months, after having a rough time with her previous owner. I suppose it was because we felt sorry for her, but she did get far more 'treats' than was wise.
At the vets for a check-up in November, she weighed 42 lbs, (the vet reckoned she should be 32 - 35) so we've been restricting her intake since then. It's been difficult denying her, but she was 36 lbs when I weighed her a couple of weeks ago - so... nearly there!

Our older dog, on the other hand (Stig), has always been a good self-regulator, he'll stop eating when he's had enough. Before we brought in Mia, we could simply keep his dry-food bowl topped up, (they both get a combination of wet and dry food, in separate bowls) and he would only eat what he needed. Never got fat, and has always been very fit.
That method had to stop when we got Mia though, but there are still times Stig will leave food, and we have to pick it up to stop Mia eating it.

LOL yes I believe I know a fat dog when I see one, oddly many people have said to us our young Labrador is thin and our Chihuahua needs to put on weight, but the vet says they are perfect size and wishes everyone kept their dogs in the shape we do.

That makes sense you are obviously onto it and putting it right, what I don't understand is how people don't realise or don't listen to the vet telling them.

I have a Vizsla who eats me out of house and home and will always be a skinny Minnie. In fact, I was one stopped by someone who said I needed to feed my 'lurcher' more as her ribs were showing (stupid people nark me). She was poisoned as a pup, and we can't seem to put weight on her at all. She is a lean, mean running machine.

My Springer on the other hand is a little portly. He is now 11 years old, and over the last couple of years he has put on a little poundage. He eats less than the Vizsla - but we were told by the vet to cut down his portions by 10% which we are doing. He is very muscular though, and as we all know muscle weighs more than fat ..... but he could do with losing a little.

Like me though, perhaps the other dogs / owners you saw walking are aware of the problem and trying to solve it ?

Some perhaps but certainly not all as they are the ones commenting on any dog not as fat theirs encouraging people to over feed their dogs.

I do wonder if some people really know what a healthy dogs even looks like any more.

My girl is naturally lean and I keep her as slim as I can get away with due to a joint issue, and so many people tell me she is thin because you can see a couple of ribs.

I personally think high carb dog foods and neutering are big contributors to the issue, but also that dogs are not able to get the free running exercise so much and people do not have the time/energy to do hours and hours of lead walks.

Very sad, one of my pet peeves.

I am not convinced neutering has much effect, we have consistently had healthy weight dogs, even when they have been on cage rest they don't put on weight, it really is down to what we put into them and the exercise they get. Less exercise, less food.

Our dog has been fatter since he was castrated.

He should have more exercise but I'm not fit enough to take him.

He is now about 14 years old and I'm reluctant to starve him in his last years.

I have never starved a dog even when on cage rest, we had one who was allergic to grass so he couldn't go out very often and was on steroids even he wasn't starved.

The key is finding treats they like that are filling but not fattening, carrots and celery ours love, and smaller meals 3 times a day instead of one meal a day.

Dog food manufacturers have big part in this problem though, looking at feeding guides mine would be over weight if I fed them that much food !

Those guidelines are insane! Our dogs would explode if they were fed that much. They get around 2/3 rds of what it says.

I personally think neutering does have and effect.... our oldest dog gained 2kg after her spay, we cut down her food and gave healthy treats, she was SO hungry, she would raid the bins, scavenge anything. Only switching to grain free kibble/raw got on top of it.

IMO, many owners trust their vets too much when it comes to nutrition, often vets don't have much training in the area and are just paid to sell Science Plan

One of the reasons I trust my vet he hasn't filled his waiting room with any food, he doesn't even sell toys or treats. If a dog needs diet advice he works with what they are being fed and encourages healthy treats, only time I have witnessed him sell food was to a lady with a dog who was in last stages of kidney disease and he found her a food that might help because she had no computer and he went online to obtain it.

Our vets are the same, they don't stock food, treats or toys, just things like wormers. They will order prescription food in but whenever my dogs have had an illness that may warrant it they've always suggested it as an alternative but never said we needed to use it or tried to push it onto me.

Like yours they make sensible suggestions re treats and feeding depending what's wrong with them. They are independent not part of a big chain who franchise the branches or have shareholders so there isn't a big push to make obscene profits.