PET OBESITY - A GROOMER'S VIEW

 As a pet groomer for 42 years, I have a serious commitment to partnering with pet owners in the welfare of their pets.  I firmly believe that my job goes beyond the bath and the haircut.  It’s my job to notice things, and one of the things I notice is when dogs get fat.  For years I tiptoed around this subject with my customers.  After all, I’m not a vet, so why should I be the fat dog police? 

I’ll tell you why…because our fat dogs are silently suffering.   I learned for myself that obesity hurts.  I learned because a few years ago I gradually packed on weight to the point of being too fat.  I stopped exercising because my back hurt, and I would spend most weekends lying on wedge pillows.  My right knee hurt so bad that I bought a knee brace, only to discover my knee was too fat for the size large.  I had scary episodes of tachycardia at night and my heart would race like an Indy car and I couldn’t get a blood pressure reading.  At age 69, it occurred to me that I might be slowly dying.  I went to the doctor for the first time in 10 years.  The doc said, “I don’t mean to be blunt, but I think most of your problems are from stress and overweight.”  I was rather upset, but in my heart I knew she was probably right.  I fired my help and set out to lose weight.  I lost 70 pounds.  The huge difference in how I felt after the weight loss helped me to appreciate the cost of being fat.  I could no longer tiptoe around the subject with my pet owners.

We let our pets get overweight by accident. One very misleading factor is the serving suggestions on pet food packages.  I don’t know who makes up the feeding suggestions, but they are often way too much for the average couch potato dog.  Hello!  Those people want to SELL MORE DOG FOOD.  My Bichons would be balloons in no time if I fed the recommended amount of our food.  One of the excuses I hear from owners of fat dogs is, “I feed what the package suggests.”  Sorry, but if the dog is getting fatter and fatter, it’s getting too much food.  Another common mistake is not to count treats as a part of the daily diet.  That’s like the fat lady in my Weight Watchers group who said, “I figure if I eat it in the car before I get home, it doesn’t count.”  LOL!  Treats count!  Here’s a link to a calorie chart for many common dog treats.  http://www.petobesityprevention.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Dog-Food-Calorie-Counts-December-2011-Dog-Treats.pdf

Dogs usually gain weight gradually over a period of time and the owners often don’t perceive the obesity.  The dog’s groomer, however, sees the dog wet in the tub.  I see the naked truth.  The dog’s hair or coat often conceals the body condition.  When the dog is wet, I can see the lack of indentation behind the ribs (the “waist), I can see that underneath the chest hair, the dog has a handful of fat.  I see pockets of fat over the hips and rolls of fat on the back of the neck.  The most common expression of denial is “He can’t be fat -  I can feel his ribs”.  Newsflash!  We can often feel the ribs of an obese dog.  How deep do you have to dig to feel them?  Can you pinch an inch of fat covering the ribcage? Feeling the ribs is really not the best indication of whether or not a dog is overweight.  The lack of a “waist”, a potbelly, and pockets of fatty deposits are better indications. 

Groomers also notice signs of obesity in dogs while on the grooming table.  The most common is a fat dog that can’t or won’t stand for the whole groom.  This can also be associated with arthritis or hip problems, but if a dog is too heavy, they prefer to sit or lie down.  I groom a precious little Border Terrier who looks like a football on popsicle sticks.  Her little legs simply cannot bear her weight for standing to be groomed.  We let her sit down or someone holds her up for me to scissor inside the legs.  Heavy breathing and respiratory distress is another sign we see on the grooming table.  Fat dogs come for shave downs in the summer, panting and wheezing, as if removing the hair is going to make them more comfortable.  We also see dogs that are grumpy from being fat.  Oftentimes the pet parent blames the aging process.  From my own experience, it is very difficult to distinguish the effects of aging and the effects of obesity, but losing weight will make the body more flexible and willing to move.  Grumpy dogs often hurt.  Fat HURTS, folks!  Let’s be real.  Our dogs are not “chunky,” they are fat.  They are not fat because they are lazy; they are lazy because they are fat. 

Please don’t take it personally if your groomer, trainer, or vet tells you that your dog is overweight.  It is not an indictment of your worth as a pet parent.  Fat happens.  Your pet counts on you to look after his health and obesity is not healthy.  Don’t wait for your pooch to become the equivalent of a 500-lb man before you accept that the dog is FAT.  It is much easier to take off 5 lbs than to help a dog lose 15 or 20.