OVERweight

First of all, we monitor Carl's weight very closely. If he starts to get fat at all, we cut back on his food, and if he's getting skinny we give him a little more. If we let him eat as much as he wants, he could easily be 160 pounds, instead of a nice steady 90. :D

Okay, so Saturday we went to a Rottweiler picnic hosted by http://www.rottweiler.net It was really fun, seeing a whole bunch of other Rotts, and meeting people from the board, you know - attaching a face to a name. :D

I could not believe how fat some of these dogs were! There were probably about 20 Rotts there. I'd say 1/3 of them were over weight. There was one who looked like a tootsie roll with legs, I'm not kidding! :eek: He was probably just as tall as Carl, if not shorter, and he weighed at least 160/170 pounds!!!!

This dog was absolutly huge!!!!! It was so sad though, watching him struggling to stand up. Obviously, this lady loves her dog, otherwise she would not have been there. But overfeeding it, overfeeding it by 50 some pounds, is not what I call love. Don't people understand that an obese dog is prone to many more health problems that a fit one. :mad: :confused:

I could see if the dog had some health problem that made him gain weight. But this was obviously not the problem as her 3 other Rotts were just the same. She just overfeeds them. :(

Sorry to vent, I just really, really hate seeing a fat dog. A little exta fat is okay, but when you can't feel the ribs, even when you dig your hand down there, is just unacceptable.

I know what you mean - I always think that severe obesity in a pet is a type of abuse. There are three different lab/lab mixes on our regular walk route who are all very overweight! One of them struggles to breathe, and when you pat her, her fat just jiggles!
It seems so easy to control a dog's weight (I wish it were so easy to control my own weight - LOL)! If one of our greyhounds starts to get thick around the middle, we reduce their food intake by 1/8 or 1/4 cup for a week or so, and pick up the daily exercise! Pup is a different story, because she has hip dysplasia, and can't get the same exercise as the others. Still, we have her on a diet of weight control food and veggies, just to keep her fit and trim!
It seems so easy; it's always hearkbreaking when a dog is so fat they have trouble moving around :(

Well, matey, I couldn't agree with you more!

There are three things (mainly...well, you know me and actually it's loads of things...but three common things) that really make my hackles rise when people obviously do love their dogs but just don't treat them like they deserve to be treated. (That's like dogs, in case you were wondering!)
1. A dog pulling on the lead and getting jerked and shouted at with little or no effect.
2. A dog begging at the table or anytime it hears the rustle of a bag.
3. A fat dog.

This is not love but ignorance. Ignorance in this context is the neglect to care for the animal. Neglect is cruelty. It drives me crazy that people can watch their much loved dog struggle to get through the day and still say that's OK as long as it has it's biscuits before bedtime. Agggghhhh!

Quote:

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Originally posted by carrie:
<STRONG>Well, matey, I couldn't agree with you more!

There are three things (mainly...well, you know me and actually it's loads of things...but three common things) that really make my hackles rise when people obviously do love their dogs but just don't treat them like they deserve to be treated. (That's like dogs, in case you were wondering!)
1. A dog pulling on the lead and getting jerked and shouted at with little or no effect.
2. A dog begging at the table or anytime it hears the rustle of a bag.
3. A fat dog.

This is not love but ignorance. Ignorance in this context is the neglect to care for the animal. Neglect is cruelty. It drives me crazy that people can watch their much loved dog struggle to get through the day and still say that's OK as long as it has it's biscuits before bedtime. Agggghhhh!</STRONG>

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Amen, Carrie. I agree completely with everything! I saw so many fat dogs when I was working at the vet, and some so grossly overweight that their stomachs touched the ground when they were standing (short breeds, of course). The owners would laugh and crack jokes at the weight of their pet when the pet was on the scale. I never thought it was funny, I felt sorry for the animals because they could hardly move without a lot of effort.

Dogs pulling on the leash uncontrolably is another pet peeve of mine especially when the owner is yelling, "heal, heal, Fido HEAL". I see that quite often.

I have a friend who's a vet tech, and she says the vet she works for can't stand the people who own Rotties and brag, "I've got a 130 pound Rottweiler!" She says the vet corrects them by saying, "No, you've got a 90 pound Rottie that's 40 pounds overweight."

Way to go! There's nothing difficult about keeping a dog's weight healthy if you're a halfway attentive owner.