Is My Dog Overweight?

Is your dog overweight?

If your answer is "no",  are you sure? 

Only 22% of owners believe their own pets to be overweight. 

But in reality, a 2011 study showed that 53% of dogs are overweight.

This means that 31% of owners are in denial about their dog being overweight...


I, for one, was sure that my Springer Spaniel Wallace was NOT overweight and was simply "big-boned".  This was despite the fact that Beth (my gf and Wallace's mom), my sister and some of my friends told me that my boy needed to lose weight. I found this all to be quite offensive and was quick to jump to poor Wallace's defense.  I deflected their comments by saying that our vet didn't say Wallace was overweight, that Wallace eats a high quality food so he couldn't possibly be overweight and that Wallace probably just looks to be on the heavy side since he needed a haircut.

Don't you dare call my fur baby fat!

Eventually it was Beth's turn to take the pets to the vet for their check-up.  She, of course, asked the vet point blank if Wallace needed to lose weight. It turned out he did.  It also turned out that I am part of the 31% of owners in dog obesity denial!

Just one more treat???

In addition to speaking with your vet, here are a few ways for you to tell if your dog is a healthy weight:

1) Your dog's weight vs. their breed's ideal weight - The rule of thumb is that if your dog is more than 15% above its breed's ideal weight (which can be found here) it is considered to be obese. (Wallace is 16% above the high-end of the Springer range).

2) Can you feel their ribs? - You can also check by feeling for your dog's ribs and spine. You should be able to locate both with only a thin layer of fat separating the skin and bones.  If you have to press harder or dig deeper, you may have an overweight dog.

3) Eyeball it - You may recognize the chart below from your vet's office. It can be very useful to help decide if your dog is a healthy weight. (This chart also classifies Wallace as heavy)

What can I do? 

Along with exercise, exercise and more exercise, controlling your dog's food portions and the amount and type of treats they get are the main factors that will help you get your dog back down to a healthy weight.  If you do an honest assessment of how much your dogs eats in a day (not just meals, but extras like treats, scraps from the kitchen, treats from others) you may find that simply cutting out the extras can be the difference. 

As for meal time, a feeding guide can be found on any bag of dry food.  Once you have a target weight for your dog, find the lowest amount for that weight range and measure carefully. We now use a measuring cup as Wallace's food scoop. 

Keeping your dog's weight in check is critical. As with humans, an overweight dog is more susceptible to a wide range of health issues including joint issues, trouble breathing, high blood pressure, diabetes, reduction in life span and skin conditions.  Next time you bring your dog to the vet be sure to ask if he or she is a healthy weight.

- Peter