Health: Weight problems

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Obesity in dogs is almost as common as obesity in humans. In fact, experts say somewhere between 25 and 40 percent of dogs are obese or likely to become obese.

The health consequences of these extra pounds are just as serious, too: overweight dogs put greater stress on their joints, hearts, lungs, liver, and kidneys. They're more prone to injury, and are at a higher risk during surgery.

And it probably doesn't feel good to them, either. Fat dogs don't have the energy or the natural curiosity and playfulness that fit dogs do. Although dogs can't decide to go on a diet or exercise more, they definitely appreciate life a whole lot more when they're trim and ready for action.

Causes

Some dogs have physiological reasons for their obesity, but most of the time, their weight problems are the result of two simple, all-too-common factors: too much food and not enough exercise.

• Overeating for a dog is really a matter of overfeeding--overly generous portious, too many between-meals snacks, and table scraps. Sometimes the owner mistakenly believes that a dog needs access to food twenty-fours a day, or that dogs only 'ask' for more food--oh, those puppy-dog eyes!--when they're truly hungry. Not true. Dogs are natural-born scavengers, and if they learn that a certain look or whimper will always yield more food, they'll ask for it over and over, whether they're hungry or not.
• Lack of exercise is easy to explain: it's the same problem we humans have. With dogs generally confined indoors or in yards, they don't get the exercise they need (and no, dogs will not 'automatically' exercise any more than humans will. They're just as lazy as we are.) Fence-running and playing isn't enough. If the dog's over-eating--even a little--there will be a slow but steady spread, leading to all-too-common obesity in middle age.