Commenting on chubby shelties

[Emmasmom]

I had someone come up to me one day I was walking Hamish and tell me he needed to go on a diet. I was extremely ticked off at her - she didn't know his history. He was just about six weeks post-pancreatic attack that almost killed him. The vet didn't expect him to live through the night the day I took him in. He was on steroids and other medications and this affected his weight. This woman was not so politely told to buzz off - that he was recovering from a near-death experience. Sometimes, yes they are overweight from too much food, too little exercise. Sometimes they are overweight because of meds or health issues.

 

[Toffee's Mom]

I had someone come up to me one day I was walking Hamish and tell me he needed to go on a diet. I was extremely ticked off at her - she didn't know his history. He was just about six weeks post-pancreatic attack that almost killed him. The vet didn't expect him to live through the night the day I took him in. He was on steroids and other medications and this affected his weight. This woman was not so politely told to buzz off - that he was recovering from a near-death experience. Sometimes, yes they are overweight from too much food, too little exercise. Sometimes they are overweight because of meds or health issues.

awww, that would have been awful!!
Poor Hamish
and no, I would never, ever do it to a stranger unless I am having a dog/agility related conversation, imo. Because even then it's hard to hear for some reason, and in your case that Lady was just plain rude

 

[corbinam]

I agree, unfortunately I found a lot of Vets won't mention weight and most don't mention it until it IS glaringly obvious...
So, if I had only listened to my Vet I am convinced he wouldn't be as healthy!

I've also found, and no disrespect to our vets on the forum, that a lot of vets don't really know a sheltie's ideal weight. This is especially true for performance dogs.

I know I've mentioned before that when we first started agility Bentley weighed around 25 lbs. He now weighs 17 lbs. and shouldn't weigh any more. We saw several vets during his "fat" period and no one said a word to us.

Yesterday we took Lexi to the vet and she weighed 15.3 lbs. That is a touch light for her (but she has been sick) as I like her more at 15.5 lbs. but the vet came in and said "last time she was here she weighed over 16 lbs. and I was waiting for a lecture, and she said "that is a great weight for her since she does agility!" And she went on to compliment us.

 

[EJHUNTL]

When I brought Hanna in for her first puppy check the vet said I should watch her food carefully as many shelties he sees are fat. He suggested starting her on 1/2 per day and increasing that when we cut back on training treats. She isn't booked for anything at the vet now until next spring when we do her spaying, but he said I was welcome to come in and weigh her anytime.

He also mentioned that some shelties develop obsessive compulsive behaviours, so be on the look out for that as well. By the time he saw her for her last set of shots he was so impressed by her personality that he's now going to consider a sheltie for the new puppy he's been looking to add to his family. He did ask for the breeder's name so he could pass on the information to clients interested in shelties.

 

[Caro]

I've also found, and no disrespect to our vets on the forum, that a lot of vets don't really know a sheltie's ideal weight.

I agree. Most vets here have a chart on their wall (Hills I think) with a long list of dogs and their ideal weight. For Shelties it says 5-7kg that's about 12.5-17.5lb, imagine a 16" sheltie at 7kg. Publishing unrealistic weights like that is just going to put owners right off. I had the behaviourist vet once tell me Deska should be under 10kg, he's b/w 10.5-11kg and I can feel every rib. On the other hand, vets see so many dogs that are obese that dogs that are just chubby probably aren't worth worrying about.

On the other hand I think most vets are far too subtle - they don't want to upset owners either. They use very broad, nuanced statements that are easy for owners to ignore. I've got friends with fat adult pets (cats and dogs) who hear these statements but do nothing. Altho one friend, after years of being told by her vet the dog needed to lose weight, one day the vet did a blood test and told her she was killing her dog and bang, it's now a skinny dog.

Here's some of the terms I know the vets use

• "Fido could afford to lose some weight" actually means Fido is obese and heading for some serious health issues.
• "wouldn't want to put on any more weight" means Fido is already too chubby and should lose some weight.
• "Shelties are prone to fat" means your sheltie is already heading that way.

And the favourite sheltie owners excuse - it's all fur (yep I've used it). Funnily though, now if I tell people not to give Tully treats because she's on a diet they tell me it's all fur.

 

[Tabitha]

Here's some of the terms I know the vets use

• "Fido could afford to lose some weight" actually means Fido is obese and heading for some serious health issues.
• "wouldn't want to put on any more weight" means Fido is already too chubby and should lose some weight.
• "Shelties are prone to fat" means your sheltie is already heading that way.

When F-kap was overweight and I took him to the vet I got "If he gains anymore weight he'll have to get a higher dose of heart worm med, you may want to cut back on some treats." They never told me he was dangerously over weight. I know it was MY job as a dog owner to keep an eye on his weight (to be honest I didn't realize just how fat he was), but it's also a vet's responsibility to tell an unaware owner that their dog has health issues.

 

[JLSOhio51]

From the outset, I will admit that the use/misuse of words is a major pet peeve of mine. That said, I don't really quarrel with:

...On the other hand I think most vets are far too subtle...

Personally, I find it hard to believe that anyone would walk away from the following statements not understanding that their dog is too fat. All three seem pretty clear (albeit not blunt) to me. A person who did do that would just as likely misinterpret any statement that the vet made (up to and including "sorry ma'am/sir, this practice does not treat large farm animals").

Here's some of the terms I know the vets use

• "Fido could afford to lose some weight" actually means Fido is obese and heading for some serious health issues.
• "wouldn't want to put on any more weight" means Fido is already too chubby and should lose some weight.
• "Shelties are prone to fat" means your sheltie is already heading that way.

 

[Emmasmom]

l. By the time he saw her for her last set of shots he was so impressed by her personality that he's now going to consider a sheltie for the new puppy he's been looking to add to his family. He did ask for the breeder's name so he could pass on the information to clients interested in shelties.

I am blessed to have a vet who knows and loves Shelties. He noted that Emma could lose a couple of pounds, which I knew, but thanked him for reminding me. His tech couldn't decide between Shelties or Goldens but picked Goldens. It is great to be able to go somewhere that I am confident my Shelties get the best care, including the vet knowing what vaccines etc to give a Sheltie. I didn't have that in the past.

Back to the original comment, would I tell someone that their dog is overweight? It would depend on the circumstances and how well I knew the person. It would also depend on how the conversation went.

 

[EJHUNTL]

Back to the original comment, would I tell someone that their dog is overweight? It would depend on the circumstances and how well I knew the person. It would also depend on how the conversation went.

That about sums it up for me as well. I can't imagine myself going up to a stranger and initiating a conversation about their dog's weight. If asked, however I'm likely to be honest about what I think.

With perhaps the exception of puppies, my guess is that most owners already are aware that their pet is overweight. They may not know about thyroid issues or the long term effects of excess weight, so if you can be helpful without being rude about it, the dog might just benefit from a thoughtful comment.

 

[melbell]

I've also found, and no disrespect to our vets on the forum, that a lot of vets don't really know a sheltie's ideal weight. This is especially true for performance dogs.

I know I've mentioned before that when we first started agility Bentley weighed around 25 lbs. He now weighs 17 lbs. and shouldn't weigh any more. We saw several vets during his "fat" period and no one said a word to us.

Yesterday we took Lexi to the vet and she weighed 15.3 lbs. That is a touch light for her (but she has been sick) as I like her more at 15.5 lbs. but the vet came in and said "last time she was here she weighed over 16 lbs. and I was waiting for a lecture, and she said "that is a great weight for her since she does agility!" And she went on to compliment us.

I found this out too. My new vet recently weighed Honey (this is her first time of seeing Honey though in her defense) and told me her weight and that I could be the judge of if she's overweight or not