Yesterday I went to a new client’s house to see if we could solve a few behavioral  problems. The owners had taken on a pass-along dog. The dog had been re-homed when the previous family left the country.  The dog is a lovely German Shepard Dog that had been passed along once before as well. So, this is the dog’s third home and he is somewhere between 6 and 8 years old; there is no actual birth date on his paperwork either.

The poor dog is sadly overweight. Without a scale I would have to guess at his weight but could safely say he must be clinically obese. The current owners have been slimming  him and giving him plenty of excercise. They have been feeding him a quality dogfood that they are measuring out for 2 exact meals.  They say he has lost nearly half of his total weight in the 7 months he has been with him. When they went to pick the dog up, he was so fat he could only sit by his food bowl and eat, his legs would barely support him. His food bowl was being filled up and refilled all day long! This huge dog had to be lifted into and out of the car since he was too heavy to jump (he still does to some extent).  The previous family left him outside all day and night, not playing with him, walking him or sitting outside with him. The dog seemed to be depressed at his old home for being ignored except for the staff filling up his food bowl.

The new family says that the dog still does not interact with them very much unless they get out the leash; then he comes alive. Although, recently he seemed a bit excited to interact with the child and a soccer ball. He is also intermittently limping. I have suggested a visit to the vet to ask about a switch to a low fat dog food and a thyroid test as the dog does seem lethargic and not interested in much. He also had some hair loss that could indicate his thyroid not working properly. I also suggested an exam for the limping and possibly an Xray. The limping could be arthritis as it’s currently wet weather or he could have some hip/joint problems from carrying all the excess weight. Being overweight can lead to all sorts of health issues in dogs and humans alike; most notably joint problems.

Many people think of neglect as a lack of food, clean water and shelter. In fact, not taking the time to make your pet a part of your family and ignoring diet and health to the point of obesity is another form of neglect!

I am extremely grateful to his new family for taking him on, getting him vetted and caring enough to try to make him healthy, comfortable and a part of the family!

By Amy L. Rapp