The internet is obsessed with chonky, fluffy, and thicc dogs. Sure, there’s more to love and more to squish. Who doesn’t like watching a chubby, wrinkly pug roll around the floor, perhaps even off the side of the couch when dozing off? If you’re the Instagram account administrator of the aforementioned pug, you probably get plenty of likes and a nice paycheck from Instagram too. It all seems well – you’re happy, your dog (seems) happy, and everyone gets a good laugh. But it must be said, these chubby internet famous pets are slowly dying inside.
To all pet owners, and even to myself who has a chonky dog, we must ask ourselves some important questions: is having a fat dog, ok? Is it bad? Is it inhumane? I unfortunately think it is, and here’s why.
Just like in their human counterparts, obesity predisposes dogs (and in reality, all pets) to many types of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and a slew of orthopedic diseases like arthritis and joint pain. A recent multi-institutional study published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine titled “Association between life span and body condition in neutered client-owned dogs” reported that the lifespan of overweight dogs was up to 2 ½ years shorter on average than the lifespan of dogs with a healthy body weight. This result is revealingly sad, and I see it as a call to do everything we can to help our dogs lose weight. There are plenty of ways to accomplish this with exercise, dietary management, and lifestyle modifications, but perhaps the simplest place to start is with a quick calculation using a standardized formula.
70(Bw).75
Here, Bw is your dog’s body weight in kilograms (you can take your dog’s body weight in pounds and divide by 2.2). Raise that to a power of 0.75 and then multiply by 70. This will give you the total number of kilocalories (or kcals for short) your chubby little dog needs in one day (treats included) to achieve a healthier body weight. You’re probably now asking, “what is my dog’s ideal body weight?” I say perform a quick google search of the typical body weight of whichever breed your dog may be and use that. Once you calculate the total number of kcals your dog needs in one day stick with it.
It may seem like a small amount of food. It may seem like your dog is starving. But it will be ok. Your dog will thank you when he or she lives a longer, leaner, and happier life. Get calculating!
