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Veterinary Practice News Editorial Blog:
Monday, March 23, 2009
Sometimes the Pig Just Won't Get With the Diet Program
By Somyr McLean Perry
Contributing Editor of VeterinaryPracticeNews.com and Veterinary Practice News
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Two of my favorite veterinary writers, Dr. Phil Zeltzman, who writes a weekly e-newsletter for pet owners, and Dr. Patty Khuly, who writes a daily blog for pet owners, both recently tackled a touchy subject: weight.
They wrote about how pet owners must change their habits and their perceptions about feeding pets. While this is true, veterinarians and staff often fail to acknowledge that some owners go through a great deal of stress and household upheaval in changing those patterns.
Such is the case with The Pig, aka Roxy, my 9-year-old pitbull.
Her nickname fits for a number of reasons, including her prominent barrel chest, pink skin, big piglike ears, snorts and snores and, of course, her penchant for eating.
By the time The Pig turned 5, she was fat enough that she could no longer clean her bum, something no respectable dog should be kept from.
She ate premium pet food sold in veterinary offices and occasionally stole a salami off the counter. We endured comments from friends and snickers from neighbors until she started walking funny. Her back was suffering, as was her urinary tract (not obesity related, but diet related). My veterinarian said that her urinary problem was severe but manageable with a change to a therapeutic urinary diet. The problem with typical urinary diets as that they tend to put weight on pets.
I did everything I was supposed do, everything the client education info asked of me. I buckled down. I had a heart-to-heart with the family. The Pig would get no more food except her strictly portioned special dog food.
My husband was on board, but the 2-year-old human daughter ... not so much. Under the guidance of our vet, we supplemented The Pig's diet with appropriate fresh veggies and fruit so the urinary diet wouldn't undermine our weight loss efforts. We began to exercise her more and she's been losing weight gradually for about a year. She can even clean her bum again.
But we're not happy, none of us--not the family or the dog.
Our efforts to reduce Roxy's weight have come at a huge price: We've created a monster dog who spends every waking moment counter surfing and scavenging for any morsel accidentally dropped on the floor. She has become the ultimate beggar dog, hovering underfoot while trying to avoid eye contact lest she get banished from the room.
She is much more assertive about jumping on the counters and tables to steal food. She gets stepped on now more than ever, caught under foot traffic in and out of the kitchen.
Her cat-poop habit has grown exponentially and all that litter-covered cat poop can't be good for her. So we now use a series of baby gates to block access to the cat box. Sometimes I wake in the night to sounds of rummaging in the bathroom, only to find that The Pig is stalking the cat, who is pooping in the middle of the night.
It has affected our relationship.
Cat poop isn't even the full extent of the nastiness. When the baby was still in diapers, leaving a dirty diaper within reach led to disaster. The Pig never hesitated to eat used diapers, no matter their contents. Too gross for you? Try living with it. Try cleaning it up day after day. Try watching your dog poop out absorbent diaper gel.
Trash cans overturned, garbage bags ripped open ... this food-seeking behavior, since we put her on the diet, is unimaginable to most families.
Her weight loss is good for her, I know. She will have less back pain, fewer urinary problems, fewer allergy problems. But will she really feel better in the long run? I tend to think not.
I'm not saying an unhealthy obese animal is better than a naughty, obnoxious, hungry, but healthier skinny one. I'm just saying that owners' concerns about their pet's behavior on diets may be underappreciated by veterinary professionals. Don't automatically write them off as excuses.
Do veterinarians believe that all those people who say, "But my dog acts so hungry all the time on the diet," are hallucinating?
If they spent a week with The Pig they might think twice. It's not easy being a hungry Pig, and it's not easy being the parents of one.
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