By steve
Believe it or not, we are nearing the end of 2013 and about to embark on another holiday season. With the turn of the calendar, often comes one or more “New Year’s resolutions” by well intended people looking to change or improve their behavior. This year, why not resolve to keep your pet fit, trim, and healthy?
First, the bad news: We are killing our dogs and paying a lot of money to do so.
Yes, you read that headline right. Having a fat pet is costly in at least two ways:
- To the dog’s lifespan: lean dogs will live on average almost two years longer, (15% longer), than their fat litter-mates. To put this in perspective, it is the equivalent of about 10-15 years increased lifespan of a human. The fit dog will also have a more active and higher quality of life.
- To the owner’s wallet: owners of fat pets are spending a lot of money that they might otherwise not spend if their pet was fit and slim. According to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, in the US alone, there are about 37 million overweight dogs (about 53% of all dogs in the US). We estimate that the owners of these overweight dogs are spending close to $8 billion dollars each year, on extra food, medical care, and medicines, all because they have fat pets. Globally, the cost is even more staggering.
The statistics for cats are even worse. A whopping 58% of cats, or about 43 million are overweight or obese in the U.S.
A Human Problem
Pet obesity is actually a human problem, not a pet problem. Most dogs (and cats) that I know do not have opposable thumbs to open the fridge and serve themselves. Nor do they go shopping for their own food. It is the human who controls the quantity and quality of their food. We are the stewards of our pet’s health and we are failing them.
Obesity is arguably the single biggest health threat to our pets, yet, it is entirely, and easily preventable in most cases. There are many health related problems that are a direct result from your pet being fat including:
- Shorter life
- Arthritis and other orthopedic problems
- High blood pressure and cardiovascular disease
- Cancer
- Diabetes (Type-II in cats)
That is one scary list, and I don’t know a single pet owner who would feel good about themselves if they were to unwittingly facilitate the development of such conditions by letting their pet become overweight.
Make a Resolution Stick
Making a New Year’s resolution is a pretty common human behavior, especially after several drinks at the New Year’s Eve party ;-). It turns out that a majority of these resolutions end up being abandoned. A study done by Richard Wiseman, a psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire showed that only 22% of people making resolutions …read more
From: New Year’s Resolutions For Your Dog
