It's easy for everyone to overindulge

As the leaves fall and the smell of autumn permeates the air, the taste of turkey is near to come.

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. It’s a time when we can all pause from our busy lives and just sit down and have a meal together. There are no thoughts of compounding credit card debt from the bounty of Christmas gifts, no wrapping paper to have to gather and throw out, no parts to assemble, and, especially, no fruit cake.

Now I don’t want to seem like a grinch, but Thanksgiving is such an under-rated holiday. In the times that we now live, it is especially important for us to stop and be thankful for what we have in life, not what we want in life. We all are guilty of wanting more ... more money, a nicer car, more dressing and turkey. We all need to live within our means and not over indulge whether it be food or stuff.

So what is the point to this story and what on earth does it have to do with veterinary medicine? Well the same needs to be true for our pets. They do not need to overindulge on their dog food and treats. They need to have a budget. They need a foodnancial adviser. That’s your job as the pet owner, and if you let them overindulge they become too heavy.

Obesity is a daily talk at my office. I try to be tactful with my clients as well as my patients, to ensure that feelings are not hurt, but the facts about obesity are hard. The added weight on our pets seems to compound — five pounds one year then 10 pounds the next.

That does not seem all that bad, but let’s work with percentages. A 55 pound lab that gains 20 pounds and is now a stocky 75 pounds has gained 35 percent of its body weight. To put that in perspective, I weigh 160 pounds. A 35 percent gain would put me at 215 pounds. On a 5-feet-9-inch frame, I think my wife would notice.

Obesity in our pets causes many of the related problems that we see in our species: degenerative joint disease, osteoarthritis and diabetes, to mention a few. The Purina company did a study with two litter mates. One was fed what its daily intake should be and the other 25 percent more. The dog that was heavier died two years earlier. Sad but true. Keeping our pets lean will extend not only their lives but the quality of their lives.

So how do we stop this cycle? Everyone tells me his dog was thin until spaying or neutering.  It’s true that altering an animal does decrease the animals caloric needs in a day. Think how we get our steers fat for the slaughter. Well, we do exactly that — make them steers. How do we stop our pets from following the same pattern? At the bottom of our instructions after a spay or neuter, we inform our clients to decrease the pets food intake by 25 percent. By decreasing their food or increasing their activity we can ensure that we stop the cycle.

This is where your part as the foodnancial adviser comes in.

Start measuring your pets food. A Big Gulp is not a cup. Start by looking at the back of the bag and see what your pet’s nutritional requirements are and then if they are altered cut it by 25 percent. If you pet does not agree with the cutback and starts ravaging your trash, supplement with some low-sodium green beans. Green beans are empty calories. They give your pet a sense of fullness and might deter ravaging.

If your pet still will not lose weight, work some time in your schedule for some exercise. Slow at first and then increase your length and speed of walks. Let the animal set the pace. If your pet is still not losing weight, you need to cut out or decrease treats. This includes table scraps.

After all of these methods have been tried, you may need to set an appointment with your regular veterinarian to help with a prescription-based diet or medications.