Why Our Pets Are Getting Fat Part 2

March 31, 2010

Interview with Ernie Ward DVM, author of the book Chow Hounds: Why Our Dogs Are Getting Fatter -A Vet's Plan to Save Their Lives

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Mike Carruthers:
Pet owners love to pamper their pets and often it’s with food.

Ernie Ward DVM:
What dogs want more than anything is our affection, they want our interaction - and so we confuse that, we believe in our society that food is love. How many times have you heard that?

Veterinarian Dr. Ernie Ward, author of the book Chow Hounds…

So for us we say, “The dog is begging, he’s pleading to me with those puppy dog eyes, he must want something to eat.” When that dog is really begging for a walk, a scratch, throw the ball. We can’t say food is love because we are literally loving our pets to death. So for us I want to sit back and go when my dog is begging maybe that’s a cue for me to go out for a walk and if I can’t go out for a walk I need to at least offer a healthy alternative and I’m going to reach for some type of veggies. Because I’ve got a little secret for your listeners – dogs love vegetables.

Because of over-feeding we have a real obesity problem with dogs. And what about cats?

It’s the same problem – it’s actually worse. And that’s why you see all of these problems in kitty cats. Right now even just from just an obesity standpoint we’re looking at about 58% of the cats in the United States as being obese. About 45% of the dogs that equals about 87 million dogs and cats that are too heavy.

And an obese pet is likely to have more health problems and a shorter life.

This is probably the first generation of pets that won’t live as long as their parents did.

To hear the complete unedited interview, click here