We had a GSD booked in this morning for grooming , never seen it before , anyway it came in at 10 as booked , well i nearly had a heart attack, i have never seen such an obese dog in all my years, it had fat bulges everywere, body , thigh's , chest , even on the side of it's head, in fact i would say it had fat bulges on fat bulges i said to the lady joking ( as you never know how they will take it ) blimy she's a big girl, the reply i got was , oh she's much smaller than the last one we had, our other one was 19 stone, i like them like that puts people off from breaking in.
Well the lady left so took dog in for brushing, normally i can lift or two of us can lift a dog onto table, i had to go into the shop next door and recruit 2 more people , we got it on the table , not in bad nick just under coat really so no shinkage there, then to the bath again 4 people to lift it, Got the dog wet still the same size, anyway after bath dry trim , we popped it on the scale to weigh it out of being nosey, off the scale , mine goes up to 15 stone.
Lady comes to pick the dog up , i had to say something , so i asked her how old etc , turns out she is two and a half, vet put her on a diet if Pro Plan light but the lady feels guilty so that is washed down with 5 doughnuts ( every day ) her lunch is whatever the lady is having ( fish and chips or pasty ) , then afternoon sweets mars bar or snickers then dinner of Pro Plan light with bread and butter followed by a cream cake or two.
I said to her you do know that you are killing the dog with kindness and that it won't live very long with that kind of diet, her reply was well i lost my other on at 4 years old but this one has KC papers so must be a healther dog.

I was gobsmacked, i tried to advise her about the dogs health but her answer was , my dog is happy and so am i, i answered her with you may be happy but your dog is not with all that weight, she said look if my dog can walk to the end of the garden to protect my house the she is fine.

I gave up

Peanuts

OMG poor dog, that is so bad for the hips/elbows, plus other things,  stupid stupid woman, that is cruel.

I'd have to report her...it is cruelty after all.

What a bad owner, poor dog to be that size at such a young age. More than likely her other dogs died from this food she is feeding them.

I would contact the rspca. For her to seriously understand the damage she is doing to this dog. Also to help her to have a fit healthy dog not one grossly over weight like this one. Report this owner please so this dog will have a life!

This to me is as bad as not feeding an animal.

> Report this owner please so this dog will have a life!
>
>

Couldn't agree more.

Yes,definately report her,that must have been so upsetting for you.I get so angry at all the obese dogs that come in for grooming,I'd say the ones that are the correct weight are very few and far between,it breaks my heart to see them staggering around obviously so uncomfortable.And fat dogs are so much harder to groom as well.I had a similar case with a young cavalier that was so fat it couldn't stand up on the table and was gasping if I tried to prop it up,so I had to say I couldn't groom it any more.

I'm sure I have seen cases in the papers recently of owners banned from keeping dogs due to overfeeding their own. Surely this is a welfare issue.

I agree

That poor, poor dog.  I can the woman purport to love the dog when she does that to the poor thing?

I know it must be difficult when running a dog grooming business as people are bringing their dogs in for a service and don't expect you to critisize the way they treat their dogs. I guess many groomers must see things which make them feel uncomfortable, it must be hard to keep stum but you have to be careful not to let clients feel uncomfortable or as if they can't trust you, word would soon spread and it would lose you business.

However, the good thing about the RSPCA is it is anonymous, no-one knows for sure who reports something so no damage can be done to your business and the trust in you still stays. Personally, I would wait a week then phone it in, you need to do right by the dog and this way no damage can be done to yourself.

That does sound like it's beyond just 'fat', and perhaps reporting should be the way to go. I am a groomer and have seen a fair few tubby dogs, but nothing on the scale you describe, I think in the interests of the dog's welfare I would report them, it's not like we take an oath like doctors after all!

There have been several cases where the RSCA have got permission to sieze dogs who are grossly over weight. One case reported in the paper was a disabled lady who had two labradors. Both were overweight but the owner said it was because she could not exercise them. Anyway that is neither here nor there, the end result was that the RSPCA removed them under the Animal Welfare act.

> I'm sure I have seen cases in the papers recently of owners banned from keeping dogs due to overfeeding their own. Surely this is a welfare issue.

biffsmum is right.  I have seen two cases where dogs have been removed from owners under the Animal Welfare Act.

RSPCA have prosecuted before for an obese dog, a dalmatian.

Oh my god, that is sick!!!

This extreme obesity is my number one hate. When I got with an ex of mine his parents had a 3 yr old JRT who used to roam around the surrounding streets and was fed titbits by everybody. I took it to work (I was a VN) and it weighed 4 times what it should have done!!!! I got together all sorts of information and videos and printed off the case notes of several similar clients that we had over the years and the associated medical problems that ensued with them , they weren't bothered, so I said that I was taking their dog off them....No ifs, no buts, and if they had a problem with it they could inform the police.
18 months later we won the Hills Science Plan weight watcher of the year and took part in a 15 mile hike for The British Heart Foundation!!!!!

You have to be strong and report them. Maybe you could do a small wall display in your salon highlighting the problems of overweight dogs and the benefits of a healthy weight dog that way if any scandal does follow from this owner at least you will have gone some way to being one step ahead of it.

I have a large, heavy, muscular breed now and it makes me sick to see how overweight and unfit a lot of my breed are in the owners hands. They seem to think that they can pile on the pounds and it makes their dog look bigger and more menacing. A couple of people have said that mine must be crossed with something or are underweight as they are so used to seeing the fat versions!!!!! You can't see any bones on my lot and they are pure solid muscle and love a good run around the moors for a few hrs whereas some of the ones Ive seen can't even walk up a flight of stairs!!!!! God it makes me so mad!!!!!!

Good luck with this.

Just to let you all know i have reported it , not sure if i will find out what happens if i do i will let you know.

Peanuts

Good luck peanuts. I detest seeing overweight dogs like everyone else - now I am not exactly twiggy but that is up to me what i eat. Dogs dont get a choice, they will take whatever is fed them.
My 2 labs are perfect size and weight and when they go for their boosters the vet always comments on how well they look and wishes she saw more like mine!

Thanks for doing that Peanuts

Well done Peanuts, you've definitely done the right thing. Poor dog

Hiya,

I agree you've done the right thing in reporting it - however personally I don't think it was right to discuss particular details of it on an internet forum.  I appreciate you were probably looking for advice but you could have done that without being so specific, I wouldn't expect my personall info to be talked about on an internet forum when I had payed for a service.  This woman clearly needs some help and has a very skewed idea of things and what she is doing is cruel, however well intentioned but like I say I just don't think it is right to be discussing her business which you found out during a paid proffessional job with many other people.

I hope she does get some help pointing her in the right direction.

> I agree you've done the right thing in reporting it - however personally I don't think it was right to discuss particular details of it on an internet forum.  I appreciate you were probably looking for advice but you could have done that without being so specific, I wouldn't expect my personall info to be talked about on an internet forum when I had payed for a service

This owner is clearly being unintentionally cruel to her dog...even if she is paying for a service or not- I think it is right for her to ask on this forum for advice about this situation.

Crikey this Gsd is not just fat! It is grossly overweight... not sure on normal weight is for this breed? If I had seen this dog in its own garden, I would of thought about phoning rspca too.
This dog is suffering- so moaning about Peanuts is wrong in my mind.  Even if she is grooming this dog for money it is within her rights to tell the Rspca being a concerned animal lover first surely, also she did try to have a word about the dogs condition.

Lets hope the owner gets help for her dog.

Well done for reporting her lets hope she gets to see the light and the poor dog gets a chance of a life.

> I took it to work (I was a VN) and it weighed 4 times what it should have done!!!! I got together all sorts of information and videos and printed off the case notes of several similar clients that we had

I thought that was privileged information when working for a vet.

I think it is right for her to ask on this forum for advice about this situation.

I didn't say she wasn't right to ask for advice and I said in my post that I thought she did the right thing by reporting it - what I don't think is right is going into specific details about a person and the fact that she feeds five dognuts a day and the reason the woman expalined as to why she has let the dog get over weight, because apart from anything else if the woman found out about this then she is likely to feel judged and defensive and less likely to take on board advice given and certainly not likely to go back to the op.

This dog is suffering- so moaning about Peanuts is wrong in my mind.  Even if she is grooming this dog for money it is within her rights to tell the Rspca being a concerned animal lover first surely, also she did try to have a word about the dogs condition.

As I said in my post I thought she did the right thing by reporting it, clearly not what I was questioning!

> this Gsd is not just fat! It is grossly overweight... not sure on normal weight is for this breed?

My boy is also 2 1/2 yrs He is just over 39kg = 6st 2lb, he has put on about 1 - 1.5kg over winter but I am working on it with a few less treats (mainly OH over doing treats) and a chance to walk more with better weather coming - it will get warm & dry eventually won't it?)
Chris

Obviously I didnt give any names or addresses. I only printed off the weights, problems and medication and the videos were given to us by several reps to play in our obesity clinics which anybody could attend but my ex's parents couldn't be bothered.

Well done Peanuts let's hope they actually do something to make this woman realise her dog must lose weight!

i think she has done the right thing,this lady does not mean to be cruel,but she is being cruel,i see nothing wrong in coming on here and getting a lot of different opions on the subject,and without all the facts how can we tell her what we think, well done peanuts

jo xxx

> This dog is suffering- so moaning about Peanuts is wrong in my mind.

I agree.

She is entitled to get the advice on this forum..she was worried about the dog and in reporting did the correct thing.

Peanuts had to be specific to give us all the whole picture.

exactly anee, i mean, if she came on here and just said it was a fat dog,then we may have offered different advice, the fact that she told us everything about what he was being fed etc paints a clearer picture for all of us, she deff done the right thing,
jo 

> Lady comes to pick the dog up , i had to say something , so i asked her how old etc , turns out she is two and a half, vet put her on a diet if Pro Plan light but the lady feels guilty so that is washed down with 5 doughnuts ( every day ) her lunch is whatever the lady is having ( fish and chips or pasty ) , then afternoon sweets mars bar or snickers then dinner of Pro Plan light with bread and butter followed by a cream cake or two.
>

I do think this is relevant, as it shows you have talked to the owner before reporting her and have found out that the owner is obviously not caring for her dog properly, rather than a medical problem with the dog.

As I have a food-obsessed dog, that must be kept lean (due to ED) I find it very, very maddening how people will damage the health and longevity of thier dog by stuffing it with food to the point of obesity. My dog would be HAPPY stuffing his face all day long, but when the weight affected his health & mobility he would not be happy being a fat blob that couldn't do much and was suffering the effects of being obese. Dogs are not capeable of thinking "I shouldn't eat that, I'll get too fat and it will effect my health & mobility" - that thought process is the job of the onwer. This woman doesn't even have 'ignorance' as an excuse, as obviously the vet has discussed the dogs weight problem, or the vet would not have prescribed a diet

Poor dog

Thanks everyone for your support in this matter.

Peanuts

This story does upset me as my Father was a person who could not eat anything without giving some to it to his dog Kelly. He had a beautiful lab x dobermann who was like a massive puppy up until she was diagnosed with diabetes at 8 years. Sadly my Father moved in with his Dad my grampy and he was even worse so once my Dad went off to work, my gramps would feed Kelly- toffee's and sweets all day long...which in hindsight so did cause the diabetes, she was not grossly overweight when looking at her, just on the large side about 6 stone. She was highly energetic so burned a lot of the excess food off.

My grampy past away and I did tell my Father that it was the sugary sweets that caused her aliment sadly after going blind at 9 my Dad & kelly couldn't cope so she was put to sleep.

Funnily enough his second dog Becky was sick a lot from 'sharing' Dads fish & chips or toast & jam as a pup and my Dad could not understand why she would run away from him when he offered her food from his hand. He did stop any dog from eating sweets or chocolates though, learned the hard way with the upset of Kelly. My dog who would nearly take his hand off and follow him around for everything...sadly Dad assumed he loved him...uh no he is just a pig I would say! Becky is still with us going strong, sadly my dear Dad is not.

You have done the right thing reporting this woman.

The women is obviously oblivious to the harm she is causing this dog. If you had not reported her you would regreted it im sure.
Its funny because i was accused of cruelty by a dog groomer. She told me my springer was seriously underweight and needed 'fattening up'.

My boy is lean not skinny, its just how he is built. If he ate all day he still would not be fat. She would not believe me and kept on.
She even told me on our last visit that she had given him a tin of 'well known generic food' (top breeders reccomend it) and some digestives, while he had been in her care. I went mad, and ended up cleaning up the runs all night.
I have not used this lady since.

You are completley justified in reporting this women, and i hope there is a positive outcome.

You definitely did the right thing in reporting this - it sounds like the lady doesn't realise (or doesn't want to realise) the damage she is doing to her dog. I'm not hugely familiar with the cases but I know, as others have said, that the RSPCA can prosecute for over feeding, as really it can be just as cruel as underfeeding a dog.

Springador - I can't beleive the groomer would feed your dog without your permission - that's terrible. What if your dog had food allergies? My lad can look quite scraggly at times when his allergies flare up in the hot weather. If someone fed him a tin of that kind of food I'd more than likely be dealing with a severe bout of gastritis and yucky bloody dire-rear later that evening - his tum is so sensitive. When he stays with the in-laws if we go away I have to leave a strict diet sheet of what he can and can't have - they're very good at sticking to it now after feeding him 'just one bit' of something he shouldn't have, then they had to deal with the runs all over their kitchen floor

Claire

Gosh, I would NEVER feed a client's dog without their permission!! I do have a friend who keeps her Cavaliers too skinny, she just says 'better thin than fat' but they really are too thin (for some reason she feeds them greyhound mix!). But I'd never just take it on myself to feed someone else's dog without any idea of allergies!!

I was very surprised and angry that she took it upon herself to feed my boy too.
I told her he would be bad from it, as he has an incredibly sensitive stomach. Plus the fact he had never been given that food before, nor would he ever be! As for the digestives, god knows what she was thinking. I was surprised at her brashness in telling me 'he loved it' . . . some people.
I now have a groomer who understands dogs, and she does a fantastic job.