Would you say something to the owner about their dog being fat?

MartinL

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Just pondering this question after seeing one of our neighbours on our walk, with a dog that is severely overweight.

My bitch is overweight by around 2kg. The vet has assured us that her weight is fine and that she's one of the very few labs she sees that isn't massively overweight, but I'd like her a couple of kilos lighter. She seems to have gained condition as of late and lost some weight, but I've not had her weighed recently. She's small framed and weighed 27kgs about 5 months ago. It wasn't until she was spayed that her weight needed watching.

People comment that my male dog is too thin. He's very lean, eats double what my bitch does, but has HD, so we keep him very very trim. He's tall and weighs 34-35kgs, but we can see his last couple of ribs, he has a high tuck and a very defined waist. He is very slender for his build and size.

Anyway, the neighbours lab is the same height and build as my bitch, and they stood side by side today - the neighbours dog is at least double the width of my bitch. She could barely walk, couldn't stand on her hind legs. She looked like a fat seal on legs. She's only about 2 years old too. It's actually really upset me to see her in such poor condition. I made a light hearted comment about her struggling to walk (I called it a waddle) and the family member that was walking her said he agreed with me.

I'm friendly with my neighbours, so I know their dog is fed loads of treats and titbits. She is rarely walked. They have changed vets multiple times as they weren't happy that they were told the dog needed a diet and a weekly weight watchers type thing - they assumed the vet wanted more money (eye roll). This same neighbour actually came over last week to ask me if I knew of any lab rescues as they're getting another. I wanted to scream, as they're currently killing their existing dog with 'kindness'.

I feel like something needs to be said, but I think I'd be pretty angry if someone tried giving me unsolicited opinions and advice, and I'm not good with confrontation.

Thoughts? Would you say something? It's pitiful watching this dog, I can't express enough how hugely overweight this dog is for her frame. It's a wonder she can even walk. In fact, I've seen many pregnant labs and this dog is bigger! And very small framed for a lab. She's honestly that round and fat!
 

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