I could NOT make this stuff up, people. Just couldn't.
So not only is there an obesity epidemic among people, there's also one in dogs.
::cue scary music::
What does a good pet parent do when Fido gets fat? Why gives him a diet pill!
Slentrol was approved by the FDA last year for the treatment of "clinically obese" dogs- NOT for those who are just "overweight." Estimates are that 5% of America's 65 million dogs are obese.
Which leads me to this question: how do you measure canine obesity? Is there a DMI- a Doggy Mass Index? Waist* to hip ratios? Are we going to see photos of headless fat doggies lumbering around town stuffing their faces with kibble?
Ah, but Slentrol is there to save the day. They have a "weight slider" to help figure out if your pooch is pudgy. Aside from the fact that the scientific accuracy of this little thingy can't be top-notch, wouldn't it stand to figure that the makers of Slentrol are probably going to have a lot to gain by telling you that your dog has a lot to lose? Happens in people- Rachel at The F Word showed us this in a
recent post .
In fact, if they changed "dogs" to "people," I would have a hard time distinguishing this from any other diet website (cough cough
Alli cough cough). There is a section with (get this!)
success stories . What's next? Barking out diet tips?
This leads to another question: and we need a
pill for this? What happened to taking the little dude for a walk? Letting him play? Play is important to
any pet, and not just from a physical activity/weight loss standpoint.
Our whole culture needs to get a serious grip. If I see a dog look in a mirror and ask, "Does this tail make me look fat?" I'll go insane. And then I'll make it happen again, video it, and post it on YouTube, where I will be instantly famous.
*This begs the question: do dogs even have waists? If there are any vets out there who would care to chime in, I'd love to know the answer.
**In the process of writing this post, I search my blog for "oily rectal discharge" when a search for Alli didn't turn up anything, and I googled "fat dog." What my life has come to...
So not only is there an obesity epidemic among people, there's also one in dogs.
::cue scary music::
What does a good pet parent do when Fido gets fat? Why gives him a diet pill!
Slentrol was approved by the FDA last year for the treatment of "clinically obese" dogs- NOT for those who are just "overweight." Estimates are that 5% of America's 65 million dogs are obese.
Which leads me to this question: how do you measure canine obesity? Is there a DMI- a Doggy Mass Index? Waist* to hip ratios? Are we going to see photos of headless fat doggies lumbering around town stuffing their faces with kibble?
This leads to another question: and we need a pill for this? What happened to taking the little dude for a walk? Letting him play? Play is important to any pet, and not just from a physical activity/weight loss standpoint.
*This begs the question: do dogs even have waists? If there are any vets out there who would care to chime in, I'd love to know the answer.