Just as obesity is epidemic in our human population, so to it is in our pet population. Reasons? Well, those are many and varied, but as in humans, most cases come down to diet and exercise! Other factors can influence weight gain of course, such as hypothyroidism or Cushing’s disease or hormonal imbalance from spaying (in SOME pets, not all!), Other diseases result from obesity, such as diabetes and heart disease. Sound familiar?

If diet and exercise issues have been ruled out, then most commonly hormonal issues are involved. The 2 most important are hypothyroidism (under func­tioning thyroid gland/hormone) and Cushing’s disease, (pet makes too much internal cortisone from the adrenal gland)

Hypothyroidism is common in the dog, but not common at all in the cat. (Cats get HYPER-thry­roidism) Simply put, with Hypo-thyroidism, there is not enough functioning thyroid hormone in the body to run the body’s metabo­lism efficiently. Thus the calories are not burned up normally, which leads to fat deposition. This dis­ease is relatively easy to diagnose with simple blood tests, and rela­tively easy to treat with thyroid hormone supplementation. A gray area exists where the thyroid levels are borderline, or where pituitary hormones (which tell the thyroid what to do) are low. This is an area where glandular therapy, and/or Chinese herbs work well. In other words, SOME thyroid function is present, just not enough. The pur­pose of glandulars and herbs is to “turn on” the natural gland. Often in early cases, this is successful.

Cushing’s disease is much more serious, and probably under diagnosed. This is an imbalance of the adrenal hormones, which can be a result of either a pituitary gland problem, or an adrenal tumor. There are tests to differentiate these two, and there are traditional drugs (or surgery), used to treat these problems, namely Lysodren. As with thyroid problems, glandulars and Chinese herbs exist which sometimes will be able to control the problem, especially if caught early. Another drug, not available in the US, is trilostane. Used in Europe, (where Lysodren is not available!), this seems to have equal results. “Studies” have alluded to the fact that Trilostane may be bet­ter. However, it is more expensive and must be given more often whereas Lysodren is given twice per week for mainte­nance.

Another drug was purported to be useful for the pituitary form, called Anipryl. However, there is no way to easily evaluate the success of the therapy as the normal monitoring tests are use­less with this drug. Many universi­ties now have also concluded that this drug does not work very well.

Some important points about dieting. Just as in humans, its the caloric intake that affects weight gain or loss. Many commercial foods are advertised as “Light”, or “reduced calorie” or “weight control”. There are many prob­lems in my opinion, with these foods. First, in order to reduce the calories, many “fillers” and “by-products” are put in the food. This fills the dog up, but decreases the nutrition. In addition, these animals are, by nature, carnivores. Thus they need MEAT protein. These diets, in order to be price competitive, are loaded with plant sources of protein. Soy and corn are great proteins.............if you’re a cow! So what happens is that the body becomes protein deficient. A “state of conservation” sets in and the weight stops coming off.

Most of these diets fail as they are not truly caloric restricted diets. Your veterinarian DOES have those types of diets, complete with “calorie counting” computer printouts, so that, yes, you can give your dog treats (NOT hand­fuls!), as long as you “subtract” the calories in those treats from the total intake. Kind of like Weight Watchers and their Point System!

The 2nd reason most diets fail, is lack of exercise. In many families the dog is not exercised long enough or in the right way to create effective weight loss. In addition, many obese pets can not tolerate much exercise. Many pets also have arthritis or hip dysplasia and can not tolerate much exercise. A veterinary supervised exercise program, (with cardiac workup if needed) is recommended. You can also ask your veterinarian for a referral to a physical therapy/reha­bilitation center for pets. These facilities use an underwater tread­mill for exercise. This is especially important for arthritic or dysplastic pets, as the water supports their joints thus allowing more total exercise without the wear and tear on the joints of land walking which could then cause post exercise sore­ness.

Finally there is a new drug out called Slentrol. This is given daily in liq­uid form and it acts like “satiety hormone”. This is the hormone that allows the stomach and the brain to “talk” saying, “Hey, I’m full”. The pet then feels full on half the amount of food. This also often stops begging and those dogs who “can’t seem to get enough” food. This is a prescription drug for pets only! Don’t be tempted to take this medicine yourself as humans often get sick from it!

Obesity and weight loss in pets as in humans is always multi-faceted and takes time. A plan should be worked out with your veterinarian which includes rou­tine weigh ins! Just like on TV’s “Biggest Loser” your pet must face the scale! And who knows, with increased walking, you too can be more fit!