Obesity trims years off your pet’s life

Not only are Americans increasingly overweight, so are our dogs. A vet friend of mine who taught a seminar on canine health says that obesity trims three years off a dog’s life expectancy. Three years! Given that our dogs never, ever live long enough as it is, giving up three years of my best friend’s company is something I am not prepared to do. Especially when it is completely within my control to prevent obesity in my pet.

How can we get our pets’ weight down and keep it reasonable? Well, the advice is very similar to that for keeping our own weight under control: sensible eating and plenty of exercise.

Let’s start with sensible eating. That begins with no table scraps. None.

This article appears in Mar 17-23, 2010.