The top five clinical consequences of obesity in dogs

Although dogs may not be as worried about the social stigma of obesity, being overweight has been associated with many clinical and subclinical conditions that put a pet's health at risk. As we learn more about the associations between excess weight and diseases, being lean is the healthier choice for dogs.

A lifetime study in Labrador Retrievers found that dogs with an ideal BCS of 4–5/9 lived a median of 1.8 years longer than their slightly overweight counterparts with a median BCS of 6–7/9 (Kealy et al, 2002). These slim dogs also had delayed onset of chronic illnesses. Though some owners worry about restricting their dog's food, a new study has shown decreased quality of life when pets are overweight and improvement of these measures (such as vitality, emotional disturbance and pain) after successful weight loss (German et al, 2012).

In the study of Labrador Retrievers, it was also shown that leaner dogs also had delayed onset of OA compared with their overweight counterparts (Kealy et al, 2002). Fortunately, lameness and pain in dogs can be alleviated with weight loss; even weight loss of 6-8% of total bodyweight has shown significant decreases in subjective and objective lameness scores (Marshall et al, 2010).