Well, my overweight dog had HIS weigh in yesterday! He is up 1.2 pounds since last year. He was supposed to have lost 5, but the little guy absolutely has NO willpower. LOL He weighs over 32 pounds now....should be more like in the mid-20's ideally. Plus he needs more exercise but for some strange reason no one wants to walk him when it is 23 degrees below zero outside.
The good news is that Science Diet is having a promotion where they are giving away free bags of their new R/D (restricted diet) dogfood...we're talking a big 15 pound bag, like a $17 value. No purchase required. The vet says it is the first truly "diet" dog food. It's supposed to be very filling yet low in calories. If he eats this stuff for 3-4 months he should get to his goal weight. He seems to like it.
I think it's also helping him that I have no table scraps to give him, since I pretty much literally lick my JC containers clean (I figure if no one is around, I don't need table manners.....)
He's such a cheerful little guy and he loves to eat! He and I have a LOT in common as you could tell if you could see us licking our dishes clean.....

omg laura that is toooo funny! the licking the bowl clean part. LOL my dog is overweight as well. he weighs 25 pounds when in reality he should be about 19-20. hes a fattie. LOL we live on the third floor so he gets some excersise running up the stairs 3 times a day. and he runs around a lot now that we got another puppy. so i think he will lose. isnt it funny that they have the same weight battle we do? do you think other dogs point and laugh at them when they are fat? hehehe

My dogs take turns licking the black Jenny Craig trays. They are starting to look for me to pull out something in a black tray since they know there might be a little gravy or whatnot they can lick up. I do clean them out pretty good myself though.

That's funny about the dogs being overweight...
Our CAT is overweight. She has gained next to a kilogram a year since we got her three years ago... she's been on a restricted diet cat food for a year, she NEVER eats people food (not even chicken!) and she is STILL gaining weight.
The vet suggested we put her food on a little table, so it's a bit of work to get at it, and so that it's less enticing. We live in an apartment, so there aren't any stairs she can climb...
When I told the vet she'd been on a "weight loss" formula, he warned me about feeding her TOO MUCH of it. So, now I have to be really cruel, and give her small amounts of low-cal food. Poor kitty...
Well, let's keep at it... come hell or high water, we're gonna' get these animals (and our selves) in shape!
~ Raelyn

I have two dogs....Sushi and Kobe....can you tell I love Sushi!!! Any way...I measure their food every day. They do get "lickies" from the table as a treat...but we try and not to give them people food. I watch my dog's weight better than my own!

Thanks for starting this thread! I have two cats and one of them is overweight! I was buyuing Science diet for cats and it was fine but in Canada they DISCONTINUED science diet (the yellow colored bags, not the normal ones but natural or something like that) because nobody was buying them as they were expensive. So we switched to Iams low fat weight control - it does not work!!! The worst parts is that my other cat is fine, obviously he likes to eat in moderation, while Chandler just eats, eats, eats - and becomes bigger, bigger, bigger... THey have their tree to climb, we have stairs and it does not help - any advices? Any other brands of cat food which worked for your cat?

Sashenka wrote: "So we switched to Iams low fat weight control - it does not work!!! "
That's what we had been feeding ours for the past year, during which time he gained even more weight! I will let you know if the Science Diet R/D helps.
I don't know why I think it's so funny that my dog and I are diet buddies. You know how people tend to look like their dogs??!!

Hello:
I feel the urge to respond to this. I have two pugs - who by nature can be overweight in a blink. Anyway, I have used the science diet r/d - its been a round a while - but I think an even better product is Purina o/m (overweight management) - not quite as greasy. With both - be prepared for more pooping as they are loaded with fiber. Best of luck with your pooch.

More poop...oh joy. Well, we don't have to deal with that until spring..
I'll bet that Purina kind is less expensive than the Science Diet kind...which would be another plus.

I don't know about the Iams cat food--our cat just eats out of the dog bowl, and supplements with mice and bug and things he catches. He's one big kitty, but he's not overweight.
A couple years ago we switched them all over to a mix of two flavors of Iams for older dogs, and the cat and the little dog stayed the same weight, but the border collie lost about six pounds.

Iams Weight Management is what we have been feeding our cat, too (see my above post)! I didn't realize that others were having problems with it; I just thought our kitty was "a true member of the family", and wasn't losing weight.
Guess I still haven't gotten the point about trying the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results...
Well, that settles it. I'm going to introduce her to a different weight management formula right away.
Good luck to all kitties, puppies, and people!
~ Raelyn

Okay, I know you were serious in a fun way.
So, this happened with Sasha. She is about 4 and is a lab mix, so big anyway. I took her to the vet, and she was up to 94 pds. Should have been about 70. Needless to say, the vet was not pleased. We were not feeding her that much, but she had her system of eating the cats food, snatching the boys food when they were not looking. (She had an eggo today!) The vet put her on prescription diet and said only 2 cups per day. She did not like it at first, but she soon realized that that was it when I started picking up the cat food in the morning, and the boys were much better about keeping an eye on their food. She also went to the doggie spa (shasha's social view of the kennel) for a week during this time and ran around with all the dogs. I took her to the vet for weigh in and she had dropped 20 pds. They moved her to 4 cups a day. She has stayed about the same since then.
Anyway to my point, prescription diet and science diet are made by the same company. You can only get prescription diet from a vet. She used the r/d and it worked for us. I'm happy to know that science diet is now available in r/d.
Just a funny from my vet. I said that is would be nice if we could do as well as she did in such a short time. He said all we had to do was eat the r/d LOL

Hi...my dog isn't overweight at all..but I couldn't resist posting about her. She is a 3 year old bassett hound...and a total Diva!
Talk about attitude! I love her death and she uses it against me!
Anyway weight control for bassett hounds is crucial because they tend to get arthritis in thier backs and too much weight could cripple them. I give her nothing but science diet and she is healthy, lean and has a beautiful coat. I have never given her any table scraps, not a morsel (which breaks my heart because food is love in my mentality). I must say though, she will lay in my lap while I'm eating something, and not even try to get any. Why can't I have her habits!!!!

tapita-
my fat dog is a PUG. how funny. LOL

Well I have to respond because I just LOVE LOVE LOVE my dog Bob. He is a German Sheperd and he loves to eat too. He is way to skinny so I am hoping that my people start following after my dog! He has now started to actually chew his food insted of inhale, that was a bugger. I have him on Nutro for large breed dogs and he is doing wonderful, but I can't keep the weight on him. He is supposed to be about 100lbs and he is still only about 65, I do a better job of keeping my dog in shape than I do myself! I have involved in lots of exercise programs and am training him for the agility competition courses so he gets his exercise while i sit and throw the ball to him most nights. If only I had someone throw a ball to me!!!!

Laura--what a great thread! I love reading about everyone's pets. I have a real menagerie--6 dogs, 2 cats, 8 horses, 2 parakeets--and no one's overweight so far. However, my mother's wonderful Border Collie, Bess, struggles with her weight--just like her human sister, me! And, when she goes to the vet twice a year, she trudges on her own (off-leash) straight to the scale and steps on for her weigh-in. Her body language says it all: "This isn't going to be fun but I might as well get it over with." She reminds me a lot of myself at my check-ups!

I just had to throw this one in. I have 3 cats that I love to death. Before we had these 3 my old boss gave me one of her cats. This cat was obscessed with people food and shameless about it. I could be preparing something on the counter and here would come the cat right up on the counter ready to chow down. One day we ordered pizza. As my husband was opening his mouth to take that first delicious bite of pizza the cat leapt out of no where and snatched the whole slice from his hand and ran with it. We had future similar incidents with bbq ribs and chicken wings. I started to think my boss didn't like me very much and needless to say the cat didn't last long. I think my husband would have killed him eventually. He loves his food

I also love hearing about everyones pets. We have quite a collection ourselves. 4 dogs and 2 cats + a couple cats that hang around outside. Each one has a different personality. The Chesapeke Bay Retreiver x inhales his food, one of our other mutts is so picky he eats each kibble one by one and will get moody and not eat, in fact he was on anitidepressants for years! My boxer mix seems to regulate himself quite well, sometimes he seems picky and other times real eager to eat, wish I was that normal. Our last dog is a female so tends to put on weight if we aren't careful. She taken to jumping on top of the hottub to eat so she's gotten quite muscular in the rear. One of our cats is a mainecoon and is huge but not fat and our little female orange tabby is getting on the heavy side. She disappeared for about 3 months, thought she had met her demise for sure, and then showed up in our yard. Now she mostly stays inside and I'm afraid my husband has spoiled her with food. Anyway, I guess animals are just as diverse as people in their eating habits. I used to live on a farm and we just left dog food out all the time, no one was fat there because they got so much exercise, a good lesson for me. Thanks for the thread, this was fun. Kate

Karen 65 wrote: "I have never given her any table scraps, not a morsel (which breaks my heart because food is love in my mentality)."
You have hit the nail on the head with my problem with both my dog, myself, my kids....the "food is love" comment really hit home. It's true I give my dog table scraps to show him I love him. I never thought of that before. Somehow this seems like a very profound thing to have pointed out.... and probably relates to a lot of my own food issues!!!

THis is too funny!
We started our basset hound "Daisy" on a strict diet the first of the year. Dog food only and NO table scraps, this is where my 3 1/2 yr old comes in, she thinks that the dog should get what she doesn't want. But, so far so good she's lost about 3lbs and has got about 5-8lbs more to lose.
Thanks for the thread Laura40!
Donna

Kneilsen, my cat is a Maine Coon, and he is a big beautiful boy! Huge, as a matter of fact, but not the least little bit overweight. Lots of personality, and very personable as Maine Coons tend to be. He is the only cat I have ever had who grumbles. If he has been outside, and there wasn't anyone to let him in, so he had to wait, he comes in, makes a beeline for the food dish, grumbling all the way. It's hilarious.
He's a snuggy cuddly boy, too.
We have always just left a big bowl of food on the floor, and the dogs and cat just come and get it when they want it. It hasn't caused any weight problems for any of the pets we've had over the years.

None of my "kids" are having a weight problem and I have always just "free" fed them. The dish is always there with food in it. I have a boxer (Champ), pitbull/golden retriever cross (Ivory), cat (Tierra), and cockatiel (Precious). What a bunch of dears. I'm going to get to have a pug as a treat to myself once I've lost 100 lbs.(36 more lbs.) I hit a slumped and used "Snort" as motivation to get myself refocused. I keep a picture of one of his relatives on the refrig. I housebroke one for my daughter in the fall and I've been dieing for one of my own ever since. Finally talked my husband into letting me have one as a reward. It is my understanding that they can have a little trouble with weight so I may have to rethink my "free" feeding practice once he joins the family.
Evangeline