[–] [deleted] 0 points 5 points 5 points (+5|-0) ago
[–] Electro_Swing 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
My old dog basically lived a half-life from my fat parents overfeeding him garbage from the table.
His diet was basically chips, bacon rind, whipped cream, bread, crackers, the grisly bits of meat, lamb bones...
And his health problems were countless: IBS, hernias, cushings, and ultimately cancer. Cost us thousands in vet bills and by the end he just wasn't a dog anymore. He was a dog shaped body stuffed with drugs to keep him alive.
[–] PiggerTrigger 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
A well thought out post full of facts, reason, and logic.
Sadly, none of which works on fats.
[–] theepilepticferret 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
Puppy tax! You can't mention an adorable puppy without giving us pictures, OP. That's just cruel :P
In all seriousness though, you are right to be concerned about your dad feeding your puppy crap. I'm a veterinary technician (not in the field anymore, but still retain my license) so I hope I can pass on some information to you that you can show your dad. Here is a healthy weight chart for dogs. Your dog should be a 3. When you feel your dogs ribs, they should feel like if you run your fingers over the back of your hand - they're under a soft layer of tissue, but you can still feel them. Overweight and obese pets have pretty much all of the same health issues as overweight and obese (formerly) humans.
Another possible issue for your pup could be pancreatitis. It can happen after your dog eats something really fatty, or gorges on something that's high fat (dog gets into the garbage and eats the steak trimmings from everyone's meal, for example). So if your dad is feeding him things like sausages or bacon, your pup could be at risk of getting pancreatitis. Some breeds are more prone to it, like schnauzers for example, so it could take less to set them off. If your dad keeps slipping scraps to your dog from the table, perhaps you can put him in his crate (if you've crate trained him) or another room or even outside during meals? My grandfather also sneaks table scraps to my dog, so any time we're having dinner with him, she gets locked in another room with my parents' dogs.
Another health concern could be hip dysplasia but this is something that the dog is typically born with, and carrying extra weight could make it worse. I just thought to mention it because my parents' sheltie has hip dysplasia and he used to weigh like 50 pounds, but now he's down to 40 and is doing much better (he's a really tall sheltie, which is also not normal for the breed - probably why his hips are so messed up). Joint issues are also problemmatic in overweight dogs, the same as they are in people.
Another problem that I would see often when I worked in a clinic was CCL tears. It's similar to an ACL tear in humans, and being overweight or obese ups the chances of it happening.
If you need more resources to show your dad or the rest of your family, the internet has lots of information about the problems associated with obesity in pets. Unfortunately though, if your dad won't listen, you may have to remove your dog from the situation by putting him outside or in another room during meal times. Good luck!