Poseidon's weight and idiots (rant...sorry)

LPacker79 · 07-02-2008, 07:25 AM

Poseidon's lost a few pounds. He was 56lbs, he dropped to 53. Not a whole lot of weight lost considering that he was 55 for years. He looks great at 55-56. I'm working on getting him back to that weight, but it's hard when he's not a big eater to begin with.

However, what the hell is wrong with people? Everytime I've taken him out to Petsmart the past two weeks someone always makes a comment about how "thin" he is. And it's in a tone that I don't like. He's NOT THIN dammit!

He was 54lbs as of yesterday and I had TWO people comment on how thin he is. Hell, we were outside and a guy with a boxer pup asked if he could pet him (first he asked if he was an Alaskan husky, and was surprised I said Siberian). He put his pup in his car and came to pet Po. He said "How old is he, about 10?" I replied that he's between 11 and 13. The man said "Oh, that explains how bony he is then. What is he, about 35lbs? Aren't they supposed to average 60lbs?" I told him the MAX weight is 60lbs, and he weighs 54lbs.

WTF?????? He's not "bony." He's got a naturally lighter frame, plus he's not fat, plus he doesn't have as much coat as some other Sibes.

What on earth makes people think it's alright to fire off asinine comments like that? Shouldn't they be more concerned about the extremely obese dogs we all see on a regular basis?

Hell, I saw a Sibe recently that had to have weighed 100lbs! He was as round as an ottoman and the guy kept digging his hand in my dog treat bowl and feeding them to the dog. I wanted to smack his hand, he must have given that dog 8 biscuits plus the 1 I gave him. I was loving on the dog and said "Ohhh you're a big guy eh?" The guy laughed like his dog's weight was the funniest thing in the world and said "Oh he eats very good!"

Apparently being extremely obese is more acceptable than being 2lbs underweight and still looking good? Damn, I wish that worked with humans!

**berkshire** · 07-02-2008, 07:31 AM

IMO most people can't recognize a dog or cat in decent weight if it bit them on the butt. At school, the clinicians and students have taken to calling me the Food Nazi, because I am more than willing to point out when a patient needs to lose weight. They say that I starve my cats...I probably do, but they're not THIN. I can share your frustration that I keep getting chastised for not letting my animals be fat. I think everyone's perception has been skewed by seeing so many fat pets that they can't even recognize a healthy weight - they have to be a little overweight to be considered 'normal'.

dusuwho · 07-02-2008, 07:35 AM

Funny story.

Bless the ignorance in these people as they make ill-informed assumptions and irritate us all, but without them we wouldn't be able to make a list for our violent rampage day. jk.....

I bet he looks great the way he is.

DobieLove02 · 07-02-2008, 08:01 AM

some people just don't know...

**Burns** · 07-02-2008, 09:37 AM

Don't even get me started on people and their obese animals! I see sooo many overweight and obese cats every single day, that it is a rarity to see a cat who is at a good, trim weight. We are seeing more diabetic patients than ever before because of it.

As the obesity rate in Americans increases, so does the trend with their pets. People think it's "cute" that Fluffy's belly drags the ground, or that he can't walk 10 feet without taking a rest. It's abuse, imo.

I even saw a story on CNN about a year ago about a couple who had a 44 lb cat who could barely walk, and just laid there with its head in the food and water dish all day. CNN and the owners were making it out to be a "cute" thing! I was so angry that the media is perpetuating this idea that making your pets morbidly obese is socially acceptable, that I actually wrote a letter to CNN about it. I never received a response.

Then when these animals develop an obesity-related disease, such as diabetes, these people don't want to deal with it and end up euthanizing or not treating the pet - but they were the ones who caused the disease to begin with! People are literally killing their pets with kindness when they allow their pets to get obese.

Granted, Titus could probably stand to lose a pound, but he is by no means grossly overweight or obese. My other cat, Cloud, is an ideal weight and people often ask me if he's sick because he's so thin! But he is a perfect, ideal weight for his petite Tonkinese frame. Red was starting to get a little heavy at 90 lbs, so I had no problem cutting back his food and he looks better at a trim 85 lbs. I love my animals, and I want to keep them with me for as long as possible, and as healthy as possible.

Lexxsmom · 07-02-2008, 04:07 PM

let me tell you, if i get the "Ohhh, he's a miniture doberman.." ONE MORE TIME!

Lexx is 67lbs and 27 inches...

does this dog look starved?

**melbrod** · 07-02-2008, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lexxsmom

let me tell you, if i get the "Ohhh, he's a miniture doberman.." ONE MORE TIME!

Lexx is 67lbs and 27 inches...

does this dog look starved?

My red boy's statistics match your guy's exactly! I get a lot of "how old is he?" and when I say 2, they say "so he won't get any bigger, will he?" with pity in their voices. Sheesh....

**Burns** · 07-02-2008, 04:19 PM

I think Lexx looks perfect! He doesn't look small at all. What do the public know anyway? *rolls eyes*

dobermandude · 07-02-2008, 04:47 PM

sounds like jealousy to me. when do people put things down the most? when they are envious of it. they are amazed at how beautiful your dog is, and feel the need to find the most "flawed" thing and slip in a remark to bring you down. just laugh, and wish them luck in life cause they are gonna need it.

Lori Z · 07-02-2008, 05:34 PM

Okay please don't misunderstand me. I have never seen your dog, I prefer my dogs thin and have never had a fat dog. That being said for discussion sake: aging dogs: I say this with delicate words umm okay, my Sierra is my oldest aussie she is 14 1/2. Gus is my oldest male at 12. Both of them feel bonier (no such word I know) to me. Sierra who has been 41lbs her entire life, is 36lbs now. Gus who was 62lbs his entire life is 57-58lbs (he did have some colitis, surgery and few other problems this year, lost 10lbs was very ill and never gained it all back.) Gus doesn't look skinny (and he has that aussie show coat so one has to feel to see) but he feels like an older dog, boney...I can't explain it but I can feel it. Most dogs over 10 start to change and you can certainly feel a difference. I have a 10 almost 11 year old aussie girl. She is 42lbs, always has been. However the other day when grooming I thought her hips felt a tiny bit sharper, not skinny just more pronounced. I exercise my dogs a great deal, Gus not as much this years, Sierra no more as she is wobbly but Ginger gets tons but I still feel changes. Sooooo I'm not saying your dear sweet loving gorgeous dog is skinny but if the dog is getting up there in age 11-13 you said he could actually feel more uh sharp, his muscle may not be as tight so you can feel the bone in a more pronounced manner. Or maybe he is skinny and frankly that is healthy! Emaciated is not healthy but on the skinny side is good.

People always say my Ginger, the 42lber is skinny and well I'd say yes she is and I like it that way. I expect her life will be longer and healthier because of it