Canine obesity has reached epidemic proportions in developed countries, causing significant welfare compromise through joint pain, respiratory difficulty, reduced lifespan, and impaired quality of life.
Canine obesity is a welfare problem partly invisible to those causing it: owners who overfeed dogs from love, misread body condition, or respond to food-begging behaviours often genuinely do not recognise the harm they are causing. Yet the welfare impact of obesity is substantial and progressive — joint pain limiting mobility, breathlessness limiting exercise, heat intolerance, increased disease risk, and shortened lifespan. The most direct intervention is owner education: learning to assess body condition score, understanding appropriate portion sizes, and recognising that a dog at ideal weight may look different from what owners have normalised as normal. Veterinary communication that is supportive rather than shaming has better outcomes in motivating owners to change feeding behaviour.