Obesity affects over 50% of companion dogs in Western countries — it is a preventable welfare problem that shortens lives and causes painful chronic conditions.
Dog obesity is a quiet welfare crisis that owners often miss or minimize because overweight dogs may appear content and are often praised for their appetite. The welfare costs are severe and cumulative: excess weight dramatically worsens joint pain in arthritic dogs, increases anesthetic and surgical risk, predisposes to diabetes and respiratory problems, and shortens life expectancy by years. The social dimension of feeding relationships — where food equals love in many human-animal bonds — makes weight management emotionally difficult for owners. Veterinary body condition scoring provides an objective assessment that bypasses owner perception bias. Weight loss in dogs improves mobility, pain scores, and behavioral indicators of wellbeing in a timeframe measurable within weeks of reaching healthy weight.