AIBU to not feel like I can talk to my grandparents because of their fat dog?

[WillyNilly00]

I would love some advise on this as I really don't know what to do.

My grandparents lost their 4 year old obese diabetic terrier a few months ago, they did seek vet treatment toward the end but it was too late. They felt very guilty and swore they would never ever get another dog.

A month a go they got a puppy, they knew that most of the family disapproved but promised they would do all they right things this time (no treats/no human food/lots of walks). The puppy is 3 months old and every time I see him, he is fatter, I'm getting really worried. I have tried talking to them but they say he isn't fat and have convinced themselves/eachother that their previous dog must have had another underlying condition.

I feel like I don't even want to see them at the moment, I'm an animal lover and the whole thing is making me so cross with them.

Any ideas on how to get through to them? They think food=love and their children were also overweight at very young ages. I don't know what to do.

Typo sorry *advice

They clearly want their dog to have a long happy healthy life, but also enjoy giving it treats. Are there puppy toys they could use as a treat instead? Maybe go visit / meet up and go on about how much puppy loves playing /walks, stuff like”ooh, he loves the park / his ball” and “isn’t he just so happy when you play with him” etc.

Could you also convince them to take it to a vet for a check-up, go with them and specifically ask about weight, diet, exercise. Hearing a vet telling them may help.

They’re trying to show puppy affection, and make it happy. They’re not going about it in a great way.

Do they take the puppy out for exercise OP?

There's not much more you can do than what Saz said unfortunately. If even a previous dog actually dying at only 4 years old because of their feeding habits hasn't changed them then i don't know what will!

:(

If they’re local could you encourage them out for walks with you and the pouch?

‘Should we meet up the Lakes do you can bring lassie and we can all get some fresh air’.

I’ve got a family friend (around 70 who got a rescue dog) and decided early on she couldn’t be bothered to walk him. She got a good deal with the neighbours kids that she’d pay them £7 a week to take him out for half hour each day (they’d usually take him out for much longer). Could you maybe drop that in? That as they’re not up for walking him every day that maybe they could hire someone to do it?

That's worrying. My grandma does the same with her dog and it's chubby. She honestly can't resist it when it does the big, sad eyes. Some family members manage to help out by taking the dog for longer walks, and we've talked her into cutting the treats down to two a day.

Can you get a new puppy checkup for the dog? A vet might be better at talking sense into them.

The dog walking service is a good idea!

OP maybe there is a professional one in their area. Could you point them that way? If they balk at the expense could you offer to contribute towards it?

I in NO way think you should feel obliged to pay out or should be held financially responsible by the way. It's just that if i were you i'd feel the same and if i could afford to chuck in some money towards the dogs exercise i would. (and i'd rather do that than doing the actual walking tbh )

Have they ever had the dog checked over by a vet (I note they have only had it one month)? Can you persuade them to register it with a vet and get a initial medical check on it as it is new "to make sure all is well and get vet's advice re puppy diet". Every time my dog goes to the vet she is weighed (and she is slim and fit), so the vet will have the opportunity to point out the dog needs to be fed appropriately and lose some weight.

My friends GPs did the same with their dog. It was literally a barrel. They wouldn't listen ....it died of course of some weight related issue

sorry, see I cross posted with nevermorelenore.

www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/dogs/dog_treats_chews/low_fat/217049

Here are low calorie dog treats. Ten 50gm packets are £7.99. One is only 99p.

Maybe you could get them a packet and show them how to keep the treats healthy?

Could you offer to help out with walking? A couple of big long runs a week might make quite a big difference.

3-month old pup can play, but should not go for long walks yet. The advice is 5 minutes a day per month of age, so it would be just a 15mins walk at this stage.

He is presumably still having 3 or 4 main meals a day at 3 months (which should be weighed out). You could suggest they reduce the size of the puppy's meals by say 25% and give the difference as treats during the day. Hopefully they are getting it vaccinated and the vet will tell them off!

could you persuade them to use chopped carrot or cucumber if they really must treat their dog?

Lots of suggestions here regards to walking etc.. which is great, but not suitable for a puppy of this age. A puppy of 3 mths old is still a baby and should only be walked for 5 mins per month of age. So in other words a 3 month puppy would be walked 15 mins a day, 4 mths 20 mins and so on. Their bones are still delicate like a human baby.

What breed is the dog? Surely a small pup might look a bit rotund with puppy fat?

The trouble is with fat dogs is that its normally due to too much food. I have just had a telling off from our vet that our dog is 1-1.5kg overweight (He is 20kg)
He is very well exercised but she says its always about the food!
I guess it makes sense because I know that with humans, they always say weight loss is 80% food/20% exercise.
If they are overfeeding, can you suggest a smaller portion of food and to maybe use some of his kibble as a treat? Small pieces of carrot, like a PP suggested might be a good idea too.
Hopefully the Vet might give a stark warning too?

A terrier should live to be about 14/16.

They took ten years off their dog's life for the sake of stuffing it with food.

Dogs LIKE food, but it doesn't say 'love' to them like it does to humans. They will love your grandparents just as much if they give it lots of attention and fun. Quite frankly I'm amazed that their previous dog didn't destroy their home if it didn't get enough exercise. I've got a six year old Patterdale and she will disassemble my entire dining room if she doesn't get at least five miles a day.

They need to learn that dogs need exercise and won't love them any less if they feed it reasonable amounts of food and not treats. Plenty of attention and their time will be enough.

I had this problem with a relative. I found them a healthy food option and measured out how much they needed to feed. And everytime I went and they hadn't made progress told them how fat she was and that she'll end up ill, and when she lost weight said how good and healthy she looked. She got very healthy, but is getting fat again, so its back to "omg she's getting fat, you dont want her to end up ill again do you"

Thanks so much everyone, lots of really great ideas, healthy treats, I would never have thought of that! Definitely when he's abit older I can take him for walks with my dog. Also alot of it is just puppy chunk at the moment but its clear to me that he is fatter than he should be.