70-pound Dachshund - Overweight dog

What you see in the picture is a Dachshund named Obie. Average weight of Dachshund should be 32 pounds. Obie is more than twice the normal weight. His previous owners, an old couple gave him up because they could no longer take care of him.





Just look at the photos. Am I seeing a dog or a pig?

Source news.

Not so long ago, we also have a thread about a 39-pound cat died at age 2.

I think it is really sad that people can't differentiate harm from love. Sure some pets are masters of begging for food. As the owners, they should know better, and they should have at least noticed the problem with the dog was overweight, but they kept feeding him to the current state.

Obie is currently in a program to lose his weight. I wish he can successfully reduce the extra pounds on him.

Ram, as far as I am concerned this is a form of animal abuse. This dog isn't a couple of pounds overweight. He's about 55 lbs overweight.

I think that sometimes people think they are being mean when they control what they feed their dog. They see those sad eyes and think the dog is mad at them. But, really, what is more mean--denying your dog extra treats and people food or over feeding it? This poor dog probably can't even walk around without help.

I always wonder if a person who feeds a dog like this would do the same to a child. No, you wouldn't because it would harm the child. So, you shouldn't do it with your pets either.

This is mean. I think as an owner, we also have the responsibility to take care of our pets that they become healthy throughout their years of existence. I think people who are careless should not have pets.

What they did to their dog is just like leaving him to starve. I hope his new owners give him enough exercise.

The article says that it was an elderly couple who had to give the dog up because of their declining health. It makes me wonder how old and if there might have been a touch of senility at play. Or, if there health was that bad, maybe they were taking medications that clouded their judgement. Maybe they weren't really even aware of how much they were feeding him.

I'm glad the dog was rescued and has a new home. I feel for the new owner. It looks like this dog ate constantly. The poor guy is going to be learning the word "no" awfully quick.

(09-12-2012, 01:54 PM)TreeClimber Wrote: Ram, as far as I am concerned this is a form of animal abuse. This dog isn't a couple of pounds overweight. He's about 55 lbs overweight.

I think that sometimes people think they are being mean when they control what they feed their dog. They see those sad eyes and think the dog is mad at them. But, really, what is more mean--denying your dog extra treats and people food or over feeding it? This poor dog probably can't even walk around without help.

I always wonder if a person who feeds a dog like this would do the same to a child. No, you wouldn't because it would harm the child. So, you shouldn't do it with your pets either.

Unfortunately there ARE people that would and do feed their children like this and many of them see nothing wrong with it because they're keeping their children happy by giving them everything that they want. Perhaps that's what this dog's owners thought - that they were only trying to keep their dog happy. Mind you, in no way am I condoning this, I think it's terrible what they did to this poor dog. Even if his new owners exercise him and he loses the weight he still may have lasting joint and heart damage from being overweight for so long.

That's what bothers me most - the lasting damage. That poor dog problably has permanent damage to his heart, which means he probably won't make old bones, and he'll never be as fit as other dogs of his age. Some people should never be allowed to have pets. It's a shame owners aren't obliged to take their dogs for regular check ups.

I own dachshunds and I love the dachshund breed. They are my favorite breed of dog. My dad's family only owned dachshunds. So, I am very upset to see this. It is not only hard on the dog's heart but also on the dachshund's back. This is a sign of neglect and abuse. Dogs, especially dachshunds, should never be overweight.

I get very upset when I see this.

My mom used to go to meetings at someone's house where they had two overweight dachshunds. They weren't as overweight as this dachshunds but still overweight. The owners were also overweight. So, it was hard to tell these overweight owners that they need to keep their dogs healthy and fit. It does take discipline and exercise to keep dogs (and people) fit and it is sooo worth it.

This is a sad story indeed but I hope this dog does get the proper care that he needs.

I love this breed so much which is the reason that this story breaks me heart. I have never researched or aware of the pain that animals have when they are overweight. I have had one cat my whole life and really couldn't imagine what I would do if I knew that she was previously overweight. I hope this puppy loses the pounds and gets back to a healthy and normal lifestyle with owners who will adore him for who he is.

It's hard to imagine dachshunds being overweight because they are such an active breed, at least my Murphy was. My current dog is a chow and she is really the type who would gain weight if you let her because she does not like walking or running around a lot. As a responsible owner though I do make sure she gets walked twice a day and her food intake is what the doctor recommended.

I think the reason a lot of people over feed dogs is because they treat their dogs like humans. A majority of people derive pleasure when eating and they think dogs are the same way. They think if a dog sees food he feels sad if we don't give him some.

Oh so sad!

I agree it is like a form of animal abuse. I do wonder about pets and how they fair when they don't get exercise or are over fed. Guess there is my answer.

It is just as bad seeing this as seeing a dog that has been starving. I am saddened so much by what people do to animals that I won't watch those shows on TV about animal rescues. Don't get me wrong, I love the rescues, but it breaks my heart for the ones who can't be saved.

This is terrible, but as some people pointed out, the elderly couple probably no longer knew what they were doing. Thankfully it's usually farily easy to treat obesity in dogs. I hope he gets out of this ok...

In response to what some people above said, people do actually do this to kids as well, not to mention themselves. People really need to educate themselves before taking care of anything, be it a pet or a kid.

Some people are definitely not qualified to take care of pets, let alone kids. LOL!

I believe there should be mandatory parenting classes and pet care classes, and I think it's necessary to have some kind of pet license and kid license. Some people will hate the idea but since nobody complained about driver's license why should this be any different? Taking care of pets and kids are important and they are more complex than driving.

I find this really sad. As Sandra mentions, this dog is going to have issues with his health for the rest of his life. His life will also probably be shorter because of what has happened to him. I see a lot of animals who are forced to live with their owners' unhealthy lifestyle choices such as smoking. It is really unfortunate because, like a young child, they do not even really have a choice about what happens. They also do not have the ability to make an informed decision if they are given too many treats. Unfortunately, pets and children are often used to relieve some of the anxieties the parents or owners themselves have. For example, I once saw a television program about a massively overweight eighteen year old boy. I believe the show was called "Supersize Son". Overall, it was a terrible, voyeuristic, opportunistic piece of programming. However, it did turn out that the woman had been overfeeding her son because of the way she reacted to the miscarriage of her first child. In many cases, people are treating their pets poorly for a variety of similar reasons stemming from their own past.

I have also a dachshund dog and I always make sure that she is not overweight. It may cause those back problems and other issues as what I've read from one article. I make sure that she has regular walks or playing time. Now my dog is turning 1 year old and I am very happy with her. She makes my day happy!

I'm reminded of a post I saw once on another site of an extremely fat dog, the owner would feed him nothing but hot dogs. I know there is a temptation to feed your dog table scraps because your dog will beg for people food, and act very happy when they get it. The fact of the matter is, it really isn't good treatment for you dog despite how they may act. I definitely agree with many of the posts here that say this is a form of animal abuse. Even treats that are designed for dogs often recommend you only give your dog one or two of them a day, people need to be aware of that, and make sure they read the package.

I hope that most pet owners who are interested in their pets enough to come post here wouldn't treat their animals like that, but I would generally just recommend to everyone to please research a little about your dog's breed. Find out how much exercise is needed per day for their size, what is the healthiest food you can provide, and how much you should be feeding them. The result will be a happier and healthier dog in the long run!

Oh my god, I would so have authorities at the door of this person. You just can't do that with this breed. I have a mid-size Dachshund who spent five months with a friend and my poor dog gained quite a bit of weight. I was so mad. She never took my dog for a walk. It's taken me a year to get Tiny back into shape. She's five years old now and still has a lot of energy because I make sure she gets her walks. This breed can have it's spine hurt badly with excessive weight. I hope this dog can get back to health.

Well, I don't want to make a judgment call on this one because I don't know if the owners had problems with their own mobility. Maybe, they couldn't walk the dog and lived in a small apartment. Maybe, he was already large when they bought him or possibly, someone gave Obie to them. It is hard to say. We also don't know if the dog has a thyroid problem. I can make judgment calls when I find out a person has dog in a dog ring and is fighting him. But in this situation, I don't have all the background information. Needless to say, they do care for the dog to the point in which they knew it was better for the dog to be given up since they recognized they couldn't help him with his obesity needs. Maybe, that was the best they could do.