Fat happens, and saying your dog is “big boned,” doesn’t make it so. Weight can creep up on a dog, often because we use food to show how much we love our canine companion. Even as little as 10 extra pieces of kibble a day can result in a one pound weight gain for a small dog over a year, and that’s a lot in a dog! According to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, roughly 54 percent of dogs are overweight or obese, and sorry to say, but tubbiness doesn’t just occur in pets who never step food in a show ring.

A couple of years ago, a study conducted at the Small Animal Teaching Hospital at the University of Liverpool in the UK had doctors analyze photographs of over 1,000 of the top winners at Crufts, and they found that a startling 26% of these show dogs appeared to be overweight. Mind you, these evaluations were made from photos, and there’s nothing to compare to a hands-on examination of a dog. Still, a dog, especially a show dog, should be in rock-hard condition. Canine diabetes has risen by almost 80 percent since 2006 (one out of every 300 dogs is diagnosed with diabetes) and being overweight is not helpful. In fact, Type 2 diabetes is usually due to obesity.

Back in 2011, Iams rolled out, “A Dog Should Look Like a Dog,” ad campaign using humor to drive home the point.