Would keeping your dog thin decrease his or her chance of dying from cancer? The author of this book says yes, in a set of arguments that correlates obesity and risk of mortality in Dogs, Dog Food and Dogma. I’ll summarize now by saying that the author Daniel Scholof is a good researcher and writer, and makes a compelling case for keeping our dogs thin. I’ll also remind all of us not to oversimplify the connection between fat and cancer, and add some thoughtful comments from canine nutritionist, Linda Case.
I should start by saying that something usually happens, and not in a good way, when I begin reading about canine nutrition. Once we start talking about kcals and the specific amount of protein/vitamins/minerals required in home diets, I want to write MEGO in the margin. (MEGO is editor speak for “My Eyes Glaze Over.” Of course I think nutrition is important, see for example my rave review of Dog Food Logic by Linda Case, and I think long and hard about what I feed my dogs. But it’s a rare book on nutrition that keeps my attention for long.
That is why I was pleasantly surprised by the book Dogs, Dog Food and Dogma: The Silent Epidemic Killing America’s Dogs and the New Science that Could Save Your Best Friend’s Life, by Daniel Scholof. When I received it I placed it in the pile of “books I am requested to read and write blurbs for,” which can admittedly be a place where good books (or not) sometimes go to die. But one day I flipped open the cover with the intent of skimming the beginning. Three days and 249 pages later, I finished what is highly readable and interesting book, although I’d advise reading it with some important cautions.
First, it’s helpful to know that the author is an “ultimate marathon runner,” a fact I find both impressive and intimidating. I suspect you’d have to look hard to find an ounce of fat on him (she said, sucking in her stomach). And fat IS the issue here, and the reason that Scholof argues our often-overweight dogs are dying at such high rates of cancer and other often fatal diseases.
First off, there is no question that a large percentage of American dogs are overweight. Dr. Edward Ward (the founder of the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention) says that over 50% of dogs in the U.S. are overweight. And being overweight is probably as unhealthy for dogs as it is for people. DDD (my abbreviation for Dogs, Dog Food and Dogma) supports this information with a prodigious amount of research, and makes the compelling case, that in humans, fat is deposited in our bodies not just because of the old “calories in/calories out” equation. Many now argue that eating high “glycemic index” foods like corn, wheat, potatoes and white rice, causes fat cells to expand because of the rush of carbohydrates that they create in the blood stream. These are common ingredients in many commercial dog foods, and the author makes the case that it’s not so much lack of exercise that is making our dogs fat, it’s what we are feeding them. Of course, canine and human metabolism isn’t exactly the same, and we don’t yet have much research on how these foods are metabolized in dogs (as Linda Case reminds us), but it seems reasonable to speculate that high glycemic foods might have the same effect on dogs.
One of the most interesting sections of the book is the section on Body Condition Scoring (BCS), in which Scholof argues that many healthy dogs as “too thin” are actually at a healthy weight. The image on the right illustrates the 9 point scoring system developed by Dr. Dottie Laflamme and is one of the most commonly used scores. Research using a new body scanning technology has shown that there is indeed a correlation between a dog’s score on this chart and the percentage of body fat found. However, Scholof cautions us that the picture is far more complicated. In a reverse of BMI scores categorizing healthy, muscular people as overweight, BCS rankings score healthy athletic dogs with little fat but a lot of muscle as “too thin.” If you’ve done the scoring on your own dogs (one of the benefits of the test is that it’s easy to do), you’ll see that there’s no evaluation of your dog’s musculature, just how much fat covers his or her ribs, hips, etc. My working Border Collie Maggie, with her impressive mass of shoulder and thigh muscles, would without question fall into the “Too Thin” or “Under Ideal” category. But I’d argue that she is actually at exactly the right weight and condition for a working sheepdog.
Scholof agrees, and makes the case that we need to be looking at the ratio of fat to muscle, with an emphasis on “healthy” being defined as having lower amounts of fat in the body than what has historically been considered ideal. I ran this by Linda Case, and she agreed that muscle mass must be taken into account. However, she added the essential point that most dog owners in the U.S. don’t own working athletes, and aren’t going to add extreme physical conditioning to their dog’s daily routine. In addition, “losing weight” isn’t just a matter of losing fat–weight loss usually involves losing both fat and muscle, so extra efforts need to be made to increase muscle mass if also trying to lose fat. Perhaps more importantly, Linda mentioned that only about five percent of veterinarians talk to their client about their dog’s weight. A sad statistic indeed, because there seems to be consensus in the world of veterinary medicine and canine nutrition that being overweight is truly, truly bad for our dogs.
What’s more controversial is exactly what the effects of being overweight are and its relationship to cancer. We know that being overweight in people is a risk factor for cancer, but that is not the same thing as being a causal factor. We can’t say that “being overweight causes cancer.” For one thing, “cancer” is a huge category that includes a vast array of actual diseases. Secondly, there are numerous risk factors that can be causing the high rates of cancer in our dogs. As Dr. Case said to me, “our dogs live in a chemical soup” that includes pesticides, herbicides and who knows what else. That leads to my only criticism of DDD, which is that it focuses exclusively on fat as THE problem related to our dog’s health, and not on all the other factors, including environmental influences like herbicides and other chemicals like BPA in canned dog food. Not to mention the known influence of genetic risk factors. Given that researchers seem to agree that cancer is usually caused by a set of factors (genetic predisposition plus environmental factors for example), we have to be careful about simple correlations between diet and cancer.
I mentioned this to Daniel Scholof when we talked this morning, and he said “Fair point.” He added that he would have included that if this was a book about cancer in dogs. But it’s not, it’s a book about obesity in dogs, how it happens and the importance of educating dog owners that their “average looking” dog might have its health compromised by carrying too much body fat. To which I say, “fair point.”
There’s so much more, but I think it’s best now to let the book itself to the talking. This is a valuable book, but I make that recommendation with the concern that people will read it and conclude that keeping their dog thin will prevent him or her from dying of cancer. It might decrease the odds, but its no guarantee. We all wish we could put our dogs on diets and ensure their long life, but there is no one way to keep our dogs healthy, no matter how much we wish it was true.
If you want to learn more about canine nutrition, I’d also recommend Linda Case’s book, Dog Food Logic, and her blog The Science Dog. I’m also going to check out Daniel’s blog, The Optimal Dog. A sincere thank you to both Linda and Daniel for taking the time to talk this morning. I hope we can continue the conversations. I’d love to continue the conversation with you, dear reader–jump into the comment section and tell us what sources you have found to be interesting or helpful related to what you feed, or don’t feed, to your dog.
One last comment: Just try not to fall in love with Daniel’s dog Cody. I dare you.
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: Good news! Lady Godiva and her lamb “Snow White” tested negative for Caseous, which means Lady Godiva and her lamb might be able to stay on the farm. Whew. We are still fighting the disease, which is still evident in Lady G’s other two lambs, and we have to send in a second test to Washington State University (who has been wonderfully generous with their time), but at least the first test looks good for both Lady G and her ewe lamb. Yay for good news! I’ll keep you posted when the second test comes in.
That’s Lady Godiva in the middle, with her ewe lamb Snow White to the left. Hopefully they will be on the farm for a long time to come.
Susan says
I know you can’t extrapolate from one species to another, so this is just musing. My wonderful cat, Kilgore Trout, was diagnosed this past July with 2 kinds of cancer. At age 13 my lean and muscular boy has both Lymphoma and Mast Cell disease. I asked the Oncologist why he developed these cancers (how unfair was that!?) after having been lean and very active his whole life up till now. She told me that these are the 2 most common cancers in cats and dogs. Like your post, she referenced the toxicity of our environment and genetics, but finally answered that we just don’t know all the reasons. Partly because of who Troutie is (a living, breathing Marvel comics Super Hero) but partly due to his good diet and fit condition , I had myself convinced that this could never happen to him. But who’s to say it wouldn’t have happened sooner had he been obese? Illness and wellness are both so overdetermined. I thank people doing this research and try to hold myself back from hoping for a magic bullet. K.Trout had surgery in July and is doing great now on his chemo regimen. I hope for the best for him, and for all animals with this damned disease.
Chris from Boise says
Great initial tests on Lady Godiva and Snow White! Here’s hoping further tests come up negative as well.
Thank you for reviewing “Dogs, Dog Food and Dogma”. Nutrition is such a complex topic, and as is evident in human nutrition studies, we really know so little. I found “Dog Food Logic” well-written, fascinating and enlightening, and will look forward to reading DDD.
We keep our (non-working but athletic) border collies quite lean, and actually changed vets when our previous one told us that Habi needed fattening up. H’s sports vet disagreed, and encourages us to keep her on the thin side as she ages, for the sake of her getting-creaky joints, and our new regular vet is very pleased with both her and Obi’s condition. We work (that is, play) hard to keep them well-muscled (much easier to do with 6 year old Obi than 12 year old Habi). Sigh – one can’t stop aging with diet or exercise, but keeping fit is a good underpinning at any age.
Sharon Shea says
I think what is most wrong with overweight dogs (or any weight dog), is the quality of the dog food. Most of it is pure crap – corn, wheat, soy. Even the veterinarian brands. The dogs are fat, for sure, but much of it, as it is in people, is inflammation.
I had a dog that was near death and “fat.” I took her completely off any commercial dried food, she dropped an Astonishing amount of fluid weight. I started cooking for her – meat, rice, eggs, sweet potato and she lived to be 21.
Counting calories is useless. If they are fed proper protein (not that thing labeled “protein” on the bag, they will do fine. I’m sure the books sell, but the simple message should be to look at the labels and get them off corn, grains, and all the additives that are in commercial pet foods.
Anne says
I wonder where the stat about “only 5% of veterinarians talk about the dog’s weight” comes from? As a vet, I discuss weight with almost all my clients, and I like to think more than 5% of my colleagues do too. The majority of these conversations are about how their pet is over weight (I’d put it at about 70% of those talks) and if the dog has a good BCS, I talk about that too.
I certainly agree that weight management and trying to maintain a healthy weight is one of the best things pet owners can do to help their pets live a long, happy, and healthy life!
Jan says
I raw feed so I know the quality of the food is the same or better than what I eat. Still, I argue with my vet because my 10yr mastiff has become much thinner in the past year with no nutrition change and still regular 1-2 mile walks. She wants him to gain some weight. I think staying skinny is healthier with his arthritis.
lee says
MEGO—so funny!
Thanks for the review and for the link to the blogs; I look forward to reading both. Although, I am worried about Dan, considering recent research shows that high intensity exercise, including marathons, decreases longevity.
Very happy to hear Lady Godvia and Snow White are well and hope for continued wellness! Love the group picture!
Elayne says
Unfortunately our dogs are suffering from the effects of processed food just as much or more than humans. Certainly inbreeding and other breeding practices aren’t helping. I think the bigger issue here is quality and type of food (high carbohydrate, processed food) rather than weight itself. The weight is only one symptom of this type of diet, not necessarily the cause of the cancer.
Here’s an interesting lecture on research being done on ketogenic diets and cancer in dogs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vRr65_6dOE and a link to the place doing the research: http://www.ketopetsanctuary.com/ Some interesting and encouraging initial results.
As an aside if you’re interested in human nutrition the best book in my opinion is ‘Nutrition and Physical Degeneration’ by Weston A. Price: http://www.westonaprice.org/uncategorized/physical/
Gayle Watson says
I find it a conflict of interest when vets sell and sometimes push strongly, brands of dog food that help with one health challenge or another. Right now a brand whose first ( !! ) ingredient is corn. And with a lovely colourful poster showing why corn is good for your dog. So much money to be made on dog food, guess it is a good business choice. Not so great for our dogs.
Mireille says
Thank you for an interesting post. One thing that strikes me: in humans it is becoming more and more clear that not obesity but inactivity is a much more important risk factor for health. In fact, Trishia, people who are physically active and have some more body weight probably have a higher life expectancy than those who are (to) thin (such as myself 😉 ). I wonder how that is with dogs.
Anyway, a friend of mine did a training course in herbal medicine & dogs. She wrote her capstone paper about hip dysplasia and interviewed a number of veterinarians. Most vets stopped talking about the weight of the dogs because they could not motivate their clients to ket their dogs loose weight. Very sad and frustrating…
I am slightly frustrated myself about dog food: wanting to do it right, after loosing my last dog to gut cancer, I went for good kibble & raw meat (only raw meat meant dogs that were to thin) only to end up with a dog with bowel problems. Spot is now on prednisone & a diet of kibble & cooked meat based on a single protein (he has inflammatory bowel disease due to a food intolerance). Since they had such a varied diet, it was really difficult to find a protein source he had not had before.
Well, at least they are not overweight ;-). Lot’s of people ask me “aren’t they to thin” so getting tired of explaining that no, this is a proper weight, I just say “well, they are marathon runners in fur” and then most people understand 😉
Chloe De Segonzac says
I get very upset about the way Americans feed their dogs and cats. I walk dogs, do family beginning training, set up for arrival of a new pet, housesit, meds, transport. All that to say that I am aware of what pet owners feed their animals. And I would say those are caring folks who are spending Xtra money by hirering me so their animals are happier.
I would like to say that people don’t know any better and yes and no. Ignorance is not random.
I take time free of charge to teach people how to understand labels. I explain how meat meal is made I explain why the dog is pooping horse size poops I explain immune problems species appropriate diets I give the name of the best pet food shop in town one where the owner and manager and folks working there actually demand proof of ingredients before they sell product and these people know nutrition! ‘Meat’ on Broadway in Portland Or. ( I do not work for them or have personal friendships there, they r simply great) I also suggest my clients read Dr Karen Becker on line, what an extraordinary resource.
I think besides food served at meals, treats and rawhide type products are VERY problematic. Sugar chemicals bleach formelderhide, total crap in cat treats, lies about crunchy treats cleaning teeth. Cat litters full of chemical agents, toys dog put in their mouths coated with chems etc.
Nothing from China should be bought anymore. We simply cannot trust that country to sell us healthy products.
I do not push Raw food although when Well prepared, I believe it is the best food for dogs and cats.Prepared cooked diets are good too then high end can foods then high end kibble. Dehydrated raw diet is highly ranked, I give some as treats so that if I travel my dog is used to it but fresh is better.
I 100% believe that kibble should not be given to cats especially male cats. I pay extreme attention to the pets I housesit and cats do not drink enough water.
Kibble for crated dogs is also a problem. They are fed kibble then caged for hours often without adequate water to compensate for a dehydrated meal!
Kibble is also VERY caloric and the poor animal when put on a diet is left with ten Kibbles to eat or a food filled with non digestible stuff. Cats are almost all overweight and that’s why.
I have fed a raw food diet for the 45 years I have had dogs and cats. I gave large chunks of oven cooked chicken to my cats with a meal with vitamins raw liver raw heart and vitamixed vegs twice a week. Eggs milk what ever they seem to like.
These days I give my dog BC diverse raw meat bone heart liver everything grounded with 3 TBS vegs vitamixed (chard kale collards spinach celery carrot beet blueberries ginger water flax seed little cider vinegar) vitamins from a reputable co tsp of sunflower oil and fish oil. For breakfast she gets two chicken wings or lamb neck. In addition she eats healthy people food. Because people food IS dog food. Raw eggs from a friend.
I know it seems very complicated but it takes me less than 3 minutes. Baruch is twelve other than small growths she had removed non cancerous she is in perfect health. Clean teeth great heart you would never know she’s 12.
I also take issue with vets prescribing low protein food for cats with kidney or liver issues. I have zero proof but cats hate that food and really I don’t believe a carnivore fed carbs would get better.
Toni Cramer says
Jean Dodds and Diana Laverdure, Canine Nurtigenics. Functional cellular based research (largely the result of canine genome mapping) approach to canine nutrition. Very readable! With citations to the source research so you can follow-up with the “eye glazing” research if you’d like:-)
Ellen Barry says
I agree with Sharon Shea–when I got my rescue from the Humane Society, they included coupons for name brand dog food. I don’t eat junk, and I don’t eat processed foods, so when I looked at the label on the pet food, I was astonished to find lots of corn/soy derivatives and preservatives. I have been cooking for her ever since–and feeding raw meaty bones on occasion. Her teeth are so white everyone notices, and her bodyweight is perfect–lean and muscular. It’s not that much more expensive to feed her what I would eat, and since she is an important part of my life, I don’t begrudge a dime. Fat dogs and fat people abound in the US, and I don’t think it’s any mystery why diabetes, cancer, and inflammatory diseases are creating misery nationwide.
Louise Mann says
I choose food for my dogs by the guidelines of The Whole Dog Journal. They’ve been on top of this for years and their analysis is very well thought out. Each year they review both dry and canned foods.
Margaret McLaughlin says
My vet has mentioned that they rarely discuss weight issues with clients, since “they just get angry, & won’t listen anyway”. The have also told me–I hope they’re joking–that mine are the only animals in the practice that are not fat; pretty funny, because the same cannot be said of their human:) All of my own dogs, & all the guide dog puppies I have raised have scored on the lean end of 3 on the above scale–we are actually required to keep the puppies thin to help prevent ortho problems; there’s a lot of anecdotal evidence that excess weight as a puppy can be the determining factor. Not trying to highjack the thread here, it’s just what they tell us.
Also anecdotally, I have lost 1 dog to cancer; Lia, my first flat-coated retriever, a cancer-prone breed with a small gene pool. She was thin & muscular–an obedience & agility dog, but osteosarcoma got her anyway.
Sue says
Thanks for the post – as always really interesting.
I’ve spent a lot of the last year trying to figure out what to feed my dog and I’m finding it really frustrating that a lot of what you find on dog nutrition is heavily influenced by the author’s paradigm on nutrition and often very emotionally written. Everyone seems to find a) case studies and b) some sort of science to back up their own view point. As a non-expert I have to admit that I have been finding it fairly bamboozling…. One expert says raw is the way to go and you have to feed at least 80% meat, the next book suggests that too much meat can cause kidney failure and advises a home cooked diet of not too much meat with carbs, veg etc…. How does one know which of the ‘science’ quoted is correct??? Commercial food is not much better with the challenge of trying to look through the marketing jargon (‘clean eating’, ‘no additives’, ‘natural’…).
I’ve now gone for a compromise with tinned meat that includes minerals and a home cooked and always slightly changing addition of sweet potatoes, veg, a little fruit etc. – hoping for the best!
Another thought: Given that dogs now live so much longer than they ever used to, and given that these days more people than ever can afford vet care for their dogs, should we be so very surprised that more and more dogs get diagnosed with cancer?
Bruce says
Firstly, I am glad to hear the good news about Lady Godiva and Snow White. Best wishes for the other lambs, too!
We keep our dogs trim, mostly to reduce the stress on their joints. Years ago I read that you should be able to feel the dog’s ribs but not see them, and that has been our goal ever since. I agree that an athletic dog could easily be classified as “slightly too thin” while remaining gloriously healthy.
For always-hungry dogs that might otherwise scavenge, we have had good results replacing some of their kibble with vegetables. We used to supplement with canned green beans, but lately we are trying canned pumpkin.
For whatever reason we have been fortunate with our dogs’ longevity (average and median lifespan = 15 years, range = 12 to 19 years, n = 5, weight ranging from 20 to 70 pounds). I know – not statistically significant.
Maybe we are doing everything wrong and have just been lucky. In that case I will continue hoping for good luck with our dogs’ health. 🙂
C Baker says
Julie Hecht’s blog o the subject is great — https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/dog-spies/do-you-know-a-fat-dog-when-you-see-one/ and the video at end is even better for health consequences of obesity in dogs.
LisaW says
Isn’t what you feed your dog (and cat) right up there with religion and politics as a hot-button, maybe too hot to handle subject?
The nutritional aspects of this topic are informative and good to learn more about. It’s tough when we are feeding an animal that lives so closely with us but has such a different internal make-up. Hard to remember that there are certain things we shouldn’t share.
A few years ago, we switched to pre-made, no-grains, raw-with-meat-just-add-water food. Our dogs did lose a little weight, although they are both just about the right weight for their bodies. But given their physical issues, leaner is better. We had to switch recently to a different raw brand when our first brand was bought by a bigger dog food company. You could tell the difference right away.
Great news about Lady G and Snow White; makes me whistle a happy tune 🙂
Chris Wells says
I liked Gayle Watson’s comment! My last comment to my vet on that subject was, when was the last time you saw a dog grazing in a corn field!
Jenny H says
” The have also told me–I hope they’re joking–that mine are the only animals in the practice that are not fat; pretty funny, because the same cannot be said of their human:) ”
This is funny. My vet (and vet nurse) congratulated my on keeping my dogs trim, taut and terrific.
I replied “Yes, I am fussy about what I feed my dogs, but I can’t say the same for myself. But then with me it is genetic.”
I got that old fashioned look that fat people get when they say such things, so I continued. “My Dogs are German Shepherds and I am a Labrador!”
Laughs all round
Jenny H says
Sue, I feed my dogs “almost” entirely on home prepared food.
To be certain that their nutritional needs are met, I add some multivitamin/mineral mix prepared for dogs (Ferramo), some brewers yeast and, because their meat is mostly Kangaroo which is very lean, some rice bran oil (or similar), as well as some Gelatine. (I used to put in fish oil, but then decided that that was probably over kill.)
With a piece of Kangaroo tail daily and their raw meat supplemented either with a cooked grain/pulse mix or coked pumpkin, sweet potato, chopped parsley, or juiced raw greens they have all done well
Jenny H says
Anne, my experience with vets is that most do NOT talk about weight unless the dog is seriously obese.
I was nagging my daughter about one of her little dogs being overweight, so she asked her vet and he declared that the fat one was fine, but the trim taut and athletic younger dog was underweight 🙁
My friend has a Tervueren which I consider distinctly over weight — she recently had a very bad attack of pancreatitis, but the vet said NOTHING about her weight. But recommended some very expensive commercial feed for the dog 🙁
My friend was very very worried that the dog was not eating and was refusing the food.
I suggested her reducing the amount of food she was offering the dog, to two thirds of what she had been giving. And yes, now the dog is eating and had more energy to boot!
Jenny H says
PS I find for myself that gelatine offers more relief for osteoarthritis than fish oils do. And none of my dogs has had arthritis since I started adding the gelatine (which of course COULD be just happenstance).
We should, of course, both for ourselves and our dogs eating all the lovely gelatinous gristly parts of the meat, which the butcher now trim off 🙁 If you want a nice rich stew add gelatine — which I gather is the main source of the umami taste in foods 🙂
Frances says
I always seems to me that much of what is written on both human and pet nutrition is based on anecdote, guesswork, pseudo-science, emotion, and occasional extremely dubious interpretations of not very reliable research – picking your way through it is nigh on impossible. Even government advice, presumed to be based upon the best available scientific evidence, has swung around wildly over the last 40 years. Faced with all that, I do my best to follow the simplest advice – real food, not too much, mostly veg. Or for my dogs, mostly meat. And I am a bit of a computer nerd, so I started by settng up a spreadsheet to work out how much of what to feed each week to provide all the recommended nutrients and the right calorie levels, then adjusted the meals over tme as I learned what suited each animal (I know, MEGO!). I’m another who finds it easier to apply the rules consistently to the dogs than to myself, though – with the result that they are slender and very fit, and I’m…umm, not!
Debbie S. says
Even though I have had a veterinary nutritionist tell me “there is no good evidence” to support the belief that cancers like a carb-rich diet, I have switched my cancer survivor to a low carb dog food and keep him on the lean side. During the hunt for the right food, it quickly became evident that “grain-free” does not necessarily equate to low carb. Thanks for the link to the talk about ketogenic diets, Elayne.
HFR says
I haven’t read all the comments yet so pardon me if I’m repeating something that’s already been said. A few years ago there was a ruckus at my training club over one of the agility instructors telling an owner that his dog was overweight. He was so offended that he went to the board who then debated the issue and even had a club meeting about it. Even people I know (altho not necessarily friends, but fellow dog owners) don’t like it if I suggest their dog is overweight. I think part of it is that they see their dogs as an extension of themselves so it’s like calling them fat, but also I think they hear it as an attack on how well they are taking care of their dogs. Now I sometimes preface it by saying “Don’t take this personally, but…”
On the other hand, having been deeply entrenched in the world of agility for a long time, I can tell you that some people go overboard with the thin thing. I used to see some border collies that were so thin that their ribs were visible and their eyes slightly protruding. I think it became a sign of how serious you were about competing. People would brag about how little they fed their dogs. I realize this is an extreme, but it did exist and is yet another one of the reasons I left that world.
Probably the key is to feed quality and to watch your dog closely.
So happy to hear about LG and SW…I hope continued good news keeps coming your way!
Rebecca Rice says
While I am all for feeding a good wholesome diet, and not letting our dogs get fat, I do have to wonder about whether some of the reason for the increase in cancer in our dogs (and ourselves) is simply because they are living longer. Nature wants us to live long enough to reproduce. After that, our physical health doesn’t matter, and the body can start to break down in all sorts of ways. There is also the confounding evidence that early spay/neutering (or that doing it at all) also seems to increase the probability of some cancers. And then there is the fact that vet medicine has gotten better, so maybe we are now diagnosing and treating things where in the past the dog would have just been put down.
As to vets discussing weights, none of mine have ever mentioned it to me unless I asked them. I struggle with it, because I have a greyhound and a miniature rat terrier. The greyhound is easy to score, and I try to keep her last few ribs slightly visible. The rat terrier has a huge barrel chest, and I was trying to get her to the same “look” and not succeeding. The vet told me that due to that different build, she wouldn’t have that look without being underweight, but that I should be able to just feel her ribs. At a whopping 9.5 pounds, she is very easy to overfeed, and one thing I have to do is calculate the caloric densities of the different flavors of foods, since an extra 20 kibble really add up fast on her.
Mary Scholz says
Complete fail on Cody. Sorry 🙂
I wonder how did it happen that we have to actually “feed” our dogs? I mean, make the food available only at certain times of the day for a limited time? Is is normal? Is it a nice way to live and eat? To just have the food “dispensed” and “regulated”? At the time of somebody else’s choosing, not when you’re feeling hungry?
Would we like that?
For example, imagine a notice like this: “Starting today, due to crowding at the company canteen all employees with last name initials starting with A to O are required to take their lunch from 11:30 to 12.00, the rest from 12 to 12.30”.
Can you imagine living like that? And yet, we think that our dogs should be ok with it.
And does it feel good to repeatedly get fed some baked(if lucky!)/pressed kibble “for the best nutritional balance” as the dog food companies would make us believe?
Really? Would we wanna just swallow a bunch of pills in the morning instead of some eggs and bacon? I don’t want to give up my tagliatelle con funghi porcini for a pill. But we expect our dogs to do just that and be happy?
You have written so much (and very interestingly – thank you for that!) about dogs’ sense of smell. Isn’t a sense of smell, scents and aromas a big part of enjoying our food? Does diet and no-fat all-rational kibble satisfy that need in dogs?
I don’t know. I know that it doesn’t work for me. And me nose is about a gazillion times less sensitive than my dogs’…
Also, whenever possible, I want my dogs to have choices…Even if the choices are not too healthy like for example overeating or chewing on a bone… I’ve been really thin, I’ve been overweight. but at all times, I surely would have hated somebody to dictate to me what I should eat even when my BMI was sliding off the normal range 🙂
It often seems to me like we’re always micromanaging everything, including our dogs’ diets. I live in Germany so I know a lot (majority) of dogs who are not neutered. And the one thing I noticed is that they usually have a healthy approach to food. They eat whenever they are hungry and that’s all. They regulate their weight themselves. Well, ok, full disclosure 🙂 One of my dogs would sell me for a slice of pizza and another for a slice of goat cheese 🙂 Other than that, they just eat what they choose, when they choose and how much they want.
But considering everything, maybe the food isn’t such a problem but the fact that so many American dogs are neutered at an early age? I would love to find out.
em says
A quick comment on the lighter side- I was thinking about several commenters’ observation that it seems far easier to keep our dogs fit and trim than ourselves (guilty as charged. I suspect in my case it may have to do with our respective attitudes toward running (the dogs-Awesome!GoGoGo! Me- Why am I doing this and how soon can I stop?)
At any rate, I was reflecting today that one of the selfish perks of having large active dogs (and no willpower) is that splitting the last slice of chicken pot pie three ways does my waistline far more good than it does theirs harm.
Salads I always seem to get to myself 😉
Bruce says
@Mary Scholz – “Normal” for wolves, who typically hunt and kill large mammals, is long periods of hunger interrupted by occasional feasts. Dogs are not wolves, but they came from wolves, and a dog’s digestive system is still largely adapted to a wolf-like feast-or-famine diet (large stomach capacity, short intestinal tract, etc.).
I’m pretty sure our dogs are happier (and probably less susceptible to gastric torsion) with regular meals, supplemented by the occasional treasures that they scavenge on our walks. 🙂
I have a funny story about free-feeding and my first dog. The first day of free-feeding she ate a week’s worth of food. As soon as any space opened up in her bulging stomach, she immediately filled up with more food. She eventually leveled off at eating four days’ worth of food every day. I terminated the experiment after a week.
The person who recommended free feeding had a Labrador. Free-feeding worked with the Lab when it was younger, but as the dog got older and decreased activity it became quite overweight. My dog, on a controlled diet, remained trim and active throughout her 16-year life.
Free feeding may work for some dogs, but I will stick with controlling the amount of food our dogs eat.
Trisha says
Interesting discussion about free feeding versus regulated feeding times. Mary asked if one could imagine living on a set feeding schedule, and I found myself thinking: Yes, I can. I’m eating breakfast right now (sourdough toast with almond butter), which I eat at about the same time every day. I’m not actually hungry, but I know that if I don’t eat I’ll run out of fuel and things could get ugly. I’ll eat lunch at mid day. Then I’ll eat dinner tonight at a regular time. Are there downsides to this? Sure, but eating on a regular schedule (not decided by me but imposed by my culture and environment) doesn’t feel abusive, it feels comforting. I’ll also argue that it’s important not to romanticize living in the wild and never knowing when one is going to eat his or her next meal. I’m reminded of a philosophy student who was arguing that all domestic horses live a life of oppression and horror. She had seen a herd of wild horses out west and said “they looked so much more alive!” because of a fire in their eye. Yes, perhaps, but some of that intensity, I responded, was based on fear. I’ve talked to veterans of war who said that they “never felt more alive” than when in combat, and also that “they’d move heaven and earth to have their children never experience what they did” in combat.
Ah, sorry, getting a bit off tack here, feeling a bit philosophical this week.
Here’s my lighter note: Although my dogs are at what seems to be an ideal weight, I am a good 5-10 pounds over what I’d like to be. Not medically overweight, but let’s just say the six-pack is now a “one pack,” thanks only to my working out twice a week. My sheep, on the other hand, are fat. Just ask my sheep vet, and anyone else who works with sheep. And it’s totally my fault, I just can’t seem to adjust to the fact that I have a breed of sheep (Katahdin & Dorper) who doesn’t need to kind of food that the sheep I used to have need. Okay, fine, it’s really just because I just can’t resist giving them more hay when Lady Godiva bawls at me. Mea culpa.
Daniel Schulof says
Hi —
I’m the author of Dogs, Dog Food, and Dogma. I’m writing in response to Dr. McConnell’s thoughtful review in order to clarify a couple of issues raised therein, lest prospective readers get the wrong idea about my book.
The first is the suggestion (from Ms. Case as much as from Dr. McConnell) that the process by which dogs metabolize carbohydrates is not well-understood by the scientific community. As Dr. McConnell writes above, “we don’t yet have much research on how these foods are metabolized in dogs (as Linda Case reminds us), but it seems reasonable to speculate that high glycemic foods might have the same [fattening] effect on dogs.”
I do not believe that I am speculating when I describe the process by which dogs metabolize carbohydrates. I believe I am describing something that is a matter of scientific consensus. As the many studies cited in the endnotes to my book show, this process has been studied for several decades, to the point where the body of research supporting it is discussed at length in both the NRC’s “Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats” as well as all major veterinary nutrition textbooks, notably including the one edited by Ms. Case.
At a high level, that process can be described in four steps: (1) dietary carbohydrates are broken-down into glucose during digestion; (2) some carbs (“complex” ones) are broken-down more slowly than others (“simple” or “high-glycemic” ones); (3) the amount of the glucose in the bloodstream is the primary determinant of the amount of insulin secreted by the pancreas; i.e., high blood sugar begets heavy insulin secretion; (4) insulin’s job is to dispose of blood glucose, and one of the primary ways it does this job is by causing fat cells to absorb the substance; this is, literally, what it means for a dog to “get fatter.”
I’m open to being convinced otherwise, but I am not aware of any aspect of the foregoing process that is a matter of speculation. Indeed, the only novel thing that my book does with this topic is link it to the substantial body of evidence (at least six recent peer-reviewed studies) showing that dogs and cats fed high-carbohydrate diets in fact do get significantly fatter (or stay fatter) than those fed lower-carbohydrate diets, precisely as we should expect.
—
The second thing I wish to explain is that I don’t believe obesity is the sole cause of canine cancer. In Dr. McConnell words, DDD “focuses exclusively on fat as THE problem related to our dog’s health, and not on all the other factors, including environmental influences like herbicides and other chemicals like BPA in canned dog food. Not to mention the known influence of genetic risk factors.” (Emphasis hers.) But I don’t believe this is an entirely accurate characterization of my work.
It was not my intention to write a book arguing that fat is the only cause of cancer. As I explain at the very beginning of the book, body condition is clearly just one of many factors that influences whether a dog develops cancer:
“Recent research has indisputably shown that one’s genetic makeup can increase (sometimes dramatically) the likelihood of developing one or more cancers.”
And:
“[G]enes are just one of many factors that have been shown to influence cancer risk.”
However, as Dr. McConnell noted, mine is a book about canine obesity — its biological causes, its sociological causes, its consequences, what it actually means to be obese — and not one about canine cancer. The links between the two topics are discussed, but those topics fill only 10% of the book’s pages, at most. I believe that the broader topic of obesity is one that warrants a book-length examination because, unlike genetics, adiposity is a cancer risk factor that can be readily controlled by pet owners. If we want to minimize the likelihood that our dogs develop cancer, body condition is something we can control. Genetics is not.
There are, of course, other environmental factors (beyond nutrition) that influence cancer risk. Including plenty that we can control in much the same way that we can control body condition. If you blow cigarette smoke in your dog’s face every day, the animal is quite likely to develop lung cancer at some point.
But unlike many other environmental factors, (1) obesity is stunningly pervasive and (2) there is a particularly robust body of scientific evidence that helps us understand the links between obesity and cancer (both the statistical relationship and HOW one is related to the other at the cellular level).
Is it the case that an environmental “chemical soup” is also contributing to America’s canine cancer epidemic? Perhaps. But, while this sounds reasonable, at present the body of scientific evidence proving it to be so pales in comparison to the science linking obesity and cancer. (Indeed, while I’m pretty ignorant about BPA, I know that large swaths of the leading veterinary nutrition texts are devoted to obesity and I’m not aware of a single one that even mentions BPA.) And I wanted to tell readers what we actually know, not what sounds reasonable. America’s leading veterinary nutritionists have written things like obesity is “the number one chronic health concern in our canine companions.” But there are few, if any, peer-reviewed papers making a similarly strong case against the “chemical soup.” Until there are, that remains largely a reasonable-sounding hypothesis.
(Moreover, I’m not so sure that the case again BPA sounds all that reasonable in the first instance. If BPA from canned dog foods is playing such a significant role in fueling America’s canine cancer epidemic, how come cancer is the leading cause of death among dogs in America today while fewer than 10% of dog-owners feed their pets any kind of canned food product? A topic for another day.)
I hope this helps to clarify some of what I’ve written. I very much welcome further debate on these matters (and any other scientific issues raised by my book). Between this blog, my blog, and Ms. Case’s blog, we have ample resources for respectful, professional public debate. And, given the stakes, it is a debate certainly worth having.
Best regards,
Daniel
Rebecca Rice says
On the free-feeding vs non… first, yes, anyone who works on an assembly line knows very well what it’s like to eat on a schedule. My first summer job was working concessions at a public attraction, and we had to take lunch between 10-11:30, so that the line was fully staffed at the lunch rush. You adjust, and start getting hungry at those times. The company that I currently work at has the manufacturing lines eat at the same time, because it’s not efficient to have people wander off to eat when they are hungry and leave the workers downstream of them waiting for their work..
As to making mealtimes more fun, I think that getting rid of the bowl goes a long way. My little dog gets her food thrown on the floor (in the winter) or out in the grass (in the summer), and has a great time hunting down each and every kibble. I keep my grass long, and watching her scent along and then plunge her nose down into the grass, there is no doubt in my mind that she can definitely smell the kibble and finds it well worth hunting for. I do this to slow down her eating, and keep her from pestering the big dog while she eats.
And let me join the ranks of the “if only I had an owner regulating my meals, I’d be much skinnier” group! Although I have looked into something along those lines: the companies that promise “pay us X, and we will deliver Y number of meals to your door”, either ready to just heat and eat, or that you can cook up yourself. Haven’t actually tried any yet, due to price and the fact that I have very strong aversions to some foods, and am reluctant to lose that level of control.
LisaW says
Our past vet (he retired several years ago) used to make people cry because he was so harsh about their dogs being overweight. He had a very gruff people-style, but he would get down on the floor with the animals and squeak to them. And he had the best on-the-spot diagnostic talent I’ve ever seen. Luckily, we were never the brunt of his chastising, but it was a very serious issue for him. He would say that people were literally killing their animals with kindness.
Our queen-of-dogs, Sadie, was free fed, and she ate what she wanted when she wanted and was a good weight, and she was a Golden Retriever. (I have a feeling the chart measurements of thin, healthy, overweight have changed over the past decades). She was also the first and last free-fed dog we have had. The quality of our dog’s food has certainly increased along with the management of how and when we feed them.
My dogs are definitely thinner than I am, but they didn’t go through menopause, quit smoking, and have surgery all at the same time (but I guess even if they had, they’d still be thinner 🙂
This is the first time this week that I have been able to clear my mind enough to write online about something besides our election. Nice to reminisce about our grumpy vet and our amazing old girl. Thanks for that.
Katie R says
Thanks, Daniel, for commenting in this thread, especially to state that how dogs break down carbs is settled science. (Any humans interested in the topic as it relates to human metabolism, I recommend Gary Taubes’ “Good Calories, Bad Calories.”) Maybe your next book can explore what the scientific research tells us about the canine gut biome and canine obesity? (If you discuss it in your book, great, I haven’t read it YET.) Have you heard about any research on the effects of feeding times on dog circadian rhythms? Dr. Satchin Panda, Ph.D., a researcher at the Salk Institute of Biological Studies, is doing fascinating work re human circadian rhythms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-R-eqJDQ2nU.
Elayne, thanks also for mentioning keto. Weston A Price was ahead of his time. I’ll definitely check out your links!
I do not free feed my dogs because if I did, my golden mix would over indulge. I think my border collie mix would stop over-indulging eventually. I’m also unprepared for the volume of poop free feeding would generate. It accumulates too fast as it is, lol.
I would like to prepare my dogs’ meals and I have a question for everyone out there who cooks (or raw-feeds) for their dogs: how do the macros break down? As a percentage of daily or weekly meals, how much is protein, how much is fat and how much is carbs (veg, tubers, fruit; no grains)? What about the micronutrients, the vitamins and minerals? How much of what do they need? I struggle to get reliable information on this.
I’ve lost a number of dogs to cancer. It appears to have struck randomly. Some were young, some were middle-aged, none old, all were pretty active and lean as they were my regular running buddies. The one thing they had in common was a commercial diet (yes, the best kibble according to Whole Dog Journal but still highly processed food). This doesn’t prove cause but it motivates me to get my current dog buddies off the stuff.
Trisha says
Thanks Daniel for adding your voice to the comments. I love it when authors add their thought to our discussion, just makes it richer than ever. I do agree with you absolutely that veterinarians have been warning about the health risks of obesity for a long time. But I would add that there is also extensive information about health risks associated with the “chemical soup” mentioned earlier. I asked in the blog about BPA, because it’s a relatively new concern, and there’s no doubt that we need more research on it. However, here’s from the National Institute of Health: “Therefore, BPA has been shown to play a role in the pathogenesis of several endocrine disorders including female and male infertility, precocious puberty, hormone dependent tumors such as breast and prostate cancer and several metabolic disorders including polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).” That’s why it’s been banned in food containers for infants. Because this is new, it may well turn out that these concerns aren’t valid for something like canned dog food, but it certainly bears watching. And the fact that we know several herbicides and pesticides can be risk factors for cancer also asks for our attention, especially for our dogs who have shorter lives, and are far more likely to inhale or absorb chemicals on the ground. (Just ask the world’s frogs how they are doing after atrazine became a world-wide addition to the environment.)
Daniel Schulof says
Katie R — You’ll be interested to know that Gary personally contributed quite a bit to DDD. He features prominently in the book. As interested as I am in the emerging research on the influence of the gut biome (and to a lesser extent circadian rhythms) on obesity, neither is discussed in my book. I’m just not aware of much canine-specific research on either topic.
Patricia — Thanks for welcoming my comment and for putting some additional gloss on your perspectives about my book. I completely agree that it is worthwhile to conduct extensive research into any toxic substance that is present in foodstuffs or in the environment more broadly. And, of course, I agree with you that BPA and many other common chemicals are toxic to certain organisms at certain levels. I’m just not aware of any persuasive evidence that they cause meaningful harm to dogs at the levels currently permitted by the FDA. (Here’s the FDA’s statement on the matter: “FDA has performed extensive research and reviewed hundreds of studies about BPA’s safety. We reassure consumers that current approved uses of BPA in food containers and packaging are safe.”). That said, I don’t purport to be an expert on the matter either. I’d certainly be interested to read a peer-reviewed argument as to how any combination of such substances is causing harm to the pet population (to influence my own pet care decisions, if nothing else!). If you come across one, I’ll definitely alert my blog readers to it. But, personally, I haven’t been compelled by anything I’ve yet read. That’s not to say that environmental chemicals aren’t harming our pets, just that I’m not aware of enough evidence to discuss the topic directly in my book.
Thanks again for permitting discussion on this platform. Best regards, Daniel