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Dogs Pile on Weight Over Christmas

Fri, 09 Jan 2009

New research from AA Pet Insurance has revealed that the number of dog owners who consider their pets to be overweight nearly doubled over Christmas. With 60 per cent of dog owners admitting to giving their animals festive treats, 14 per cent of pet owners said their cats or dogs were now overweight. That figure adds to the 17 per cent of owners who concede their pets were already overweight prior to the festive season. Worryingly, a fifth of British pet owners said they didn’t know treats, such as dark chocolate, could be harmful to their pets, whilst less than a third knew nuts could harm their animals.

Karen Jakes, product manager of AA Insurance comments, said, 'Whilst it may seem kind to include your family pet in the celebrations, just like humans, overweight pets can lead to health problems. We receive many claims from owners with pet health issues that are directly connected to weight gain, all of which will be painful for your pet. It is important to be a responsible pet owner and extreme obesity cases may lead to pet insurance policies to be invalidated. Vets also find themselves dealing with chocolate poisoning over Christmas time and we are keen to make sure that owners understand that cats and dogs have different digestive systems.’
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