Food Isn’t Love! How Bonding Through Food Results In Obesity, Elevated Disease Risk, & Fewer Healthy Years With Your Pet

A must-read for anyone who uses treats to bond with their pet!

Food isn’t love.

Many of us grew up in households where love was expressed through food.

Our mothers and grandmothers showed us they cared by spreading the table with cultural dishes and family recipes, and in return, we showed them we loved them by clearing our plates. Now, as pet parents ourselves, many of us project this language of love onto our pets.

In a 2023 survey conducted by Purina, pet owners confirmed how significant food was in their relationship with their dog:

• 75% of surveyed owners agreed they feel guilty when their dogs appear hungry

• 67% agreed food is a primary source of their dog's happiness

• 67% agreed they bond with their dog by feeding him/her treats and don't want to lose that bond

• 54% agreed they feed their dog more food, table scraps, or treats when their pet begs for them

Food is a love language, but when it comes to loving our pets, food isn’t the language we should be using.

Overfeeding your pet can result in serious health consequences. Worldwide, studies estimate that upwards of 60% of all dogs and cats today are overweight or obese. This is a huge issue — because animals in excess body condition are at risk for a whole laundry list of health problems:

• Arthritis and joint pain

• Type 2 diabetes

• Heart disease

• Reduced exercise endurance and stamina

• Respiratory (breathing) problems

• Increased anesthetic and surgical risks

• Fatty liver and reduced liver function

• Bladder problems

• Cancer

• The list goes on!

Sadly, most people don’t even realize they’re overfeeding their pet.

They come to me with an overweight pet and they’re confused or concerned because their pet “doesn’t eat that much.” But in reality, they’re eating more than enough. Our pets are much smaller than we are, and if they’re not a sport or working animal, their little bodies don’t need that much energy.

At the most basic level: body weight is just Energy In - Energy Out.

If your pet is overweight, they are consuming more energy than their body needs at their current activity level.

It’s that simple.

Most commercial diets have guidelines for feeding on the back of the label, but these are just guidelines, and may not reflect the needs of your individual pet. Each animal has different energy requirements, and these requirements also change with age and lifestyle. What you fed them 5 years ago may not be what they need now (and likely isn’t). The feeding guidelines also don’t take into account any treats or supplementary feed you might be offering.

Even if you’re just offering a few treats per week, you may not realize how calorically dense those treats are.

Take this example:

A golfball-sized serving of ice cream contains ~73 calories. If you gave your 10 kg (20 pound) Beagle a ¼ cup serving of ice cream as a treat once per week, that translates to a ~0.5 kg (1 pound) increase in body weight per year. That’s the equivalent of about 9 pounds for the average adult man.

Now let’s do a similar exercise for cats:

A ¼ cup serving of whole milk contains ~38 calories. If you give your 5 kg (10 pound) cat ¼ cup of whole milk once a week for a year, that would translate to just over ½ pound per year of additional body weight. That’s the equivalent of about 7 pounds for the average adult woman.

As you can see, overloading our pets calorically is very easy to do.

But if you love your pet, you want them to live a long and healthy life. And if you want them to live a long and healthy life, offering them extra treats is the last thing you should do.

In a study published in 2002, researchers followed a group of labradors throughout the course of their lives. Half of the dogs were free-fed, and the other half were feed-restricted (fed 25% less than their full-fed siblings). The results showed that the dogs which were feed-restricted (or fed to an ideal body condition) enjoyed significantly extended healthy years (an average of 1.8 years more compared to their full-fed siblings).

This isn’t to say that you have to stop giving your pet treats altogether — but you should do so sparingly. As a general rule of thumb, treats should comprise no more than 10% of your pets total caloric intake.

Don’t default to food when your pet is looking for love and attention.

Instead:

• Play a game

• Go for a walk (cats can walk outside on harnesses too!)

• Teach them something new

• Or just be present with them! Put away your phone, talk to them, make eye contact, and have a cuddle

We need to dismantle the ideology that food is love.

In doing so, we’ll ensure that our pets live longer, happier, healthier lives.

Who wouldn’t want that?

Dr. Sami

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