Clinic helps dogs fight puppy fat
Humans have spent billions of dollars in the battle against the bulge and now there's extra help at hand to assist man's best friend fight the flab.
A clinic on the Central Coast is using hydrotherapy to turn portly pooches into trim, taut, terrific terriers.
Ten kilograms overweight, seven-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Buddy is slightly wobbly on his feet, affecting his legs and life expectancy.
Clinic staff get Buddy run on an aqua treadmill to help rehabilitate his leg after an operation.
"A lot of dogs just take the easy route, they prefer to lie in a corner and not use that leg,” Vet Michael Jones said.
As a guide to our weight, humans have the Body Mass Index or BMI.
For these dogs, a body score of zero to five is used in a similar way.
Buddy arrived at the clinic with a worrying score of five but is now doing alright on the program, now with a lower score of four.
