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Given all the news about America's obesity epidemic, you would think everyone is pretty much aware of the issues associated with being overweight and is able to assess body weight pretty well. But a study by the University of Michigan found a perception problem when it comes to obesity.

Of parents with an obese child between the ages of 6 and 11, 43 percent said their child was about the right weight, 37 percent said their child was slightly overweight and only 13 percent admitted their child was very overweight.

Pet parents are no different, it turns out. More than half of all pets are obese or overweight, according to the 2010 National Pet Obesity Awareness Day Study conducted by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention (Calabash, N.C.). Yet 75 percent of pet owners consider their pet to be an ideal body weight, and only 19 percent consider their pet to be heavy, according to the 2010 National Pet Health Study conducted by the research arm of Banfield Pet Hospital (Portland, Ore.)

Dr. Ernie Ward, author of Chow Hounds.

Why Our Dogs are Getting Fatter.

A Vet's Plan for Saving Their Lives, calls this the fat gap. We've begun to normalize excess weight when we look at a normal sized, 75-pound golden retriever and think it's too skinny. The fat gap is very dangerous, because as we begin to expect a little excess weight as being normal and healthy, we're putting our overweight pets at risk of health problems.

The risks associated with obesity in pets mimic those of humans, heart and respiratory disease, osteoarthritis, diabetes, cruciate ligament injury and high blood pressure. But for pets, especially the small ones, a few extra pounds can be much more dangerous than a little weight is on us. What I really hate about excess weight is you don't see the damage until it's too late.

Weight management products are being taken much more seriously than ever, in part because the APOP has been collecting data every year, publicizing it and bringing attention to the puplic.

Specialized Diets

When it comes to weight loss programs for pets, it's not as simple as just feeding less of the same food. Dogs have stretch receptors in their stomach that send signals to the brain telling them they're full. If you cut the amount of food your dog gets, the dog will always think he's hungry and then the dog will beg, which leads to owners giving more treats. For cats it's a little different. Cats have a natural ability to be very efficient with the amount of calories they need. If their food is restricted, their energy requirements go down, so they can get by on less food without really losing weight. This is where special diets come into play. For many pet owners looking to manage their dog's or cat's weight, it's better to switch to a new food specifically designed for weight loss rather than reduce the amount fed of the regular diet and hope the dog gets used to feeling hungry all the time. For example, Natura's Evo Weight Management dry dog and cat food contains fewer calories per cup than its regular adult product, but is boosted with added proteins, vitamins and minerals to provide the appropriate amount of nutrition. The high protein, low carbohydrate weight management line, developed in 2009, also contains L-carnitine, an amino acid that helps with metabolizing fat. There are studies that show foods high in protein can help with fulness, which is an important factor in weight management for pets so the dog isn't feeling hungry all the time.

Two recipes from WellPet (Tewksbury,Mass.)—SuperSMix Healthy Weight and the brand new Small Breed Healthy Weight are formulated to meet the specific needs of less active or overweight dogs. They contain less fat and calories than regular recipes, and increased levels of fiber to satisfy hunger between meals. In addition, both diets contain guaranteed levels of glucosamine and chondroitin to support hips and joints areas of the body that typically receive extra pressure when pets are overweight. Once pets have achieved their weight loss goals, pet owners can then feed according to a weight management program. The reduced fat and calories in the recipe will continue to help the pet during the weight management program and to help encourage a healthy body mass, both recipes feature quality animal protein sources such as deboned chicken or turkey and chicken meal.

In addition to foods focused on weight management, dehydrated diets also can help dogs with their weight. Many pets on whole food diets achieve their ideal weight and for those who need a little extra help shedding pounds, foods can be fed with less dehydrated mix and more water which makes the dog or cat feed full while consuming less calories.

Weight Loss Supplements

Supplements are another way to help curb a pet's calorie intake. The ingredients in Wellpet's Super5Mix and Healty Weight and brand new Small Breed Healty Weight help a pet feel full, allowing owners to feed less food while still providing essential nutrients. Some supplements also include ingredients that speed weight loss. For example, Get Naked Weight Management for Dogs, a liquid supplement from Natural Polymer International Corp. (Piano, Texas), includes a white kidney bean extract as a carbohydrate blocker, L-carnitine to help the body burn fat, a caffeine free green tea extract with polyphenols to help boost the immune system and soluble fibers to slow the breakdown of carbohydrates. It helps give the dog a full feeling but burns calories at the same time. DogSlim from PetAg Inc. (Hampshire, 111.) helps trim excess pounds with a low calorie, high fiber formula containing added vitamins and minerals. The powder can be mixed with water to create a nutritionally balanced liquid meal or added as a top dress to food. DogSlim can substitute 25 percent of a dogs meal.

For felines, PetAg makes CatSlim. The supplement meets the Association of American Feed Control Officials requirements for an adult maintenance diet and is designed as an alternative to regular feedings. It seems to work best with dogs when added to food and with cats as a drink.

Fruitables Pumpkin SuperBlend. Weight Loss Supplement from Vetscience (Dallas), introduced at the end of 2010, helps overweight pets feel full even when they are fed only 2/3 of the typical daily diet. The supplement was proven to help dogs lose 2 percent of body weight per week in clinical research studies conducted by Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine, according to the company. The Fruitables SuperBlend supplement is made with more than 90 percent pumpkin puree, with spinach for fiber, tomato and blueberry pomace for more fiber and antioxidants, and oatmeal as another fiber source. It also includes choline chloride, which works with food to maintain a complete and balanced diet. The products also contain a B vitamin supplement to aid in nutrient absorption and help dogs metabolize taurine from their food. Be on the lookout soon for a new sweet potato version of the supplement.

Guilt Free Treats

When I design a weight loss plan, I give the pet owner a treat allotment. A typical guideline is that treats should provide no more than 10 percent of the calories for that day. Plenty of new treats on the market will appeal to pet owners seeking guilt free goodies.

For example, PetAg makes a treat version of its DogSlim supplement that also is high in fiber and low in fat and calories. DogSlim treats come in three bite sized varieties made with ingredients such as pumpkin, sweet potato, cranberries, carrots and apples so they are tasty yet still healthy.

CatSlim jerky treats are made with low fat meats such as chicken and catfish.

Get Naked treats and dental chews from NPIC are made with the same ingredients as the Get Naked supplement, but have a higher fiber content to reduce the number of calories. The dental sticks have more L-carnitine.

Natura's Evo Wild Cravings Weight Management Dog and Cat Treats are formulated much like its weight management diet, made with high quality proteins, peas for fiber and L-carnitine to aid with metabolism. The dog treats have 13.6 calories per treat and the cat treats contain 1.4 calories per treat.

Four-Star Treats, 1-calorie treats in three flavors from Fromm Family Foods Inc. (Mequon, Wis.), make ideal training treats. Low-calorie treats are perfect because you always want to give your dog lots of love and admiration, and with these, giving them one to two or even 10 throughout the day the animal won't get off the weight loss program.

There are even treats that have less than one calorie each. Pecks, from The Honest Kitchen, are natural, handmade dog training treats that contain just 0.61 calories each. The bite sized cookies, available in buffalo and blueberry, also are ideal for toy and small breeds.

Raw, freeze-dried meat treats provide additional healthy options. For example, Stella & Chewy's L.L.C. (Muskego, Wis.) offers Carnivore Crunch, formed treats made with beef, chicken or duck, and Carnivore Kisses, diced treats made with Angus beef, bison, chicken, duck or wild Alaskan salmon. Because they're all meat, with no added ingredients, a dog's body absorbs the product and doesn't put on extra weight.

Finally, treats from Wildside Pet Products (Seattle) feature meats that are naturally low in fat such as lobster, lamb and kangaroo. All of the treats contain 2 or fewer calories per treat. It's critical that pet owners offer their pets a variety of different proteins, both in the food they feed and in the treats that help balance their diets. Even pet owners with healthy sized pets may seek out nutritional, low calorie treats to feed their pets.