Sunday, January 07, 2007

New Diet Pill for Dogs! (Results Not Typical.)

Last week the Federal Trade Commission fined four major diet pill companies $25 million for making false claims. No really. There is no pill that turns your body into a fat burning furnace, melts away fat and creates rippling muscles without the bother of diet and exercise. Get out! You cry. Read the small print at the bottom of any diet-scheme ad containing testimonials. It says "Results Not Typical." No duh Sherlock.
(Oh the funny thing - the pills will continue to be sold. Just some of the wording in ads will be changed. I don't think there will be much of a decrease in sales, either.)




Also in the news last week: FDA approves a diet pill for fat dogs.
Things that make you go hmmmm.
Apparently it makes the dog feel bloated and cuts fat absorption. Also, dogs treated with the drug may suffer from vomiting, loose stools, diarrhea and lethargy, the FDA said.
It's not approved for humans and your vet has to prescribe it. How reassuring.

Fat pets.
How does this happen? I had a dog get a bit fat once. I quit feeding pellets, started feeding raw and got a bit overenthusiastic with food amounts because the dogs LOVED their new food. One gained 10lbs. I started feeding her less (we already walked and hiked many miles a week) and she lost the weight. Easy peasy.
Since humans control how much, and what type of food a pet gets, it's really easy to regulate their diet and maintain healthy weight. Absent a medical condition of some sort this is a no brainer.
And, if your dog is too fat you are not getting enough exercise. Ha! That's probably quite true.
And, the owners of that poor dog pictured should be charged with abuse. I think owners of fat children should be penalised too, for that matter.

Sharpen critical thinking.
Is there a legal-minded person out there who can explain to me just why the government should fine advertisers for lying? Isn't ALL advertising fudging the truth to one extent or nother? If advertisers were allowed to say whatever they wanted, then maybe people would stop thinking "if it's in print it must be true because otherwise they wouldn't be allowed to say it" and would actually start to use a little common sense. A grassroots common sense movement would gain momentum. Power to the people! I feel badly that so many people are so easily hoodwinked and parted from their money. But that's their fault, isn't it? Gambling is legal in most states; I don't see much of a difference.
Results are not typical. :)

10 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I saw this on the news.

How about walking your dog? I promise it's really easy. And good for you too.

Btw, I LOVE the new vaccine for periodontal disease too. Nothing like lifting your dogs lips and checking on their teeth once in awhile.

I wonder if they'll be some sort of pill or vaccine soon for nail trims?

Blech.

2:12 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

My boyfriend just emailed that info to me about the government approved diet pills for dogs and I was going to do a post about it. Now I will do the post and reference this post. Good job, Carina, really like this post.

11:38 AM  
Blogger Lauren said...

The owner of that dog needs to have their right to own animals revoked. That is simply criminal!!

I know so may people that buy into all those weight-loss products. Then they're pissed when they don't lose 20 lbs. in two weeks. They just don't get it (thus, the comment I left on your "Dolly" post).

I was in Toronto a couple of years ago for almost a week. The second day, I realized there were very few obese people on the streets or in the shops, compared to here in Motown. I also realized how much smaller food portions were in the restaurants. When I eat out here, I usually ask for 1/2 portions and they look at me like I'm crazy.

A dear friend of mine has lost 80 lbs. in the last 15 months because she finally listened to me and her Doctor. She looks great and feels 10 years younger. She still wants to lose another 20.

The FDA has taken a "hands-off" position to all those claims, because they were OTC products. It was refreshing to see them actually step up and do something for a change.

HUGGSS!!

1:08 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

That is such a sad dog. Fat people have fat dogs and fat children possibly because they all eat too much and don't exercise enough. Ya think?

The fat diet pills for dogs won't work for people, I read. I could imagine someone borrowing a fat dog and taking it in for doggie diet pills.

What concerns me is the long range effects these pills might have on dogs.

2:44 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Heck, my dogs are running around like hyper-active kids. I don't think I could manage to feed them enough to look like that pic! (One of the advantages of rural living!)

3:25 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Carina, you get the most interesting spammers :)

Our dogs have lost weight very easily since we changed their diets to something other than kibble. The two small dogs get no kibble at all, just "premium" canned food, and they've both slimmed down dramatically without seeming hungry. The big dogs still get some kibble, as well as some raw food, and they're also slim and trim. They were never more than 5 pounds overweight or so, but I like to keep them lean because it helps with arthritis. My conclusion regarding our dogs and our cats is that kibble seems to contribute to obesity, even the "low fat" stuff.

As for diet pills, even prescription ones, I don't think most people understand how they work. Some are just stimulants, some are anti-depressants to help with willpower, and just one truly acts against fat. There just aren't any miracle cures (yet).

3:00 AM  
Blogger Behind Blue Eyes said...

Your right, everyone wants to get the outcome without having to work for it. I work with several people who are overweight and they seem to have this helpless attitude about it and about getting older as well.(both about 50.) They seem to feel that it is all something that just happens to you and that there is nothing that you can do about it. The one guy is morbidly obese and he's talking about how he wants to go on a vacation to Europe now before he gets too old. It's like talking to someone from another planet. I just don't relate to it. Everyone isn't meant to be thin, but no-one is meant to be morbidly obese and you can do something about it..ruling out thyroid problems of course. But taking herbs would be much easier I suppose. I actually feel sorry for them. (I'm such a damn bleeding-heart! I feel sorry for everyone!)

10:41 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You've got spammers!

You better switch your comments to have that little code a person has to enter before they can post comments! (I'm real technical today.)

Btw, here is a link to an article on that periodontal vaccine...

http://www.merrimackvet.com/dent2.htm#vax

But rush out and get your pets vaccinated today!

(I hope you recognize the sarcasm.)

:)

9:04 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I meant to say better rush out, not but rush - cuz that makes no sense.

Where is my coffeeeeeeeeeee?

:)

9:05 AM  
Blogger Tabor said...

Happy belated birthday to Cooper...we have one of the same digits in our birthdays!

12:26 PM  

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