Beef up client compliance and encourage weight loss in obese pets

You see it every day—the overweight pug waddling into the clinic or the chubby cat that’s laid out in the carrier. It’s a problem we’ve been struggling with for years, despite our best efforts to educate and reform our clients.

But a new initiative to encourage client compliance and promote weight loss in obese pets—one that boasts an extra incentive for clients themselves—has recently emerged. Hill’s Pet Nutrition has partnered with Alison Sweeney, the host of NBC’s “The Biggest Loser,” to kick off the Million Pound Pledge—a nationwide challenge designed for pet owners to help their pets lose the excess weight and live a healthier lifestyle.

Pet owners who take the pledge can participate in a live video chat session with Alison Sweeney on March 20 and enter for the chance to meet her at “The Biggest Loser” live finale in May. More information about taking the pledge—as well as pet weight loss tips and tools for your clients—can be found on www.PetFit.com.

Even if your clinic doesn’t promote this particular event, brainstorm with your team about ways you can battle pet obesity and increase client compliance on a smaller scale. What sort of weight loss challenge could your practice create? Could you create a scoreboard in your practice with the names and goal weights of participating pets and post the results? How about offering clients an incentive—maybe a grooming service in your hospital or tickets for an event in the community—for helping their pet reach a weight loss milestone? The possibilities are endless, but the results could be huge—in a good way.