Do you ever share your snack with your dog?  You and your dog probably share a love of food and you have a lot in common. You play together. You eat and relax together. And if you aren’t careful about how much you eat and relax, you both might pack on unwanted weight together – excess fat that can be tough to shed.

Canine obesity is an important – and very common – medical condition with serious health implications. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has estimated that there are 41.2 million pet dogs in the United States. Other sources estimate 40 percent of those dogs, approximately 17 million, are overweight or obese.

Exactly how that extra weight is shed can be just as important to your dog’s health as the weight reduction itself. Of course, the first step is identifying the problem.

According to a 2006 study by Pfizer Animal Health, 47 percent of veterinarians felt their canine patients were obese, while only 17 percent of dog owners agreed. Why the difference? It could be denial or the difficulty owners have in recognizing when their dogs are overweight.

Pfizer has designed an easy online questionnaire called the Body Assessment Rating  for Canines (BARC) to help you determine if your pet is overweight.

What is your dog’s BARC score?