Animal trainer Travis Brorsen isn’t here to fat-shame your pets. After all, it’s not their fault if they’re given too many treats.
“The pets aren’t typically the problem, it’s the owners — it’s the humans,” says Brorsen, the host of Animal Planet’s “My Big Fat Pet Makeover,” which premiered Saturday. “They don’t know any better.”
Each hourlong episode of the show follows three overweight dogs and cats on their journeys to slim down to better health. The culprit for the weight gain, says Brorsen, is almost always enabling owners who overfeed their pets while not exercising them enough.
“A lot of humans look at their pets and say, ‘Oh my gosh, they’re so hungry,’” Brorsen, 38, says of the puppy-dog eyes that plague loving pet parents. “The majority of the time, that look the pets are giving them is: ‘Do something with me. Engage me, play with me.’”
Brorsen is the founder of Greatest American Dog Trainers in Queens, where he provides one-on-one training and also leads group DogFit classes.
Animals are drawn to the fit Oklahoma native, thanks to the paws-itive reinforcement he doles out. But behind Brorsen’s smiles and snuggling is a serious mission to help fat pets get healthy.
The statistics for overweight pets are almost as startling as those of America’s obesity epidemic: 59 percent of cats and 54 percent of dogs are overweight, according to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention.
This can affect everything from the way they walk to how long they’ll live.
“Being overweight is affecting them 24 hours a day, whether it’s their not being able to breathe, not being able to stand [or] joint issues, all of which can [lead to] added medical issues such as high blood pressure, diabetes and heart failure,” Brorsen says. “It affects them on a daily basis — not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well.”
Among the reasons animals start to tip the scales is a lack of nutrition education for the ones in control of their diets: Owners often feed their pets too much food because they think they’re following the directions on the pet-food bag.
Often the difference between a heaping cup of food and a level cup can make a big difference for dogs’ smaller bodies, Brorsen says.
He also insists that treats don’t have to be high in calories to be a reward, as long as the owner can generate enough excitement about them.
“At the end of the day, if the owner has the right bond with the pet, we can make green beans seem like cherry pie,” Brorsen says.
A neuroscientist at Emory University studying the pleasure center of dogs brains recently found that dogs like praise just as much as they like food.
As with pets’ human counterparts, exercise is key to a weight-loss regimen. But in New York City, especially, owners often have trouble finding time to take their dogs on walks that get their heart rates going, Brorsen says. More often, they’ll pop out for a quick walk where the main purpose is to get the pup to pee.
And, unlike suburban pets, New York animals in small apartments — especially cats — lack outdoor stimulation that keeps them fit.
“Cats are prey animals,” Brorsen says. “When they lived in the wild they would hunt, and they still have that yearning. Cat toys like the ones with the feather on the end can give them the feeling [that] they’re trying to catch that bird.”
On “My Big Fat Pet Makeover,” which airs Saturdays at 10 p.m., Brorsen will be visiting animals all over the country, working with their owners to help them drop the pounds.
Here, he consults with several local pet owners about the simple behaviors they can change to get their fat pets into shape. Just remember to always contact a veterinarian before putting Fido and friends on a diet.
Dori, 9, New Jersey, 21 pounds
This pug shares a home with three other dogs, and often struggles to keep up with her fellow pooches on walks and at feeding time. “The Chihuahua, Daisy, is very dominant, and doesn’t always let [Dori] eat,” her owner Julie Richman, 50, says. This causes Richman to put down extra food, and when Dori finally gets her opportunity to eat she chows down on everything in sight.
Goal: Brorsen points out that “there’s a lot of extra weight” on Dori’s hips, which might be the cause of Dori’s strange, lopsided gait. Richman’s vet suggests that Dori drop down to 18 pounds.
Advice: Dori needs some individual attention, Brorsen says. “Separate her from the rest of the pack and see if she eats. If she doesn’t after five minutes, she’s probably not hungry,” he says, adding that Richman can try feeding her whatever she didn’t eat an hour later. Dori could probably use her own walk, too, so that she can exercise at her own pace and not struggle to keep up with the other dogs.
Progress report: Richman has had a lot of success separating Dori from the rest of the dogs. “She knows that there’s no one else in the room, so she doesn’t feel like she has to eat as much as she can,” she says.
Big Sexy Jeeves, 9, White Plains, 15 pounds
This rotund gray British shorthair with a perpetual frown and (as of press time) 614 followers on Instagram earned his nickname after he started putting on the pounds, says owner Mia Pellicciari, 36. “He constantly meows next to his food cabinet at all hours of the day,” Pellicciari says. “It gets pretty annoying.”
Goal: Big Sexy Jeeves’ vet suggests he lose two pounds. Although Big Sexy is charmingly cuddly at his current size, he sometimes struggles to fit into his litter box. Plus, it’s affecting his health. “When he gets sick, the doctors can’t feel for his organs,” Pellicciari says of recent trips to the vet.
Advice: “Try putting his food at the top of his cat tree so he has to work out to get to it,” Brorsen suggests. And playing with him 30 minutes before mealtime will kill two birds with one stone: He’ll get in some exercise and he’ll be too worn-out to beg for his food.
Progress report: On the recommendation of her vet, Pellicciari has put Big Sexy on Hill’s Prescription Diet food, but hasn’t been able to amp up his activity. She also tried putting Big Sexy’s food on the cat tree, but the plan backfired. “He refuses to go to the top to get the food,” she says.
Rusty, 4, Staten Island, 50 pounds
This hefty brown beagle’s nickname around his house is “the chef,” says owner Rita Ferriols, who, along with her husband, Ben Barrios, helps her stepson, Bryan, care for his dog. Whenever anyone is in the kitchen, Rusty is ready to catch any fallen scraps. And when he has the kitchen to himself, it’s even worse: He once ate a whole box of Costco butter croissants that was left unattended.
Goal: “I can’t help but notice that even when Rusty isn’t doing anything, he’s panting,” Ferriols says. Rusty’s vet would like to see him drop down to 30 pounds. But Brorsen says the goal isn’t always a number on the scale. “We want to be able to run our hands lightly over their sides and feel that their ribs exist, but we don’t want to be able to see those ribs,” he says.
Advice: First and foremost, Rusty needs more exercise, Brorsen says. The whole family should be pitching in to have a more regimented schedule for when he gets out for walks and making sure “there’s constant movement on those walks,” Brorsen says. This should help him cut back on all the begging in the kitchen. And get this dog on a diet — he should be eating half a cup of food twice a day.
Progress report: Rusty is now eating Blue Natural Veterinary Diet food and seems to be losing some weight. As for exercise, Ben Barrios says that’s been the hardest part — with his son’s busy schedule, it’s hard to manage two substantial walks a day. He’s looking into getting more members of his family to help.
Buddy, 9, Staten Island, 43 pounds
Rusty’s plump older brother is the tricolored Buddy, a beagle with a bad barking habit. But when he’s quiet, he’s very stealthy. Once, Ferriols came down for a midnight snack, sure that Buddy was safely asleep. “As soon as I opened the cupboard, he was right behind me. I didn’t even hear him,” she says.
Goal: Buddy’s vet would like to see him drop down to 30 pounds.
Advice: The obsessive barking is a sign that he’s bored and ready for action, Brorsen says. “We have to make his mind tired by increasing his exercise.”
Progress report: Buddy is now also on a vet-supervised diet and is showing some signs of improvement. Ferriols has been upping her walk game with Buddy, too. The pair now go on hourlong walks together at least once a day.