Most of us now consider pets part of the family and have accepted pets in dresses, winter booties, and many pet owners even home cook our pets’ diets, but has the latest drug from Pfizer crossed the line?

Slentrol is a diet pill for dogs that is now available for the bargain price of a couple bucks a day. It works by a couple ways: 1) reducing the amount of fat that the body can digest, and 2) affecting the cells in the dog’s small intestines to make the dog feel full before they normally would.

As a vet, I fully understand that the pet obesity epidemic is real and on the rise, and that there are sometimes medical causes of obesity that require intervention with a pill of some form, but in those instances, there are actual medical problems that result in obesity, not a too large dog measuring cup or days of endless inactivity spend curled up in front of the fire.

As humans, it takes self-restraint and will-power to lose weight.  Perhaps this pill’s entrance to the veterinary market is proof that it takes self-restraint to make your dog or cat lose weight as well.

I try to be very open-minded regarding new medications and new forms of therapy, of both western and eastern origin, but this “Slentrol” is really rubbing me the wrong way. I’ve yet to prescribe it for a patient, and none of my veterinarian friends have either.

I understand at least  on some level, human diet pills. When I was a freshman in college and eating cookie dough for breakfast and midnight snacks caught up with me, I purchased some Chinese herbal dieter’s tea. Wow, what a mistake! But the point? I was susceptible to wanting an easy solution.

Easy fix?  Yes, please! Read the rest of this entry »