Pet food company Royal Canin is hosting a webinar to help veterinary professionals learn about managing pet obesity.

More than half of U.S. dogs and cats are classified as overweight or obese as of 2018, according to the Association of Pet Obesity Prevention. According to Hill’s Pet Nutrition, as many as 90% of pet owners don’t realize their pets are overweight.

The Royal Canin Weight Management Virtual Congress will take place February 24. It’s free and features international speakers on topics including:

Obesity prevention: tools to use in practice to help promote a healthy weight, and practical advice to give to owners.
Risk factors identified through recent research.
Ways to discuss the issue with owners of overweight pets who feed or prefer unconventional diets.
The business proposition for addressing obesity.
Peri-anesthetic management of obese patients.

Presentations include Alex German, professor of small animal medicine at the University of Liverpool, who will discuss whether prevention is better than cure. U.S. veterinarian Ernie Ward will speak on how to talk about pet food and obesity without sounding like a salesperson. And Gwen Covey-Crump, senior clinician in anesthesia at Langford Vets, will discuss the impact of obesity on chronic pain.

An interactive workshop will allow participants to try to apply the lessons from the conference to real-life cases.

Webinar will focus on pet obesity management