Sent by: Sarah M. | Boston, MA | French Bulldog owner

Okay, so I need some honest feedback here because I’m spiraling.

I have a 2-year-old Frenchie named Biscuit, and I’m starting to think I’ve been overfeeding him. He’s always been a chunky boy—like, that’s part of his charm, right? But last week at the vet, the tech made a comment about his weight, and now I can’t stop thinking about it.

Here’s the thing: Biscuit acts like he’s STARVING. All the time. He does this thing where he sits by his bowl and stares at me with these sad, desperate eyes like I’ve never fed him in his life. And I know he just ate. But he’s so convincing! So sometimes I give him a little extra kibble. Or some training treats. Or a bite of my sandwich.

And maybe some sweet potato fries when we’re at a dog-friendly patio.

Listen, I know how this sounds. But he’s so happy when he eats. It feels mean to say no.

But then I really looked at him the other day. Like, really looked. And I couldn’t feel his ribs. At all. I had to press kind of hard, and even then I wasn’t totally sure what I was feeling. His belly doesn’t tuck in like those body condition charts show. He looks more like a loaf of bread from above.

Also, he’s been panting more on walks. We only go like 15 minutes, and he acts like we just ran a marathon. I thought maybe it was the heat, but it’s been happening even on cooler days.

I measured his food this morning for the first time ever. The bag says 1 cup per day for his weight. I’ve been giving him like… 1.5 cups? Plus treats? Plus whatever he cons my husband into giving him?

Oh God, I’m that person.

The guilt is REAL. I feel like I’ve been slowly killing my dog with kindness. He trusts me to take care of him, and I’ve been overfeeding him because I can’t handle his puppy eyes.

Has anyone else dealt with this? How do you say no when they’re literally the cutest thing you’ve ever seen? And how do I fix this without him hating me?

I’m starting to measure his food now and cutting back on treats, but he’s acting like I’m torturing him. He sits by the empty bowl and sighs dramatically. SIGHS. How is a dog this manipulative?

Please tell me I’m not the only one who’s done this. And please tell me I can fix it before I do permanent damage.