What a week. Fat pills for you and your best friend. First, Glaxo is launching Alli, and today, Pfizer starts selling Slentrol, its new diet drug for dogs. But Pfizer’s marketing campaign raises an important question - how does one know if Pfido is truly pfat?

To solve this troubling dilemma, Pfizer has come up with a scheme called BARC, or Body Assessment Ratings for Canines. No, this isn’t the doggie equivalent of the Body Mass Index. Instead, the drugmaker offers a new ‘online assessment tool,’ which is really just a nine-question survey, including these scientific gems:

- Do you just pour the food into the bowl (rather than a specific measured amount)?
- Do you have a multi-dog house? (These dogs tend to eat more and faster).

Pfizer says the “short quiz was designed to prompt owners to think about the behavioral and physical conditions that might indicate that their dogs are overweight or obese.” Fair enough, but answering ‘yes’ doesn’t necessarily prove anything. Some dogs may still be hungry because it’s not just how much they’re fed, but how often. And in a multi-dog house, where dogs tussle for food, it’s also possible the less aggressive canine doesn’t get enough to eat.

In other words, the survey is a form of DTC promotion dressed up as a helpful yardstick, but is just as likely to make dog owners anxious about Pfido’s weight. But if dog owners really want to get anxious, they should read about the side effects, too.