pet chat
Extend Life Expectancy! I once heard "If your dog is overweight, chances are so are you"...and I find that to generally be true. Now, no offense people, but let's think this through. The average dog owner treats their pup as a member of the family, so if the family walks, hikes, spends lots of time outside, then chances are they are good shape...and so is their dog. However, for those of us who tend to be more housebound, many of us are carrying more weight than we should and there is a pretty good chance our pup is lugging around a few extra pounds too. So...let's get to work and get that fat off our dogs and off of us while we're at it! Just like people, a pet's life-expectancy and quality of life is greatly reduced, especially after the age of seven when carrying around extra weight. Joint damage, diabetes, heart disease, difficulty breathing and so much more, are all conditions we share with our overweight four-legged family members. Where to Start We all have to start somewhere and sometimes, as in my case, we just have to start over! If you are lucky enough to have a dog as your companion, then you have a motivated walking partner! My dog and I used to walk everyday, my life changed drastically over past couple of years and along with it went my routine. So here I sit two years later overweight, and the vet tells me my dog is heavier than she should be...gee what a surprise! So, though I find it incredibly difficult to motivate myself to start my daily walks again, it's easier when I consider that my dog can't go for a walk by herself...if she could I'm sure she'd be in great shape, she's definitely more motivated than I am! If, like me, you make every excuse in the book to procrastinate your exercise program, then look at your dog and do it for them. Their life span is already too short without us taking years off their life by making them housebound and stuffing them with too many treats. So EXERCISE your dog...Daily! Whether it's walking, swimming, rollerblading, biking, dog parks, fetch or a treadmill...just get them moving! Of course, pay attention to your pal. Make sure they are hydrated and if your dog is getting old, play close attention to when they slow down or stop while on a walk. This is a clear sign they've had enough. Pushing will only lead to injury or collapse. Start slow and go on short excursions, build up their capacity to venture farther, longer. Don't take a previously overweight, housebound dog and force them to walk for long periods of time without stops to rest and have water. Be a smart walking companion. For the dog with more energy than you, get a doggy backpack and put 1 or 2 bottles of water on each side of the pack (make sure its the same on both sides for balance). This makes the walk more physically challenging for them and drains energy faster than you may be able to do without the pack. To Treat or Not to Treat Okay, so in addition to not enough exercise, our dogs get fat because of what we feed them and how much we feed them. Again, just like us, our dogs love junk food and will eat just about anything we give them. My dog, thanks to our vet's recommendation, was raised with fruits and vegetables as treats. She loves fresh snap peas and blueberries more than just about any dog treat. But the key to weight control are Quantity and Quality. To get your dog to lose a few pounds, work with your vet on the possibilities of slowly switching your pup over to a dinner of fresher food that you cook, rather than only packaged food. In addition to less for dinner and a meal with less fat and empty calories, you must consider the amount of treats they get in a 24-hour period, and do they get table scraps? I know from experience that it's much more difficult to give less treats than it is to choose healthier treats for your dog. Let's face it, we've gotten them into these routines of expecting a cookie every time they tinkle, so introduce healthier choices such as these:
For treats that are a little more substantial, consider these healthy choices:
Ossa's Diet I'm no expert, nor do I claim to be. What I am is a Dog Mom who has been cooking for her dog for more than 11-years with my marvelously holistic vet's guidance and approval. The result is a very healthy and happy Ossa. There she is on the left smiling for her fans! Believe it or not, it really isn't more expensive to cook for your dog than to feed them only packaged dog food ... this does of course suggest you are feeding them a good quality dog food. I will share what I do for Ossa and you can make plans to sit down with your own vet and discus options based on your own dog's health issues. Ossa is a Golden Retriever/Labrador Mix (shelter rescue). She will be 12-years-old this April. She stands about 24-inches tall and is about 36-inches long. She was 73-pounds two years ago, but we've reached our goal weight of 65 to 67-pounds - perfect for her size. So, the first step in adjusting the calorie intake in their diet, is to take into account the calories and nutrition for the ENTIRE DAY, not just what they get for dinner. Ossa's Dinner - Low Calorie, No Salt, Nutrition Rich A little note: I do not mix these ingredients together in a pile in her bowl. I serve them like I would on a plate, next to each other. Might seem silly, but it's what Ossa has always preferred.
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Doreen Erhardt
As a pet lover, a pet mother and the owner of PAWSitively PETrageous it seems only logical that I offer a place where we can chat about our furred and feathered kids without being taken away in a white jacket! Archives
June 2019
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