A weight-loss resolution for your pets
It’s the day before New Year’s Eve (NYE Eve?) and I guess I will make my annual resolution to lose weight.
Many years I actually do lose weight; somehow it always seems to find me again.
Obesity is a serious problem for people, and it’s also a serious problem for our beloved pets. Dogs and cats suffer from the same health problems we do with excess weight: arthritis, diabetes, heart problems and of course, a shorter life span.
If you resolve to help your pet get fit in 2011, you might consider this for a motivator:
The Vinton Veterinary Hospital is sponsoring a Biggest Loser competition for dogs and cats starting on Monday. Registered pets will be scheduled a time to weigh-in, have a “before” photo taken, and get an individualized diet-and-exercise plan. There is no cost to enter.
Pets return every two weeks to be weighed and to chart progress. The pet that loses the most weight by percentage by April 1 will win a slew of great prizes, including a year’s worth of Science Diet food, Frontline and Heartguard.
All pets that participate get a smaller prize pack and of course, the health benefit of losing those extra pounds.
Call the clinic (342-7821) for more detail and to schedule a weigh-in time. If any Happy Wag readers plan to participate, post a comment and let me know. I am writing a feature story about the program for my Happy Wag newspaper column for mid-January and I would love to meet you and your pet.
Have a safe and happy New Year’s celebration, folks.
December 30, 2010 - 2:37 PM
I’m very fortunate that my doggie maintains a lean profile. I can feel her ribs, etc. and she is the same weight now at 7 yrs old that she was when she was 3 years old (16 lbs). She only eats a tiny bit in the morning, then has her real meal in the evening. She insists, though, that I keep some food in her bowl regardless of the time of day. She won’t eat it, but she wants the luxury of knowing it’s there when she DOES decide to eat, right around my supper time. I only feed her ‘hard’ food, never any canned stuff, and her treats are all the healthy ones. Her teeth are whiter and better maintained than mine (sigh…), as a result.
This is a great idea! I have a much better time keeping with a goal to help my dog lose weight than a goal for myself.
I love this idea! Best of luck to all who participate!
Here’s a tip that worked with my dog when he needed to lose weight…….replace store packaged treats with cut up carrots, apples,celery, oranges. My dog loves them. I keep little bags of them cut up in the refrigerator and just started calling them “apple TREATS, carrot TREATS, etc.” and he gets just as excited over them ….plus he lost the weight and is healthier. There are preservatives, dyes, etc. in packaged treats that can’t possibly be good for them.
This is a great idea! My dachshund, Yoda, is a little on the heavy side and I resolved that he was cutting out his people food treats starting today, Jan. 1st. This would be a great way to make sure I keep at it. I am losing weight also, so we will be watching our eating habits together.(He is already mad at me because he doesn’t get his treats from his buddy anymore, and he knows it too!) Hope it is not too late to join in.
My problem is that I have one fat cat who’ll eat anything as soon as it’s put out, and one skinny cat that’s picky and likes to nibble a little bit at a time. The combination makes it hard to balance their nutrition properly…
i am interested in puting my over weight cat (Angel Princess) in this contest! as you have heard by her name she is a princess and normally just sits on my bed and sleeps. She used to be quite slender and went outside everyday, untill we moved to New Zealand and she stayed with friends of ours, over that year she had gained probaly around 20 pounds, she has moved back with us. i put her outside somtimes but so normally sneaks back in, she is on diet food but it doesnt seem to help much.I would also like a bit of helpful advice she is a little to fat to reach down to her bottom, it is cover it old cat poop. I have tried to clean it evrey month and it still gets dirty. i would love to let her participate in this contest as i think she can get ALOT! of good use out of it.
Thank You
I have been told that green beans are good treats for dogs. The raw ones, just give them a few broken green beans as a snack whenever they get to begging for people food too much, and it is good for their health and their weight.
When my first doxie, Leo, had a stroke years ago, the vet told me to give him either raw green beans (which he loved anyway) or carrots as a snack as they were healthier for him than store-bought treats (no additives, no sodium) and were an excellent source of fiber. Now, I regularly give Chesney, my current furbaby, the mini carrots as a nightly treat. He goes knows exactly what time is “treat time” every night, and will stand at the fridge waiting for them. About the only time he gets “cookies” (i.e. dog biscuits) are as a special treat to hop in his crate when I leave for work or to run errands.
I definitely need to cut the dog treats down for Cali and I’m going to try the carrots the others have discussed. I also need to start walking her regularly again because she needs it as much as I do. Once the time changed and the weather got colder I have a hard time making myself walk her in the cold and dark. That’s the problem – I’m an enabler to my dog looking like a keg on legs. I take an exercise class after work every day so she shouldn’t suffer because I’m too lazy afterwards to walk her for 15-30 minutes. Geez, I just realized what a bad dog mom I’ve become…….
Ah, it’s not about being a bad pet parent. It’s about the winter blues. When you go to work in the dark & get home in the dark, it doesn’t encourage neighborhood walks. I’m the same way, my NY resolution is to make sure I walk my doggie & myself every day, even in bad weather. Just look at it this way – there’s only 60 bad days left before we get to a reasonable semblance of nice days.
Good point abdnva – thanks for the inspiration!
Just a quick note to help the “fluffy” ones lose some weight. Don’t believe the bags of pet food to figure out how much your pet needs to eat!
They pet food companies are in it to sell bags of food. The more you feed, the quicker you need to buy more. Instead, take a careful look at what you are feeding. Sure, the grocery store brands are cheaper, but you generally need to feed more to get the proper nutrition. The more expensive brands cost more, but you usually have to feed less to get the same nutrition, so it balances out. If you feed less, you have to buy less often. It is a better guide to take a good look at how much you feed and figure out how much exercise the pet is getting. If they aren’t getting a regular dose of good exercise, cut down the food amount you offer.
Also, take into consideration that feeding amounts based on the bag at the weight your pet is currently at, is feeding for maintenance, not weight lose. Feed the amount of food for the weight your pet should, ideally, be at.
Good luck!