[Dailydrool] Fat Dogs

[Deb Good]

So, having had an overweight dog at one time (Pippi was well over 65lbs at one point in her short
little life), I can say that the answer is: smaller treats and longer or more frequent walks.
(Good for the human too). Hard to do in the cold snowy climates especially for someone like me who
despises the cold and snow.  My answer is to get the two-legger slaves-in-training in their snow
gear and ship them outside with the Basset.  Sean does get a walk almost every day, (really short
ones when it's really cold and snowy-or we skip a day here and there), but he also loves to romp
in the snow with the kids.  We've found, that of all things, he loves footballs.  Toss a football
around in the snow for a little while, and he's worn out and stays thin.  No little two-leggers in
your house?  Get the neighbor kids to come over.  Call the neices and nephews or grandkids.  The
other thing I have found is that Mr. Sean won't touch a green bean to save his life, so that
wouldn't work as a diet for him!  I buy treats that are small.  He doesn't seem to know the
difference between a large treat and a small one.  To him a treat is a treat.  And he only gets
them when he comes in from outside.  And a homemade one after dinner.  My daughter actually makes
them for him, "Cheesy Garlic Bites" I think they're called.  (If anyone wants the recipe, e-mail
me off-list and as soon as the 2-legger gets off the school bus, I'll send it to you-not sure
where she keeps it!).  The great thing about that is you can make them any size you want (and I
can pronounce all the ingredients in them!).  Sean's are about quarter sized. The other thing is
that no matter how cute he is, Sean gets no table food-at all-ever (ok, not from me-DH seems to
think that feeding the hound from the couch in front of the tv doesn't count since the food isn't
actually coming from the table-who's the sucker here?).  I have to be diligent about that.  I've
had friends and family try to feed the little stinker (Sean, not the DH),and when I tell them,
"Sorry, he can't have that"  I get, "Oh, one little peice won't hurt" or "But he's so cute".  He's
so cute because he's at his ideal weight from no people food!  After trying to get weight off an
overweight dog I don't ever want to go thru that again.  The pounds go on much easier (and
quicker) than they come off.  Now to me an overweight dog is just as pitiful as a dog who's skin
and bones.  Just my two cents...

Deb-"Hey kids!  Time to play football with Sean" and 
Sean-"Did someone say football?!" (A svelte 53.8 lbs)