[Dailydrool] Overweight dogs

[Pamela McQuade]

There is no question that dog metabolisms differ greatly from dog to dog. Our Jane has never been at all heavy, no matter what she eats. We feed her a balanced diet of good food and a limited quantity of treats, and she's always been svelte. In her older years, she has actually been getting a bit ribby, but now that we have her on heart medications, she seems to eat more and has put on a pound or two. Health problems will affect weight in either direction.
 
Abner, on the other hand, looked at food and gained weight. Eating was his favorite pastime. Dogs like him will do anything they can to get food. The slaves have to ignore the sad looks and manipulative methods. Our current (probably permanent) foster, Holly is just like Abner in that way. Abner had borderline hypothyroid, but we got him down to a good weight and kept him there. Holly is working on her waistline.
 
I feel for those who work steadily on weight loss and don't see it happen. If a hound has a physical problem that makes weight loss difficult, it's perhaps not the human's fault (though first I'd check to see that other family members are not slipping extra treats into the mouth beneath those pleading eyes). The huge weight-loss Anita saw on her pup certainly shows that she tried hard, even if the hound didn't get down to an ideal weight. It's not a perfect world, and no one should pick on someone else whose dog is heavy. Though I have admittedly looked at a really fat dog and thought to the humans, "You're killing your dog," I would never say that! 
 
Lack of weight loss may be how much and what you are feeding. When Abner first came to us, I felt positively guilty feeding him only three-quarters of a cup of food twice a day. My hounds had always gotten a cup. But Abs was short in both directions--about fourteen inches at his shoulder and much less in length than my other hounds--and he wasn't highly active, so he needed less food than the taller hounds. We made up the difference with green beans. Since he always felt he was starving, Abs had no problem eating them.
 
Though the Earthborn food we give the hounds is not advertised as a weight-loss food, I have found it seems to promote slimness in all my dogs. At some points I've even thought I should change to a new food, since perhaps it was not keeping their weight up enough. However, I have all senior dogs, some of whom have had health issues, so I can't guarantee that if you put your dog on it, weight loss will happen.
 
Read food packages. Compare the level of fat in each food you plan to give your dog. Many years ago we changed our hounds from the Wellness food all of us really liked, because my hounds began packing on the pounds as they reached their middle years. Perhaps Wellness has more fat or other chubbing-up ingredients. I still think it's a good food, just perhaps not for older, less energetic dogs. At different times in a dog's life, you may have to feed different foods. There are so many out there, you should be able to find something that works.
 
Be aware that treats too can have lots of fat in them. Shortly I hope to go online with the Dashing Basset Bakery, a dog treat business that will benefit Tri-State Basset Hound Rescue. As I have developed my treats, I've realized how much fat goes into many recipes. I've tried to keep the fat levels down in my treats, 'cause the hounds love them, but they don't need the extra weight. I think treat manufacturers include so much fat because it makes the treats easier to shape. And let's face it, fat tastes good, so the dogs don't object.
 
Every slave needs to be careful about treats. Feed small ones, even though you have a medium-sized dog. Feed training treats instead of larger treats. Or break up large treats and give them in pieces. Whoever makes "the rules" about feeding dog treats isn't in charge--you are.
Pam food slave to the Dashing Bassets