Average Jane’s Dogshame

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So you know about Dogshaming, right? Possibly the funniest blog I've discovered in a long time. Don't click the link unless you have lots of time on your hands because you'll be reading for hours.

This post is not about Toby doing anything for which he needs to be ashamed. (Not that he doesn't do some of those things, but that's another story.) No, this is about me being ashamed that I let him get ridiculously fat again.

Today I went to an Italian Greyhound playdate arranged by Kansas/Missouri Italian Greyhound Rescue. Even before I took him, I was fretting on Facebook that he was awfully porky. Sure enough, when I got there, he was by far the most corpulent of all of the several dozen dogs there. No other dog in the group was even close.

As soon as we arrived, people started exclaiming about how "solid" he was. I got well-meaning advice about thyroid testing. And I could see it plainly. I'd known he was overweight, but until I had other Italian Greyhounds to compare him to directly, I didn't realize he was that overweight.

That means it's time for decisive action. We did our 3.4 mile walking route this morning, which I was already planning to reinstate as a regular daily thing. I also swapped out the 1/2 cup scoop in his food container for a 1/3 cup one.

Toby will never look like the fine-boned, show-quality IGs. He's taller and has sturdier legs and a much wider chest than most of them. However, there were a couple of dogs in attendance that had a similar build to his without the extra chub, so it was a nice preview of what I could possibly achieve with him.

I'm sorry, little dog man. We're going to get you moving, make sure your thyroid is working right and work on finding some lower calorie treats to reward you when you're good. Obviously I'm still figuring out this dog owner thing.

Comments

5 responses to “Average Jane’s Dogshame”

September 23, 2012

deb roby

With dogs, it’s all about the activity level. Encouraging some activity throughout the day helps a lot.
They make “enrichment” toys where you load them up with treats or dog food and the dog has to work (roll them around) to get the food out.
I often use that for one meal during the day -except that JAKE expects me to do all the rolling, and him to only follow behind picking up the food.

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September 23, 2012

Laurie

I’ve had two dogs with thyroid problems. Getting them on the meds made a huge difference in their weight, food craziness, coats and energy. Good luck!

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September 24, 2012

Barb Holter

This made me laugh hysterically, especially the comment about him being “solid”. Please don’t say that to me, because I’m on to it! Cisco is trimming down nicely, as we walk a lot. I bet he is getting about a third of the calories Jim was letting him consume.

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September 26, 2012

East Coast Girl

Purina OM (Overweight Management) dog food and their Lite Snackers treats are great. Both my Beagles had to trim down, and it worked great. Plus, they loved the food, I didn’t even have to trick them into eating it!

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September 28, 2012

Mary W

With my dog, feeding raw was the only way to keep her weight down. There was something about normal kibble and canned food that kept the weight on. Raw also stopped her itching and we only needed to bathe her when she rolled in something gross. However, try everything else first because it is a PITA and is expensive if you buy it prepared.

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