The day we got Jake, the people we bought him from told us they thought Jake would get to be about 25 or 30 pounds. Sounded like a good, manageable size to me. Then Jake started growing. And growing. I thought he was such an odd dog. He has these tiny, petite feet but such a big body. His feet just don't match his body.
Now, I've been enlightened. Well, not so much enlightened as I've had my eyes pried open by concerned family, friends, and neighbors. My dog is fat. It's not that his feet don't match his body....his body is too big for his feet. He probably would be about 25 or 30 pounds if I hadn't been feeding him pizza crust and graham crackers and other assorted goodies. I blame myself. Jake's actions say it all. When we sit down to eat or snack or do anything where food is in front of us, Jake comes to me. He doesn't go to anyone else. When I run out of graham crackers, he doesn't move on to Abigail or Jeff, he just gives up and walks away knowing he won't get anything from them. Yes. It's my fault I have a fat dog. Jeff says he's "chunky". So does one of our neighbors who then laughs as she reminds me how I said he wouldn't get over 25 pounds. I like the phrase "husky" because there's still a doggie connotation there. But then again, when I hear the word "husky" I remember walking through the boys "husky" section of Sears when I was kid. At least they didn't call it the "chunky" section.
So, what to do about it. I looked up a few articles about "overweight dogs". None of the articles say "fat", just "overweight". Let's see. One way to tell if your dog is fat, I mean, overweight, is to see if you are able to feel his ribs. Ok Jake, let's check it out. Well, I can feel his ribs if I push down really, really hard. Yes. I'm sure there are ribs in there....somewhere. Another way to tell is to stand over your dog and look down his spine. He should have a curved indentation right below the ribs. Well, since I can't see or feel his ribs, how would I know where that indentation is supposed to be? He shouldn't be "a straight line or bowed out". Jake falls in the bowed out range which I always thought was cute when you walk behind him. He kind of waddles. Really...it's cute. But back to the test. Not doing so well so far. Ok, next is to check the area above the base of the tail. Overweight pets have extra padding or folds in this area. I always thought the little padding was a congenital anomaly. But I have to face the facts....Jake is fat.
So Jake is on a diet. I weighed him today and he's 42 pounds. Considerably higher than the 25-30 pounds the breeder said he would be. I reviewed what he eats in a typical day. He eats a bowl of dry food with 1/3 of a can of dog food mixed in with it twice a day. When Jake was a puppy, his vet said he could have table scraps. In fact, according to the vet, table scraps are good for dogs because it helps with their immune system. But I'm not sure I was supposed to give him as many table scraps as he gets. It's just so convenient sometimes. I like pizza but not the crust, so we share it. I like grilled cheese sandwiches but not the crust, so we share it. You get the idea.
The vet said both brands of dog food I use are fine but he did mention mixing in some bran flakes so he would feel fuller and not eat so much. So far, I haven't tried it since I keep forgetting to buy bran flakes and I'm not sure Chocolate Life cereal would be a good substitute. This morning I made some oatmeal for breakfast and thought I would mix some in with his dog food and hopefully that would fill up him. I know he likes oatmeal because he had to eat it for 3 days after he ate a razor blade last year. So, I gave him a smaller portion of his food and mixed some oatmeal in it. He loved it. Totally licked the bowl clean. Ok, that should keep him satisfied until dinner time. After about 15 minutes he was whining. Surely he wasn't hungry already. I checked him out. "Jake, are you ok, boy?" Then he threw up at my feet. Jake felt pretty spry after his purge and I was on my hands and knees cleaning oatmeal and dog food out of the carpet. Day one of the diet wasn't off to a great start.
By lunchtime he was pretty hungry. Remember how I said I share things with Jake? Today for lunch I had a chicken pot pie. I love chicken pot pie but I don't like the chicken, I just want the crust and veggies. Jake loves the chicken so I had to share it with him. It's chicken. That can't be bad for him, right? Yeah, I realize I may have kind of blown the calorie count on lunch since I added a little bit of crust in with the chicken. Now that I think about it, I gave him a little ham mixed in with his dog food at dinner time. Hmmm, not so sure that was good for him either. The good thing is that the responsible dog owner in this family (Jeff) makes sure he gets enough exercise everyday. He took him for a nice 1 mile walk around the park this evening. I think I need to start over and come up with a better eating plan for him.
I wonder if Animal Planet has a "Biggest Loser" for dogs. I may have to sign Jake up.
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