DDF PSA ~ Project Pet Slim Down

I have to apologize to everyone who has emailed me stories, products and PSA's they would like published on my blog - I've been busy and haven't had time to properly research your ideas. I'm going to try to get through the pile I've got in my inbox in the next little while but it takes time. I won't just copy and paste something without reviewing it and I refuse to promote a product without first checking it out.



If you are a company who sends me a FREE SAMPLE, please remember that this does NOT mean I will automatically give you a positive review. If your product is crap, I will blog about it. If your product is awesome, I will blog about it - probably more than once. I will let everyone know that they should purchase this product. I might even post some links on my blog for people to click on to purchase the item.



Now that I've said that, I have a PSA for you. It's not a product review because Purina wouldn't send me any food to test out; but that's ok. It's simply a review and a PSA with MHO!



I received an email about Project Pet Slim Down (http://www.slimdownyourpet.com/) There is a $20 coupon from Purina Veterinary Diets offered through this email. Here's a bit about what this email said:



Did you know 45% of all dogs in the US are estimated to be overweight or obese? It’s higher for cats – 58% are overweight or obese! A 3-pound weight gain for a 15-pound Boston Terrier is like a 30-pound weight gain on a 150-pound person. A 3-pound gain for a 10-pound cat is like 45 pounds for a 150-pound person! It puts a lot of stress on our pets’ bodies to carry that extra weight.







Project Pet Slim Down offers a three-step process to slim your pet down. Visit the site to get great tips for how to help your pet lose weight responsibly.






Plus you can check out eight adorable dogs and their weight-loss stories, complete with weigh in’s, how-to suggestions and before-and-after’s. Who doesn’t love a great before and after? These dogs managed to lose some serious LBS in just 90 days!
 
 
 
So I went to the website and what I found was ... interesting. There are videos about a bunch of different dogs, what they weighed, how much they were overweight and the weight loss regimen the animals were put on. It is obviously a spin-off of the weightloss reality TV shows (Biggest Loser, XWeighted, etc).
 
 
 
The dogs were put on Purina Veterinary Diets® OM Overweight Management® Canine. From the sounds of it, there was no gradual change-over (though I might be wrong about this). You will note that the people in the video do NOT tell you how much of their previous food they were feeding their dogs. Most "weight loss" foods have a lot of fibre and useless mass in them. This helps fool the humans into thinking they aren't depriving their beloved pets by reducing the food but really doesn't do much for a dog - they are NOT built like a human! It also keeps the dog eating a large amount of food (don't forget - there are only so many cups of food in a bag of dog food and the company only makes money when you buy the bags so it would make sense to lower the amount of calories per cup so you have to feed your dog more AND spend more money!). Now, I've seen dogs go from eating 6 cups of food per day to 2 cups of food per day (different food with different caloric intake); the dog was healthier with the 2 cups! Doggie metabolisms were NOT made to eat excess FIBRE. They are NOT vegetarians like horses are (who DO benefit from beet pulp in their foods sometimes), they are NOT omnivores like people (who should have SOME fibre in their diet but not TOO much!). They are carnivores. Their bodies were designed to eat meat. Yes, some of the bodies they would have eaten would have tripe in it ... that doesn't mean a LARGE portion of their diet was vegetation/fibre. Do we eat grass when we are dieting just to keep our bellies full and calories down?? Why would you do that to your dog?
 
 
 
 
Now, these dogs were overweight. The mastiff was 30 LBS overweight. The other dogs were all about 30% overweight (according to the vets). Each one of these dogs were put to task with an immediate (huge) increase in their exercise regimen even when the owners told the cameras that the dog gets tired with a short walk. Every one of these dogs were told to leap over jumps!! Ok ... HOLD IT! These dogs are overweight ... and not only have you more than quadrupled their exercise, but you are having them jump over bars!?!?!? ARE YOU INSANE???? Would you like to know what kind of stress you're putting on that dog's joints? Now you are not only adding anaerobic and aerobic exercises to an animal who has not been super active for a while but you are also adding plyometrics?! Good grief. That's like asking a person who needs to lose 30 LBS to do plyometrics ... You'll blow out the person's knee unless you've done strength training to build up those ligaments!! Why wouldn't you do some good water/swimming exercises to start with?? They will safely work the muscles without damaging the joints or ligaments.



I'm not overly impressed with this program. If you want your dog to lose weight, REDUCE the amount of food you are giving him/her!! IF you feed 2 cups twice a day, then feed 1.5 cups twice a day!! STOP FEEDING COOKIES!!!




Take the dog for an extra walk. Build your dog up slowly. Would you be able to get up one morning and run a marathon?? NO. You need to train for that. You have to practice. You have to work up to it. Treat your dog the same way. Don't think that a dog who has had ZERO exercise can just get up and run around the yard to burn off the calories. Take your dog for a walk! Go for a liesurly stroll to begin with! Once your dog is ok with that level of exercise, increase your pace to a walk; then to a fast walk; then to a speed walk; then to intermitten jogging then walking! You build it up over WEEKS ... possibly even MONTHS. You do not just get up one day and say "hm! My dog is fat. He needs to lose weight. Here is some agility equipment to jump over so I don't get bored with what he is doing." NO NO NO NO NO. You need to take your DOGS needs into account.



If you have a 135 LBS mastiff and you want the dog to lose 30 LBS, you should not expect the dog to lose any more than 5 LBS per week (this is the MAX). Expect the same thing for your dog as you would for a PERSON! Think proportionally. So you have a Doxie and it is 10 LBS overweight ... don't try to lose all 10 LBS in one week! As a 200 LBS human you MIGHT be able to lose that much that fast but to a 15 LBS dog, losing 10 lbs is like the equivalent of a 200 LBS human to lose 85 LBS!!!

Don't be a dumbass. Be a good owner. Feed your dog appropriately. Keep them at a HEALTHY weight. Exercise them regularly to their level of fitness (and yours!).

Sorry if this turned into more of a rant than a review ... but these sorts of things DRIVE ME CRAZY.

News Reel ~ The Importanct of a Solid Recall

Here is another reason why it is so CRUCIAL to have a solid recall! Your dog should come back to you when you call. Simple. Easy peasy. So why don't people teach their dogs to come back?!?



Check it out ... Car hits Minnesota man chasing his dog on I-94



 
 
My first question ... why doesn't your dog come back when called?
My second question ... why did you allow your dog to run away near I-94?
My third question ... why? Just ... why?
 
 
 
This incident has resulted in a dead dog. IMHO there is no excuse for asshattery on the part of the dog owner. You are supposed to be the responsible one! You are supposed to be the one in charge! You are supposed to keep your dog safe. Idiot.
 
 
 
PLEASE teach your dog to come back when called!! PLEASE teach your dog basic obedience!!




Above you will note that I found you a Dogs for Dummies DVD. There is no excuse not to teach your dog (no, not even "I can't read" because I found you a DVD). Watch it.



Alternatively, the below amazon link is a book that might help you.

Featured Rescue - Nana the Labrador Retriever

Today's featured rescue is Nana. She is a senior lady who needs someone to give her that super-special home where she can live out her life. Nana has a bunch of tricks in her "routine" including sit, shake a paw, lay down and roll over.

Unfortunately she does not seem to enjoy the company of other dogs which means that the shelter is looking for someone with no other dogs to adopt her. Fortunately, she is in a foster home and not in the kennels. I hate to see the older ones in the shelter ... and more so for those who don't like other dogs. It's a great environment to culture a negative behaviour that has been budding.


If you can offer Nana a home, please contact the Guelph Humane Society at •519-824-3091.

DDF ~ Love Life and Live

Today my dogs served me a reminder that I should stop focusing on all the things I cannot change and take pleasure in the world around me. How did they do this?? Well, of course I will tell you ... you thought perhaps I'd not bother to rant? Pah. It may be TGIF but the sky is still blue and hell hath not frozen yet!



Today there was snow. Around 3 inches of it stayed on the ground after falling last night. The dogs may not all get along very well right now (thanks to Red Dog) but that didn't stop them from frapping in the snow.



In fact, they were so busy loving life, running around the field like maniacs, that they forgot that wet snow makes it more difficult to turn on a dime ... one moment they were frapping around ... the next, two of them came straight at me, turning away at the last moment, when suddenly ... one of them didn't quite turn. She slipped, she slid, she skidded across the wet, cold snow ... right into the back of my knees.



Down I went. Into the snow. In the clothes I had planned on wearing to work today. DAMNIT! ARGH! SONOFABITCH! WRAWR! 



And you know what? I was so busy focusing on everything going on that I forgot to laugh. I was busy trying not to fall on top of the 32 LBS of love that just crashed into me ... busy trying to control the Red Dog who for once is NOT trying to kill the other dogs and just wants to go frapping too ... busy trying (and failing) to stay dry and warm ... busy trying to control myself and NOT kill the two dogs who were simply showing the world how much they love life.

Wait a minute. Here's where I had my epiphany.

I looked around at the four dogs who had all come over to see if I was alright, to lick my face, to whine, to try and climb into my lap, to roll upsidedown and be silly goofy clowns that make me laugh ... and I realized that I had clean clothes inside; that nothing in my knees was damaged; and the craziest thing of all??

I think my dogs were laughing at me.

For most of us, the first day of snow is a negative thing. People skulk around. They mope. They snap. They are downright cranky. But perhaps there is another way ... perhaps we could stop complaining about what we are losing and look at what we have. That's what the dogs do. Maybe we should take a page out of their lesson book and stop being so cranky.

Stop. Enjoy life. Don't get so busy that you neglect to feel and be aware of the world around because the world will pass you by without a second glance.

Training Rant ~ Housesoiling

Funny thing that I want to share ... about a year ago, I started offering dog training to people and the most common thing I get called in about is HouseSoiling (followed closely by Aggression and then Separation Anxiety). If they are bringing me in for housesoiling, it almost always turns out that the dog has other issues as well that they would like to work on (but didn't bother to tell me about).



The number one complaint from dog owners is housesoiling. However, housesoiling is NOT the most common complaint. The most common is aggression. (Campbell WE: 1986 - The prevalence of behavioural problems in American Dogs: Modern Vet Pract 67:28-31)



That means that although aggression is more common than housesoiling, people complain more about the housesoiling. People would rather have an aggression problem than a housesoiling problem in their house! Seems odd to me, but I suppose if you couldn't figure out how to resolve the housesoiling problem and you can manage the aggression problem (for example, by isolating your dog) then the aggression would be the lesser of two evils.



Interesting, no? For those of us involved in rescue, this is probably not a big surprise. How many of the foster dogs we bring into our homes are housetrained?? And yet ... in the majority of cases, how easy is it to do?

So there you have it. That's your tid-bit of useless information for today. So here's my question ... if aggression is more common than housesoiling, then why is housesoiling the number one complaint?

News Reel ~ Asshat Kicks Dog; Police Dispatcher Finds Stolen Dog

Check out this news article! Sick Thug Filmed Booting His Dog. You can't tell me that the reporter who wrote this article isn't an animal lover.


It is thought the footage was taken on October 1 and was filmed in Knee Hill Park in Woolwich, South London



How I'd like to put the boot to that guy ... like a piñata ... Instead, I am hoping that the RSPCA will be able to find this asshat and send him to jail. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200. Damned SOB.



On a brighter note, the police dispatcher in Peterborough deserves a pat on the back today after she finds stolen dog online! The husky was left tied up outside a No Frills for 10 minutes on Friday ... the dispatcher heard about the stolen dog and started checking Kijiji ... The dog was being advertised as an eight-month-old husky for $600. Plainclothes officers arranged to meet with the sellers at a north-end car wash ... Two brothers, age 14 and 17, of Peterborough, have been charged with possession of stolen property.