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| Allie gets fit - a successful Lab weight loss story Posted: 03 Nov 2009 08:28 AM PST
Bob and Sue always bring their Labrador Retriever, Allie, with them. She's a great old gal, she really enjoys the camping and this year she was the first of our group to summit Silver Peak on Saturday. The hike to Silver Peak is five miles straight up. You gain three thousand feet in elevation and the trail is relentless. It's worth it at the top though. I was right behind Allie and as I followed her I noticed something different. This year she had a waist. In years past she looked more like the typical ten year old lab. Kind of like a coffee table. She seemed quite spry as she alternated between blazing the trail for us and going back down the trail a That night around the camp fire, as we humans licked our wounds, I commented on Allie's impressive performance. Sue reminded me that I had suggested last year that Allie could stand to lose a few pounds. Allie's vet here in town had suggested the same thing to Sue at Allie's annual check up. Seems Allie is getting a little sore on her hind end as is so common in older Labs. Her hips are a little arthritic. Along with an RX for Previcox, Allie's vet recommended a weight loss program. As we've mentioned many times before on these pages, weight loss is as important as anti inflammatory medication in managing arthritic joints in dogs. Allie's vet put her on a special diet and calculated the amount of food she could have in a day. Sue and Bob were fastidious about her food intake and included Allie in their active life style. Both Sue and Bob are trail runners and fast hikers. As the pounds were shed, her activity increased. She used to go for walks with Bob. Now she goes for runs with Bob, and Sue said it had been years since that happened. And it's not just the drugs by the way. Allie only needs the medication when she acts sore and she doesn't get it every day, according to Sue. Allie started her weight and exercise program in July this year. She tipped the scales at 84 pounds on the fourth of July and she weighed in at 72 pounds this morning. According to my remedial math skills she's lost 14% of her body weight in four months. She probably has about five more pounds to go to get totally lean and mean. So why was Sue successful with Allie's weight loss while so many other dog lovers have trouble? I think it's the combination of getting off to a good start with a supervised program, adding the component of regular exercise and paying attention to success. It's probably worth the extra money to use a special weight loss diet especially if it comes with some professional oversight. Sue's vet calculated the calories for Allie and provided a special measuring cup with specific instructions. Sue got into the habit of feeding a certain amount and keeping an eye on Allie's body condition. She even weighs Allie from time to time but she can see the results with her naked eye, too. Truth be told she has switched to a lower calorie food she buys at the grocery store but she is still getting results. She's compared calories per cup,is keeping an eye on Allie's figure and is still getting good results. That's the key. So many people go back to their old habits and the pounds come back after a while. Sue is feeding Fit and Trim right now and that's a good choice. I like the new Beneful Healthy Weight ,too. Any time you can crack the 1500 kcal per pound or get in around 300 kcal per cup with more than 5% fiber you are looking at a product that will help keep the pounds off. Fiber is important. It contributes to healthy bowel movements, dilutes calories and contributes to a sense of satiety or fullness that is really helpful when you are trying to shed pounds. PVD OM is the king of weight loss products from Purina. With only 1238 kcal per pound and 266 kcal per cup it's really low in calories. OM has around 10% fiber, a high protein to calorie ratio and the magic of soy isoflavones we talked about in a previous post. If you want to get off to a flying start OM is the way to go. The key though, is paying attention to your dog. Sue can see Allie's body changing and her conditioning improve. She's active and pretty darn perky for a ten year old. And that's the way Sue and Bob like it. |
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