animalrehabilitation.com Blog

Last week, he focused on an out of shape couple; a lady and her DOG.
To give credibility, his advisement on her pooch was supplemented by another show guest, veterinarian Dr. Marty (author of many pet-related books & a fixture on radio talkshows).

The owner’s dog was overweight (as was the owner which they addressed later on but also highlighted the all to frequent correlation…).
The message they were trying to drive home was this: IF YOUR DOG IS OVERWEIGHT S/HE WILL DIE PREMATURELY.

You’d think that would be a big “V-8″ moment. Only, it wasn’t.

She kept saying, “But he is cute, isn’t he?!….Look how cute he is!”

Then they brought out a similar breed type, age and coloring as the guest’s dog, for healthy comparison purposes, because it is hard to be objective about your own furchild that you see every day.

But the numbers don’t lie. The doctors discussed canine BCS ( or Body Conditioning Score). [I prefer a 1-5 scale. Purina.com describes a simplified 1-3 scale with pictures.]
In a nutshell, can you see any markation of ribs? If not, how hard to do you have to press to feel your dogs ribs?
Does your dog have a waist? S/he should!

Have you checked your dog’s cholesterol? Have you even heard of such a thing?

Another suggestion they had was to give food through toys. Meaning, stick food in Kongs or similar type toys so that s/he has to work for it.
I’ll go a few steps further to add that while this is a good idea for treats, it is not an efficient or functional tip for mealtimes. If your dog eats excessively fast, this is not necessarily a weight control problem. There are different designed food bowls you can get as well as behavior-training methods to control this. If your dog eats super fast and you take that as an indication that s/he “must be starving” so you feed them more quantity of food…that is an owner behavior issue!
Hiding treats in toys will reduce the number of treats you give if you tend to be “heavy handed” in the treat department, so to speak! This is also advantageous to a dog’s teeth and mental focus because it gives them a fun challenge!

Instead of giving treats because you can’t resist all that cuteness, give “emotional Milkbones”, Dr. Oz said.

I did not hear, unless it was selective listening on my part, the docs discuss pharmaceuticals for weight control.
Hallelujah!

Buckle up for safety. Ideally, your dog should ride in a travel carrier or crate that’s secured to the seat so it doesn’t slide around or tip over. Another option is a travel harness that works like a seat belt — most pet stores carry them. ( You can also get these online! They don’t act as a seatbelt but as a harness that can be secured with your regular seatbelt attachment. I highly recommend these b/c these can double as leashes and/or harnesses for walks!) ( I don’t agree that the “ideal” position would necessarily be in a crate for car rides. )

Go easy on (the) breezy. Letting your dog catch a little breeze is fine; just be sure to leave your windows up at least halfway so that he can’t stick out his head too far. Lock any automatic windows so he doesn’t accidentally hit the “up” switch with his paw. ( I would say not to have the windows all the way down so that your dog cannot accidentally or otherwise come 1/2-way –or more!!– out of the window. Childlocks are fine to do but most newer cars have a sensor that prevents them from going up all the way in this situation. )

I’d also check to make sure the vents in the back seats, if you have dual controls, are not set on the ‘heating’ mode and that the fan setting is at it’s highest.
Using nets or removable bedding is okay but creates a more difficult surface to balance on if…ahem… the driver tends to have a lead foot.
Move the front seats all the way up if you have a truck or SUV. Your large or medium breed dog can then jump up into the footwell and then up into the seat.

Getting out of the car should be the same way to cause as little stress to their joints as possible. (But if your dog has pre-existing back issues, this is a ‘no-no’.) If the tailgate is just as high or higher than the backseats, have them transition to the backseat to get in/out if you can.

U must go to In ‘n Out Burger or patroniz driv thru’s that will giv yor dog treets.

This means more than just keeping shot records.
If you have any type of specialized consult (Orthopedist? Neurologist? Emergency visit? Rehab eval? Labs? X-rays?…), get a copy. Not just the discharge plans or recommendations. (<-Though you’ll want to get those too! But most places usually provide this on check-out.)

If you give your dog supplements or medications, keep a list of what he/she IS taking and what they have taken in the past specific to dosage and frequency.

Short and sweet. Easy homework for you to do if you haven’t already!