Dog pounds
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| Paul Baillargeon photo Participants in Columbia Animal Hospital's "Fit for Life" weight loss challenge are, from left, Gerry Kaestner of Columbia and her golden retriever Lizzie, Jeff Brinkman of Dupo and Buddy the beagle and Mary Stafford of Red Bud and Holly the dachshund. |
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Went out again? Here's another treat.
Begging at the table?Here's some scraps for the effort.
Notice a trend here?
Plenty of dog owners don't-and that alarmed the Columbia Animal Hospital to take action.
Starting in January, the CAH birthed the "Fit for Life" weight loss challenge, a call to arms for canine lovers to put the snacks down and start loving their animals with exercise and a healthy diet.
CAH nurse Erin Hanson and Dr. Alec Flaum devised the program, which provides support for clients in helping their animals shed unwanted pounds.
"It's kind of like the 'Biggest Loser' but for dogs," Hanson said. "We have noticed obese dogs coming through our doors and a lot of owners don't realize what they are supposed to look like, which is why we are trying to help them out."
Originally, the hospital pulled seven names from their client list of dogs who would fit their criteria like age and overall health. The list was then whittled down to three dogs who could make the twice weekly weigh-ins and follow the regimen.
"The goal in the end is for the animals to go down two body conditions," Hanson said.
Body condition is a system devised by dog food producer Purina in which a dog's health is measured by certain criteria, whether they be too thin, ideal, or too heavy.
"This is specifically for animals and is kind of a rough estimate for where they should be weight wise," Hanson said.
If they reach this goal, the CAH will hand out a year's supply of parasite preventative medicine courtesy of Novartis Animal Health.
Besides this nice prize, the dogs also received specially formulated prescription food from Purina, basic obedience classes from the Gateway Training Academy in Waterloo and a new leash and collar from the Waterloo Feed Store.
So with all of this incentive, how are the dogs progressing for their final April weigh-in?
"All the dogs are losing weight, some faster than others," Hansen said. "Sometimes it just depends on the breed and how the owner is adapting as well."
Just ask Mary Stafford, whose miniature dachshund Holly is in the program.
"The first two weeks were the hardest," Stafford said. "I had to really discipline myself to not give in and feed Holly more than she really needed."
Hansen said the issue of feeding is a major problem for dog owners.
"Some have the continuous feeder, which is a big problem because the dog just feels it needs to eat all the time," Hansen said. "Table scraps are also a problem for owners because if the dog is begging they feel they want to make them happy so they feed them human food."
Another hurdle is the concept of exercising their dogs, which both Jeff Brinkmann and Bruce Kaestner have had problems with. Both men are in the challenge with their dogs Buddy, a beagle, and Lizzie, a golden retriever, respectively.
"It's been hard making sure the exercise happens, especially with the bad weather," Brinkmann said.
Kaestner seconds these thoughts, although he has already seen the benefits of the program on Lizzie.
"Lizzie has so much more energy when she plays," Kaestner said. "She used to just trot around and now she actually runs."
So with less than a month to go, the dogs and their owners are coming down the home stretch to a healthy and, hopefully, long life to live.
