It’s National Dog Training Month!
Sydney before she lost her weight; she could barely walk 2 miles before being tired out.
When I started a new diet and fitness regime, I used a fitness and calorie tracking app by Live Strong along with the Nike app on my iPod to track the distance of my walk with the dogs. It was eye opening. I had no idea how much food I was woofing down on a daily basis. No wonder I had gained 6 pounds. Well, I lost the weight, but I still practice what I learned using these tools.
I’m a curvy girl with an athletic build, which means that if I don’t watch it, my weight can creep up on me; quickly. How I long for the days when I could lose 10 pounds just by sneezing.
Sydney is the same. She’s a curvy girl who loves her food. The SlimDoggy app would be perfect for both of us, because it helps me track her fitness and calories so that I can help her maintain a healthy weight and skirt the path of dog obesity. I spent some time on the phone with the CEO of SlimDoggy, Steve Pelletier, who adopted his yellow lab Jack, who was 105 lbs. and on Prozac when he and his wife adopted him last year. Jack was deemed unadoptable (he had been at the shelter for over a year) when they took him home and now he is a happy and healthy dog.
Sydney after she lost some weight. She’s happier, healthier, and runs and plays more.
This made me wonder about the number of dogs who are labeled “unadoptable” because of health issues brought about by dog obesity. Could the SlimDoggy app help? Yes and Steve and his team are partnering with rescue groups around the country to make this happen and donating a portion of their revenue to dog rescue as well.
We’ve all heard and read that obesity is a growing problem in the US; so is it any surprise that pet obesity is a growing problem as well? Over half (53%) of dogs are over weight or obese; that’s over 41 million dogs! And can you believe that the cost of medical care for these dogs tops $4 billion annual?
This week, the theme of my articles will be about nutrition and exercise for our dogs to put all of us one step away from the dog obesity epidemic.
I would love to hear what you have done with your dog to help him/her stay slim and trim. Changed their diet? Take longer walks?
January 22, 2013 at 3:25 pm
Sydney is looking great! Need to get my guys on a diet routine too…sounds like this app could help!
January 23, 2013 at 6:26 am
Thanks, Kate!
Twitter: thefurmom
January 22, 2013 at 5:18 pm
Thanks for this Kimberly. This is a huge problem that can be easily managed with some tools like SlimDoggy. My dogs could stand to lose a few lbs for sure. I will check it out!
January 23, 2013 at 6:26 am
Fantastic, Karen!
Twitter: thefurmom
January 23, 2013 at 7:11 am
I had this problem with my yellow lab (I think they are one of the breeds that is more susceptible) and with my spaniel Kelly. That’s how I came to write my book Dieting with my Dog. It helped us to motivate each other to get fit.
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Peggy Frezon recently published..Wednesday Pet Roundup- small dogs, clunkers for cats
Twitter: peggyfrezon
January 23, 2013 at 7:12 pm
Great idea, Peggy
Having dogs is such a great excuse to exercise. I want to be able to keep up with them and walking them is so fun and peaceful. The dieting part is harder, because it’s so hard to know if we’re over feeding them – BUT I’m learning
Twitter: thefurmom
January 24, 2013 at 7:30 am
Its not hard to know if you are overfeeding IF you use the slimdoggy app!
Thanks for posting this Kimberly and keep up the great work on your site.
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Steve recently published..K9FitClub and Tricia Montgomery
Twitter: myslimdoggy
January 25, 2013 at 7:49 am
Thanks, Steve!!! And thanks for creating such an amazing App!
Twitter: thefurmom