I’m sick of obese dogs

[alexrcraig]

@beta2 Can I add one other dimension? Trying to work through leash reactivity you use treats sometimes. My dog is little so the difference between 17 pounds and 19 pounds is healthy weight to FAT. And I measure out the food to use during the day. And even though I was using little bits of HIGH VALUE treats, they add up. I felt so so so bad did I want my pup healthy or did I want him confident on walks?! I picked healthy. We figured out to remove a few kibble from his measured out 3/4 cup, use those kibble as his inside treat and green beans as his outside treat which kinda worked but not great. Now I’m in training again but this guy breaks down the behaviors and builds confidence, relationship, and clear expectations away from the triggers FIRST so it’s working with lower value treats and he looks like he’s still a healthy weight!!!! (when I first got my dog he was underweight as well so getting him to the magic zone took practice).

On the other hand, I was at Starbucks working and looked out the window to see this elderly couple who obviously love their chihuahua but they are feeding/loving it to death it was the most rotund chihuahua I have ever seen. I saw them feeding it TJ’s ice cream sample, big treats etc etc. I felt so so bad for that dog.

 

[beta2]

@alexrcraig I understand.
I use freeze dried chicken and kibble to train to avoid weight gain. Like I’ll feed my dog’s meal on walk or half of her meal.

 

[alexrcraig]

@beta2 Our magic levels of treats: kibble, green beans, salmon skin bits and as we practice magnet hand - the stinky gravy of wet food on a spoon. All the stink fewer calories.

 

[dinhthaihoang]

@beta2 My pup has a sensitive stomach so I used his food for basic obedience and then shredded chicken for occasional outside work. I’m very overweight myself (I’m working on it though) so I obsessively make sure my pup is at a proper weight I don’t weigh him daily but definitely look at his figure to make sure he is a proper weight.

 

[alexrcraig]

@dinhthaihoang Omg same! I look at him and think, noooo it’s not happening to you on my watch!

 

[steve333]

@alexrcraig I feel this so hard (even as a groomer/trainer!)

My lab is, well, the textbook definition of an "easy keeper". He could probably gain weight from thinking about food. I basically had to cut his breakfast to 1/3 to account for training out of the house. (He's just over a year, and an SD prospect so lots of trips out for generalization and working him in New places/around various distractions).

My 18mo standard poodle-? Not so much. That dog could lose weight from watching someone exercise. He was a good bit underweight when we got him and it's been a challenge to have him gain a bit and keep it on while still getting him the exercise he needs.

Most of my previous dogs have leaned towards the former end of the metabolism scale so it's... Weird.... Trying to find places to add a few extra calories rather than subtract but doable. I really feel for folks who have to go the other way, from one that is challenging to keep weight on to an easy keeper. That doesn't excuse morbidly obese dogs, but I can see how folks forget that training rewards really do add up.

 

[alexrcraig]

@steve333 Thank you!! I really am mindful to keep him healthy as possible and i feel so bad when I fail him, I appreciate the empathy!

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@alexrcraig This is not what you asked, but look into BAT 2.0 by Grisha Stewart. It’s reactivity training without treats, and it’s been far more successful for me than anything else!!!

 

[alexrcraig]

@imagebeastmarkbeast This is so funny, this comment popped up on my homescreen as I was searching for BAT 2.0 (right after I bought the book and was looking at videos): kismet!!!

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@alexrcraig Lollll

Good luck with your journey!!! BAT was literally life changing for my dog

It’s a pain in the butt to do set ups, but it’s soooo worth it.

 

[alexrcraig]

@imagebeastmarkbeast Thank you so much!! I hope I have the skills to do set ups but anything to make him feel more confident in his world!

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@alexrcraig Read the book, and do your best. As long as you start far away, you are going to be fine!

BAT is super user friendly in my experience. With other methods, there are so many things that can go wrong, but with BAT you just might progress a little slower.

I’m here if you have any questions! I’m not an expert or anything, but I have used BATto get my dog to the point where he’s basically non reactive, and I’m a huge believer!