Project Pooch Paunch – Initial Report

My dogs are fat. They aren’t disgustingly fat, but they’re fat.

Milo and Mina in 2009

Mina and Milo are my brother and sister duo. They’re litter mates but I suspect their hussy, trailer park mother was taken advantage of by at least two separate males. At first I thought Mina was just the runt because she is smaller than Milo, but upon further inspection, one would notice many more differences than just size.

Her ears are flat. Her nose is shorter. Her chest isn’t as full. Her eyes are buggier. I think her daddy was a Chihuahua or Chihuahua mix. Milo apparently looked just like his mother and the other pups in the litter. Or so I was told.

But I digress.

They’re fat. The vet says Milo should way about 27lbs. She also said Mina should weigh about 17lbs. Currently Milo is about 31lbs and Miss Mina is about 20lbs.

I thought it would be interesting to figure out the percentages. Why? Because I’m a dork. Also, I wanted to see how that would relate to a human so I could wrap my brain around how seriously overweight they are.

SO! They should both lose about 14% of their body weight. That’s HUGE. Especially for a little dog. (Are you beat down by the details yet?)

Okay, so the plan is to get these pups into shape. First we’ve made sure that we aren’t feeding them too much. Fortunately we aren’t but we did decide to split their food into two feedings per day. My husband, Mark, feeds them in the morning before work and I feed them in the evening after work. So far this is working very well. We also don’t give them any processed human food. Never have, never will. Occasionally I’ll toss a carrot or banana or pear their way, but never more than a random raw fruit or veggie. We also don’t overly treat them. So the food really isn’t the issue.

The issue is lack of exercise.

So here’s the plan. I need to walk them for at least 30 minutes every day. SHOCK! What a concept. It really is that easy.

We have a great area where I can let them off leash too, so they get mega exercise running instead of pulling on the end of a leash.

2 weeks ago I was doing very well taking them out but these past two weeks I’ve fallen off the wagon. Today it is storming. I kinda don’t want to be struck by lightning.

So weather pending, from this day forth, I shall walk my dogs on a regular basis!

I will post puppy weigh-ins once a month until we’re at goal! LOL.

Now this is where I ask you, why should you care about my dogs and their fat butts? Well, you might, but you certainly shouldn’t. This post isn’t just about my dogs though. It’s about YOUR dogs!

That’s right. Are your dogs fat? Do you need to be better doggy parents and walk them regularly? If so, then I challenge you to do so. Take care of your pups. They depend on us!