[NAGDU] Ui is obesity!

Fri Sep 24 02:27:39 UTC 2021

Hi, as I have said before while working Sherlock doesn't pay any attention to food. However, out of harness he is all for food. My nieces know not to feed my dogs and if things are dropped my mum makes sure the family dog gets it before either of my dogs. Sherlock does get the odd treat from either me or my nieces but it is only fruit, normally bananas and this is not very often. Most treats I give Sherlock are liver treats which is the only treat I have found that he likes. I don't use his food because normally if I am giving him a treat at home my other dog also lines up for one and he has a sensitive tummy so we have to watch what he eats. Sherlock isn't good at coming back inside at nights when I toilet him so I use the treats at this time which is slowly working to get him better. Now Sherlock is going on long walks with my dad every couple of days I expect the weight will soon come off. As I have said I have arthritis so can't walk far so the kind of walk I would be able to do with him probably wouldn't affect his weight.

Bye for now.
>From Shaz.
Canberra, Australia.

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Julie McGinnity via NAGDU
Sent: Thursday, 23 September 2021 11:09 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Julie McGinnity <kaybaycar at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Ui is obesity!

Just a few tips as I dealt with a dog once who struggled with weight:

Monitor everything that goes in the dog's mouth. Is your dog a scavenger? Do they get treats/food from family members? Does your dog try to get at other animal's food or even their own food? Seriously, if this means the dog is leashed at the dinner table, then that's what it takes. If it means you keep the dog in another room while certain family members or children are eating, then again, that's what it takes.

Do not allow your dog outside off leash. Your dog can pick up anything outside. This is bad for their weight, but it's also just in general better to monitor what they're doing in a yard because they have to work for you. It's always best to do what we can to reduce the chances of our dogs throwing up in public or being sick when we need them to work.

Limit food rewards. Ok ok, I don't like food rewards as a general rule. Lol But I was directed once that if I wanted to use food rewards, to take them out of my dog's meal portions.

Reduce food to a reasonable amount. Do remember that a dog may scavenge more if their food is decreased too much or they are on a food that doesn't fill them up.

Work with your dog on food refusal, avoiding food on the floor, and just generally ignoring food. These dogs can be sneaky, so encorporating food into your daily obedience routine will work wonders. I used to play all kinds of obedience games with my first dog, like setting up food obstacle courses in the house, sitting next to her while I ate without looking at her, etc. Just make sure you're not teasing the dog with food and instead making it very clear that all food comes from your hand or their bowl.

Make sure your dog gets lots of exercise. This one might get hard or annoying during the pandemic. But you can get a long leash to use in the yard. You can play with your dog and their toys. You can walk around your neighborhood. If you do have driving eyeballs around, you can go to the mall or maybe even a park to walk. You can even take Uber or Lyft somewhere to walk. I took my current dog grocery shopping at the beginning of the pandemic to keep his skills sharp, give him some exercise, and avoid the ridiculous delivery waits. This might not be your thing and may not be safe depending on the dog, but I also used to jog with my current dog. This was great exercise for us when I was unemployed and not going anywhere every day.

There is really a lot we can do to make sure our dogs stay at the right weight. It's harder when you live in a place where fiewer walking options are available. I get that, and I know the pandemic made things so much harder. But it's up to us to make sure our dogs stay healthy and engaged. And I am a huge proponent of no human food for our dogs. Obviously some foods like green beans and carrots are safe and healthy, but it amazed me when I got my first dog how much they can be obsessed with people food. The way I see it our dogs have a job to do, and anything that detracts from their ability to keep us safe needs to be cut out immediately.

Hope any of this helps,

Julie

On 9/22/21, Cindy Ray via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> This isn’t to be judgmental or anything, but why does your father have 
> to take out your guide. Are you unable to walk the dog yourself?
> Cindy
> cindyray at gmail.com <mailto:cindyray at gmail.com>
>
>
>> On Sep 22, 2021, at 12:15 PM, Sharon S via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>
>> Hi, my boy is currently about 4kgs over weight. I had him at the vets 
>> this week and the vet suggested I drop his amount of food down. 
>> However at the moment he only gets a cup of food twice a day, down 
>> from what he was having when I got him in February. At the moment 
>> because we are in lockdown we aren't going anywhere so this might 
>> have something to do with it as well.
>> He
>> was down on the weight we got last time we visited the vet but 
>> because we were there for my other dog Rolo, Sherlock's weight wasn't 
>> recorded on the vets records. In the last few weeks my dad has 
>> started taking Sherlock out with him on one of the two walks he does 
>> each day. We have now decided he will take him every second day so he doesn't start expecting it every day.
>> However, this has upset Rolo because he normally goes out on every 
>> walk dad does but he isn't taking Rolo when he takes Sherlock because 
>> one dog on lead is all he can handle. He takes the family dog off 
>> lead but she isn't a runner like my boys are. I have been told it is 
>> a thing with golden retrievers that once they get away they don't 
>> listen and won't come back.
>> I
>> haven't really had this tested with Sherlock but Rolo has gotten out 
>> twice and both times people were chasing him around the place. The 
>> good thing about Rolo is he likes talking to people so when he ended 
>> up stopping to talk to some kids we were able to get them to grab 
>> hold of him until we could get there.
>>
>> Sorry gone on a bit more then I meant to, I'm off to bed for good 
>> this time.
>> Rolo just came back inside so I don't need to worry anymore about 
>> what he might be up to.
>>
>> Bye for now.
>> From Shaz.
>> Canberra, Australia.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Tarzan via NAGDU
>> Sent: Tuesday, 21 September 2021 3:58 AM
>> To: NADDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: Tarzan <dr.tarzan at rakuten.jp>
>> Subject: [NAGDU] Ui is obesity!
>>
>> Hi, I'm Tarzan. I'm liveing in Japan.
>> My second guide dog is called Ui. A boy, 4 years old, Labrador 
>> retriever, yellow.
>>
>> He was 26 kirogram when he came to me 2 yers ago. But now his weigh 
>> is 34 kirogam. Oh my guds! So he has gone to a training center for lose weight.
>>
>> Actually, I'm a teacher of a school for the blind. I have to go to 
>> school every day. But my guide dog is not beside me.
>>
>> Therefor I go to work by taxi.
>>
>>
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>
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--
Julie A. McGinnity
MM Vocal Performance, 2015; American University Washington College of Law, JD Candidate 2023

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