[nagdu] lots and lots of very overweight dogs.

[Raven Tolliver]

It is not only older dogs that are overweight. Ages 4, 5, or 6 are not
old for a dog. And yet plenty of dogs around these ages are
overweight. Obviously, the schools could stand to educate more about
portion size, activity level, and low-key ways to exercise your dog.
People are too busy looking for excuses rather than looking for
plausible solutions concerning their overweight guide dogs.

Pertaining to your retired guide Debby, there are certainly options.
Do you have any friends, neighbors, or family members who you would
trust to walk Lamar? Other people who already walk their dogs in your
area might be down for taking your boy along.
You can also invest in a toy or two that activate or stimulate his
prey-drive or drive for food. There are plenty of toys now that
bounce, move, and roll around to get your dog to chase after them.
Also, simple toys like puzzle toys stimulate your dog mentally and
physically, especially the round ones that roll and compel the dog to
move with the toy to continue getting the food out. For a puzzle toy,
you can subtract food from his daily portion and put it in the puzzle
so there's no worry for weight gain. You could also use low calorie
treats like frozen bits of fruit, or frozen berries.
If you need help finding some of these toys, we can help with that.
Hth.
-- 
Raven
Founder of 1AM Editing & Research
www.1am-editing.com

You are valuable because of your potential, not because of what you
have or what you do.

Naturally-reared guide dogs
https://groups.google.com/d/forum/nrguidedogs

On 7/16/15, Debby Phillips via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Amen, Cindy! Not only that, but when you young folks are my age,
> trust me, losing weight won't be that easy.  And frankly it's
> nobody's business whether people are overweight or not on this
> list.  It's totally off topic and totally judgmental.  As for
> dogs, for sure Seeing Eye gives us lots of information about how
> to tell whether your dog is overweight or not.  I'm sure that the
> other schools do too.  Part of the problem is when dogs get older
> they sometimes get less work.  We are struggling with this with
> Lamar, my retired guide.  I can't take him for walks with me
> because he doesn't want to walk on the right side, which is where
> he would have to walk, since Nova would be guiding me on my left.
> I don't have time to take him for separate walks with me and my
> cane, either.  My husband doesn't really go for walks, unless I
> bug him to take Lamar and go with me and Nova.  Nova plays with
> him sometimes, but she's a lot more into playing by herself than
> playing with him.  As it is, he's only getting 2 cups a day, and
> they aren't totally level cups either.  I'd love for him to get
> down to a weight that is more suitable, but as long as I'm
> working full time, I can't get him out and about much.  I just
> started back at a very physical job, and I'm so tired every day
> when I get home that I'm having a hard time getting Nova out for
> more than our trips back and forth to work.  I'll adjust, I know
> that this week is partly adjusting back to West Coast time, and
> to working where I'm on my feet all day.  So I just don't know
> what to do about Lamar.    Debby and Nova
>
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