My dog needs to lose weight, too! What tips can you give me?
Calorie restriction and exercise were the key to Lu-Seal’s weight loss. Lu-Seal is on a very strict calorie count – She gets most of her calories in regular food, but we provide a specific allowance for treats. She gets no table scraps and only licks plates when mom isn’t looking and her roommate sneaks her one. If humans are eating around her, she does get a tiny little healthy treat after the humans are finished eating so she doesn’t get too jealous. Ask your vet how many calories your dog should be eating.
What’s that pink thing on her collar?
It’s a FitBark! It’s a fitness tracker that tracks her physical activity levels, almost exactly like a Fitbit does for humans. It’s been one of the best purchases we made to make sure she stays active and gets enough exercise every single day.
My dog can’t walk very well anymore, how do I exercise him/her?
We started very slow, walking less than a block at a time at first, but we still did it often to get Lu-Seal’s strength up. Every day she could get a little bit further until she was walking up to a mile. We also did a lot of play. At first she could only play in a sitting position, but we would tease her with the toy to force her to move around for it.
The other key was pain management – Lu-Seal is on meloxicam prescribed by her vet to ease the pain and inflammation from her arthritis. If you think your dog is moving slowly because of pain, talk to you vet!
What food do you use?
Right now we use Natural Balance Fat Dogs, but Lu-Seal lost the majority of her weight on Cesar wet food. We only made the change because dry food is more convenient and the vet recommended the Fat Dogs formulation. Calorie counting is more important than the brand of food, but low calorie formulations might help your dog feel more full when they’re on their diet.
Oh my gosh how do you say no to her?
With great difficulty! She begs often and enthusiastically. If I ignore her and don’t make eye contact when she’s begging eventually she does give up (at least for a little while).
What camera do you use?
These days most of the photos we take are taken with a Nikon D5600 and a 35mm f/1.8 lens (this one). Some of the photos are still iPhone photos and very rarely I break out a Panasonic Lumix, which is a great little selfie camera and a nice compact alternative to lugging around a DSLR. Next we’re trying to figure out how to mount a go-pro to a chihuahua, so if you have any ideas for that we’d love to hear!
Do you make money off of Lu-Seal?
Most of the revenue that Lu-Seal has generated (from her party and from things like t-shirt sales) goes to the shelter she was adopted from, Humane Animal Rescue. We do get free stuff from time to time, but we also try to donate a lot of things that don’t fit or that we don’t use to Humane Animal Rescue. We’re not in this to make money, but if we do we like to make sure we’re also doing some good.