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Wednesday, May 04, 2011

Beefcake Scooter

Tubby here weighed in at 39 lbs at the vet's today!
In the past two years, he's gained 8 lbs, which isn't much by human standards, but for his relatively small size, it's like the human equivilant of gaining about 20 lbs a year (the vet told me).  Ideally, Scooter should weigh about 30 lbs.

We feed him measured proportions of kibble and he gets regular exercise.

The big culprit is, of course, his consumption of human food via Norah.  She drops a lot of food, hands him a lot of food, and Scooter will out-right steal a lot of food from her -- he will literally snatch things right out of her hands if she's not vigilant.  The vet said that cutting back on his regular kibble or switching to diet kibble won't make much of a difference; he has to eat less (preferrably, no) human food.  So, I guess when Norah's snacking or having a meal, Scooter is gonna have to get shut away in the bedroom. 

That's my best thought -- any other suggestions?  Maybe doggie lipo?

16 comments:

Erin said...

Removing him from the temptation is the best solution for everyone. He won't be tempted or get in trouble (same with Norah) and you can feel better knowing you are helping him live a longer healthier life. Poor Scooter :(

Tim F said...

We are having the same issue with our dogs, especially our 16 pound puggle. My daugther always drops food for them.

With the weather nicer we try to take the dogs out for more walks and also limit there regular food. Other than that, eventually we would have to throw them outside when my daughter eats.

ajh said...

Oh poor Scooter. This is a tough one. Good luck with it.

Lee said...

Murphy is a bit of a chubster too, although he's small for a golden retriever. Our vet suggested giving him as much canned green beans as he wants. Maybe give some of those to Scooter while Norah is eating to distract him? Of course, he'll probably eat them in .5 seconds and then you'll be back to the original problem.

Lee said...

My comment didn't make much sense. I mean canned green beans instead of other food...like Norah's or in Murphy's case treats.

Charbelle said...

He's such a handsome boy, ahhh I know it's not healthy but it's pretty comical. I'm going to check back on the suggestions you get because I have a feeling that when Jack moves to our new home and our two year old is dropping food he's going to be gaining some weight.

Viv said...

Poor Scooter, I feel ya buddy!

Mary said...

I have no suggestions, but this made me laugh. We had to do the same thing with our kids and the dog. The twins were the worst -- they would say, "Oops!" and *then* drop the food.

Andy said...

I have friends who are in the same situation, and the best thing to do is remove him from the situation. Wonder if they make puppy treadmills? :)

Jess said...

I think keeping him in another room while she is eating is probably smart. That way you wont' have to worry every time something falls on the floor.

Wes said...

snatching food from the baby is a big no no.... other than that, I would say, don't worry. be happy. After the kids get bigger, Scooter will be on an instant diet :-)

Tiffany said...

I personally think that every house that has kids needs a dog to clean up the kitchen floor after meals!

Maybe since my girls are bigger and not dropping as much food on the floor is the reason our once 100 pound dog is down to 80?

Shellyrm ~ just a country runner said...

I agree. Removing him from the temptation to steal or be given human food is the best choose in the long run for everyone. Give him extra love after meal and snack time when he rejoins the family. He might like that better than the stolen treats.

Julie D said...

I thought carrots were a normal doggie treat?

MNFirefly said...

I would increase the walks frequency and keep him confined when Norah eats. Plus it's best to attempt to educate on not feeding Scooter as well.

N.D. said...

that's so tough! is people food bad for dogs? I agree w/ the more walks, etc. to offset the food!