I am happy to report that today I have turned the corner and am now over halfway thru my year of writing a daily blog. I have to admit that I did miss one day (when my granddaughter was born) but with that exception, I have been writing EVERY single day since December 1, 2010.
It has been a very challenging, hectic and at times stressful six months, but I am still happy that I undertook the blog challenge.
I am not the only one who has faced and conquered challenges in our household. As some of you may know Miss Delilah has had some health incidents which has required the dogs to have lifestyle as well as dietary changes. (I am still working on that page!)
As of April 2010 the dogs went partially on the raw diet; kibble in the morning, raw food at night. They were going to daycare twice a week. In the fall we started walking them at night but when winter arrived, the ice challenge was too much to walk on the streets.
It was around January that I really explored the park at the top of the street and began taking the dogs up there for exercise. We began walking, a LOT! We also transitioned to ALL raw food. Delilah particularly began to look very svelte. Sampson was losing weight too, but not as quickly as Delilah.
On May 26th we celebrated the fourth anniversary of Delilah’s entrance into our lives. You know what that means…yup time to visit the vet for our annual check up and see if our hard work and dedication has paid off. Of course we all pile into the car because we can’t take one dog to the Vet and leave the other dog home.
You may not know this about me or my husband, but we don’t wait well. So as soon as we walked into the Vet’s office, we popped the big boy on the scale.
Chet gasped, “NO WAY!”
Drum Roll please………..92.1 pounds! ( That’s 41.8 kg for my Canadian friends.) This is the first time the big guy has been under 100 pounds (50 kg) in about 4 or 5 years! His total weight loss…..15.9 pounds! (7.2 kg) Our Vet would like to see him drop about another 10 pounds (4.5 kg,) but I’m not really sure that is feasible for him, he does have a really big frame.
Next up…..Delilah. Dare I say Drum Roll again? Oh, I just did. Drum Roll…………73.1 OMG! (33.2 kg) That is three pounds (1.4 kg) less than when we got her! Total weight loss 33.4 pounds (15.2 kg).
Delilah looks so slim and trim I even asked the Vet, “Do you think she is too thin?”
“No” she is perfect!
I concur.
In this corner, looking svelte and slim and weighing in at 73.1 pounds......Delilah Stone
In this corner, weighing 92.1 pounds.....Sampson Stone
bravo! They are both looking very healthy, and it sounds from your posts, like they are enjoying their new diet immensely. I give Gwynn some non-kibble food, but I’d like to start doing something similar to what you were doing in december… kibble in the morning, raw in the evening. Maybe this summer i’ll be able to make the change – it’s clearly done good things to your dogs!
The result is simply amazing. I’m sure Gwynn will love it! I had them on a grain-free kibble (Taste of the Wild) which they liked, but they LOVE the raw. It is a little gross at first, but you get use to it..just like anything else. 🙂
Wow! wow! They look great! Congrats on the excellent work. It’s not easy, I know, but you, Sampson and Delilah have done great. Please stop by my book’s FB page and share your success and photos! http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Dieting-with-my-Dog/172477776139262
Thanks Peggy, will stop by later tonight!