Back in July of 2008, Delilah had what we referred to as an episode, it was the first of three. I won’t write about it here because it’s quite lengthy, but you can read it about on the page titled “Delilah’s Health,” which is nested under the “Cast of Characters” page. I warn you now, it’s not my best writing, but I haven’t yet had the time to go in to make it presentable.
Eventually with the help of a wonderful Holistic Veterinarian, Dr. Kevin Landau, we determined it was not seizures as our vet suspected, but a pinched nerve due to her excessive weight.
The date was March 31, 2010 and she weighed 96.5 pounds.
You can see how heavy she is in this photo, (this was after Dr. Landau’s treatment.)
To help her lose weight Dr. Landau suggested the raw food diet. Sampson was heavy as well and there was no way I was putting one dog on raw food and not the other.
This photo of Sampson was taken in July 17, 2010 he weighed 107 pounds.
At first expense was a real issue, so we started out feeding the dogs one raw meal per day, with the second meal being Taste of the Wild, a grain free kibble.
I also set up a rigid schedule of walking at least 30 minutes per day and longer on the weekends. It helped that the field at the top of the street gives them lots of off-leash running, which helped the weight come off.
When Delilah went for her annual exam in June of 2010, she weighed in at 94.8 pounds. Sampson’s annual exam was in October and he weighed 103.4.
In April of 2011, we went totally raw and we’ve never looked back.
That June, Delilah weighed in at 77.1 pounds, in October of the same year Sampson weighed in at 86.5 pounds.
We took Sampson with us when Delilah went for her annual in June of 2012 (moral support) Delilah weighed 74 pounds and Sampson weighed 89. Our vet was over the moon. She told us what a great job we’d done and said, we’ve probably given them 2 to 3 additional years of life.
Music to my ears and fuzzies for my heart.
They look great, but even better, they FEEL great. You can see their increased energy and they run like puppies, which is amazing to see in dogs that are 7 and 8 1/2.
We are incredibly lucky in the fact that the distribution facility where we purchase our food has a dog nutritionist. Based upon Sandy’s calculations we feed them for what we want them to weigh, in this manner the weight comes off slowly and is more likely to remain off.
Normally their treats are carrots and a couple of grain free cookies, but I think we’ve been a little indulgent with the cookies, so I’m cutting their food back a teensy bit.
Here’s what we feed them.
Chicken necks with Welactin on them and about 1/8 to 1/4 cup of canned pumpkin for breakfast.
Ground turkey with veggies, a tablespoon of coconut oil, a probiotic and 1/8 to 1/4 cup of yogurt for dinner.
For snacks and training they mostly get baby carrots, but I do have banana chips and some chicken and brown rice sticks that I buy at Trader Joe’s.
At night they get the stuffed white bone (more on that for Tasty Tuesday.) I did buy a bag of treats at the local warehouse and I think Hubby indulges those a little too much, hence the reason I am cutting back a bit on their food.
It’s hard to get a picture of their waists
Especially Delilah with her dark coloring. I can see them clearly defined but it doesn’t show well in the pictures.
Can you see the cut in? She kept trying to sit down, which is why I’m holding her back-end up.
Maybe it’s a little bit clearer here.
Sampson was a little bit easier, but that’s only because he is so barrel chested.
He kept sitting down too, in his case I think it worked to my advantage.
I can’t see their ribs, but I’m working on that! I love these two like crazy and want them with me and healthy as long as possible.
This is a year-long blog hop hosted by Dawg Business, I will be back when the hop is over with a recap on how well we did losing those last few pounds.
You can see how others are helping their dogs become fit and healthy, as well as getting some awesome tips to help your pups lose weight by clicking on the links below.
Many thanks to Jana for creating and organizing this event.
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