Rottweilers Ate My Laptop

Rottweilers. Computers. Cameras. World Domination. Not necessarily in that order.

Rottweilers.
Computers. Cameras.
World Domination.
Not necessarily in that order.

Counting canine calories (23 of 30/89 of 274)

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Dr. Patty Khuly at Dolittler had a great post today about calorie counting for fat dogs. The following excerpt is something that really hit home, related to the lovely Freya and the handsome Axel:

The first sticking point? It always comes down to measuring everything the dog eats and does. The kids might have fed X. I didn’t know the treats counted. (Seriously?) My mother-in-law sneaks her food under the table.

While we of course know that treats count, we haven’t been monitoring the types and amounts of treats, as well as food used in training sessions, as closely as we should. I am sure that as I start keeping track, I will be surprised and somewhat dismayed, much as I was when I’ve kept a food diary for myself and realized how much mindless snacking happens during a typical workday.

As you may recall, Freya has some weight to lose and Axel has some weight to gain.

In the month since he’s been home, Axel’s put on several pounds. Once we got a good handle on the amount of energy he expends when spending part of the day in a kennel run and part as a house dog, as compared to being a full-time house dog, it was pretty easy to recalculate the amount of food he needs when living with his handler, and the smaller amount of food he needs when living at home with us.

I must admit that I have not been as diligent as I should have been about getting enough additional exercise for Freya (and myself). I just found a nearby source for the low fat formulation of California Natural Lamb and Rice, which is one of the only foods that Freya can eat due to her mild IBS. I was quite relieved to find that she likes it, and that she can eat it with no tummy troubles, so that will be a help in reducing her calories and still letting her eat enough to feel full.

I mentioned in my earlier post that Freya’s vet calculated her calorie requirements. At the time I did not ask for the details (math is not my strong point and I do trust our vets), but I can now double-check using the information in today’s Dolittler post:

Base calories/day (resting energy requirement) = 30 x (your dog’s weight in kg) + 70
* Weight loss needed, neutered/spayed = 1 x base calories
* Weight loss needed, intact = 1.1x base calories

Freya: [(30 x 42 kg) + 70] x 1 = 1330 calories
California Natural Lamb and Rice = 430 calories per cup
1330 / 430 = 3.09 cups per day (if no treats or extras were fed)

She gets 2 to 2.5 cups per day, plus treats, so that should be fine, which agrees with our vet’s calculations. That is, unless the treats I’m using turn out to be more caloric than I thought. I’ll need to track down the information on that, which was another suggestion from the Dolittler post. It is very true that caloric information for treats is not always on the package, but often easy enough to find on the manufacturer’s websites, so it is time for me to do some research and maybe switch some treat choices. I often use “people food” for training treats, usually hot dogs or frozen meatballs, so it will be easy enough to switch to the low fat versions of those items as well.

I’ll stop at the vet on the way home from training on Saturday and get a current weight for Freya, and see how we are doing so far.

(PS: This is also the Day 7 assignment for 31DBBB. Yes, I’m a bit behind, but still working through this excellent series!)

Giving up calories (14 of 31/49 of 274)

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Freya went to the vet today for her annual immunizations and checkup. She is a favorite at the clinic and basks in the adoration of the staff whenever she visits. She received a clean bill of health, except for the approximately 10 pounds she has put on since she was spayed 2 years ago. She weighed in at 92 pounds today. Her ideal weight is somewhere between 82-85 pounds, which is how much she weighed the last time I showed her, and on her spay date.

It is apparently not a myth that a dog’s metabolism may slow down somewhat after spaying or neutering. However, that did not happen with any of my prior Rottweilers, so this is a new experience for me. I’ve had much more experience putting needed weight on a dog, rather than taking it off.

Quite honestly, I could stand to lose about the same amount of weight, so the first thing we’ll do is add some walks of the exercise type rather than the wandering type. I don’t want to cut back on Freya’s food, nor change it right now. She gets 2-2.5 cups a day, which according to the vet’s calorie analysis today, would be about right for her current food. She has a very mild case of IBS, and after one entire summer of experimenting with many different foods to find one that worked well for her, I’m not eager to repeat the process.

One thing we’ll have to do is cut back on the treats. Like most Rottweilers, Freya is extremely food motivated, so training time involves treats as well. This is not going to go over well.

To add to the fun, Axel needs to put on a few pounds during his break from the show circuit. I have always hated that whole deal where show weight is about 10-15 pounds heavier than working weight for a typical adult male Rottweiler, but I have to admit that he does look good at his show weight.

Wouldn’t it be great if there was a canine fat transformer, so I could just take those pounds off Freya and give them to Axel?

Nothing for Axel at today’s show, so please hope with me for at least one day of Axel love on Sunday. He’ll be home either Sunday or Monday, win or lose, and then I win since everyone’s home again!