Rottweilers Ate My Laptop

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

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

Revisiting canine calories

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I haven’t written about Freya’s quest to regain her girlish figure lately, mainly because she is stuck in a position that is all too familiar to many of us: the dreaded plateau. Since she is not gaining weight, and was only slightly overweight to begin with, I have tried not to worry too much about it even though I am puzzled as to why she’s not losing weight. Here are the past posts, if you didn’t get a chance to see them the first time around:

Counting canine calories
Freya’s weigh-in

She’s been keeping pretty active, but we probably haven’t been compensating enough for the rainy days (way too many of them this summer) when she didn’t get enough activity or the fact that we opted to take a break from group obedience classes for the eight-week session that just ended last Saturday.

Either that or Dan is feeding her a lot of extra treats when no one else is looking (I really don’t think this is the case, though, since there’s really been no change in the normal treat consumption and buying frequency pattern)!

The possibility of hypothyroid is always in the back of my mind, but Freya has been tested once and found normal (low-ish normal, but still normal). I’m not sure I want to spend the money for another full thyroid panel when she’s not showing any other symptoms related to hypothyroid other than the stubborn poundage.

So I am glad to see a very complete weight loss article in the September issue of Whole Dog Journal magazine. Even though the magazine hasn’t arrived yet, as a subscriber, I have access to the articles via the magazine’s website, which is a much-appreciated feature. I’ve just had time to skim the main article, and while much of it is information I’d already learned from a post at Dolittler earlier this year, there is other helpful information that is new to me.

I’d like to take a moment to plug Whole Dog Journal, if I may. It’s the only magazine for which I currently pay for a subscription. It is subscriber-supported and carries no commercial advertising. The focus is on natural dog care and positive training. I don’t consider myself 100% natural or a purely positive trainer by any means, yet I still find this magazine one of the most valuable dog resources available.

I have no connection with the magazine other than being a satisfied subscriber from the first issue to the present. Give it a try if you haven’t already.

(NaBloPoMo | August ’09: 19 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 207 of 274)

Freya’s weigh-in (25 of 30/91 of 274)

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As promised, today we stopped at the vet after obedience class for a weigh-in for Freya. I was quite relieved to learn that she had in fact lost weight during the six weeks since her annual check-up. Not quite so happy that it was just two pounds when she should have lost somewhere between 4-6 pounds, but at least she didn’t gain weight!

Seriously, this just underscores what I mentioned in Thursday’s post. In addition to switching to the low-fat formulation of her current food and monitoring calorie count of her regular meals, I really need to also be more careful about monitoring her treats.

I found quite a bit of helpful information at the Assocation for Pet Obesity Prevention website, including a list of calorie counts for many popular pet treats. Unfortunately, calorie counts for some of Freya’s favorite Wellness treats aren’t included, nor are they given on the Wellness website. I’ll try emailing them for the information, though.

I haven’t done well at increasing exercise, so that will be a greater priority as well. Masha left a good training suggestion in the last post’s comments: using a toy instead of treats as a motivator. I’m going to test it out in our next training session. I’ve had a few dogs who just got way too amped up with a toy as a reward, but it’s definitely worth a try.

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!)

Miscellaneous (27 of 31/62 of 274)

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It’s the end of a week in which I feel like I haven’t gotten much done. Some of these thoughts need expanding (and some of them will get their own posts in the future), and others are too long even in the short version. Anyway, here goes:

  • Note to self: In the future, don’t let too many versions of an operating system go by before doing an upgrade, budget or not. The Snap Server upgrade has turned into a really nasty project, and could have been prevented by spending around $500 two years ago. I can’t remember what we did spend that $500 on, either.
  • I wonder if an animal communicator would be able to get Axel to say why he hates one of our neighbors so much. Or would he just say the same thing one of my past bosses used to say: You can’t like everyone, there is a certain percent of people who are just idiots that you have to hate and you don’t have to have a real reason.
  • My old Dell Inspiron 1100 laptop, Freya-chewed corner and all, has moved on to a new owner. My “too old and too slow” is someone else’s “just enough to get by” and that isn’t all bad.
  • I really do wish there was such a thing as a pet fat transmogrifier. Axel could use the pounds that Freya needs to shed, and Annie could use Oliver’s extra pounds as well.
  • In the process of correcting someone for referring to Spam musubi as “Spam sushi” I found myself admitting to having a $200 rice cooker. Well, I do. And the Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy rice cookers are just about worth it. The model I have even cooks brown rice properly. Not that I ever eat brown rice; being a third-generation Japanese-American I eat normal (to me) short-grain Calrose rice practically every day. The other issue I have about Spam musubi is that all of the Internet recipes claim that you “need” the musubi press to make them properly. What, these people are too good to use the Spam can or… OMG! their HANDS? Then again, a novice musubi maker is not going to compress the rice properly with only their hands, or worse yet, make round musubi, so maybe it’s better they buy those cute little presses. Round musubi are only for funerals, although I think that might be a regional thing so I might be in the minority at being horrified when anyone makes them for everyday food.
  • I have once again procrastinated on getting all of the tax stuff in to the accountant. I don’t know why I hate doing that task so badly. Perhaps I can get my husband to do it next year. Or more likely, not. We have opposing viewpoints on whether a large refund is good or bad. I absolutely hate to get a refund or pay additional taxes of more than a couple of hundred dollars. To me, that just means poor planning and in the case of a large refund, that someone other than us had the use of our money for the year. Not acceptable. Anyway. Everything will be ready to send in on Monday.
  • Once again, the Rottweiler wrecking crew has gone from insane perpetual motion to adorable sleeping  angels. It’s like they run out of gas all of a sudden around 11 or 11:30pm and flop over to nap right in their tracks.
  • Speaking of flopping over and napping, what a great idea that is! Good night, all!

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!