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mtnrdredux_gw

Low cal treats - for your dog?

mtnrdredux_gw
last year
last modified: last year

Our dear golden retriever, Clementine, needs to get in shape for bikini season. Well that, and she has put on some pounds of late. She also has been diagnosed with arthritis, which means it is all the more important to slim down.

As a 12.5yo, she is squarely in senior citizen territory for her breed. She has no other health issues, but she does have an (inoperable) benign tumor on the joint of one paw which is starting to impact her gait.

We feed her the (dry) dog food that her vet recommends. We are also in the habit of mixing in a spoonful of whatever we had for dinner (eg stock from soup, pan drippings). We thought that was reasonable because it is truly a spoonful but it gives her variety and more flavor. I don't know if that was enough to cause the weight gain or if it is due to reduced activity associated with arthritis.

At any rate, it kind of reminds me of making my Mom eat more veggies in her 90s. At some point, you start to wonder about the longevity vs pleasure tradeoff. I don't want to put her on 100% dry dog food diet, but I want to help her lose some weight. The vet gave us thyroid pills for her which should help.

Ideas?

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