Lucy Celebrates The Biggest Loss of Her Life-30 Pounds!

By Tonia Evans

Get The Inside Scoop On How Your Dog Can Lose Weight too!
It’s Possible-with a healthy diet, and exercise.

Like many American dogs-Lucy had a problem with being overweight. Sure her pet parents thought she was simply Big Boned-but when her veterinarian had to schedule knee replacement surgery, at only 5 years old-the family finally realized they had to take her weight (Loss) seriously.

Lucy’s not alone, I’ve read that almost half of all the dogs veterinarians treat are overweight or obese. Now there’s hope for dogs (and cats) to lose weight, and it all starts with a plan.

First, the veterinarian and the pet caregivers must be committed to a healthy weight loss program for life. Gwen Nelson, Lucy’s mom admitted “I was overfeeding her.” She added that with the snowy winter, there have been less outdoor walks for everyone-including Lucy, and the combination really affected her dog’s weight. Lucy’s new plan consisted of a healthier diet, including fresh fruits and vegetables, and exercise. “Lucy loves carrots, broccoli, apples and banana’s!” Shared Gwen.

Lucy’s exercise plan began at Animotion in Stoughton, an animal rehabilitation center that’s celebrating their one year anniversary. They started Lucy with therapeutic exercises- including the balance board, then she progressed to the low impact underwater treadmill and ended up in the heated exercise pool over time. Initially she had appointments twice a week and as she began to lose weight, she went down to one day a week. Gwen Said “She took to the pool immediately!”

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Between a healthy diet, swimming in the pool and going on more outdoor walks, Lucy has lost approximately 30 pounds over a five month period. That’s a wonderful success for a dog. Now Lucy will be able to keep up with Gwen’s daughter Kaitlyn, who, as you can see really loves her dog! I’m sure they’ll be busy all summer long.

Tips For Helping Your Dog Trim Down Include:

• Meeting with Your Veterinarian
• Getting Your Dog’s Starting Weight
• Setting Up A Healthy Plan
• Feeding Smaller Portions of Food
• Adding Vegetables and Fruits-Raw Carrots are so yummy.
• Reducing the number of Fatty Treats.
• Avoiding Foods With Too Much Sugar, Try Sugar-Free yogurt Instead!
• Setting Up A Healthy Eating Location-Not at The Dinner Table!
• Adding Exercise-Start With Short Walks, Playtime, Ball Throwing, Swimming.
• Trying A Pet Rehab Center To Get Started!

For more information on Animotion Click Here. All photo’s were taken by Karen McCarthy.