Saturday, July 5, 2014

Uno's Diet Journey Part I

So, I think Uno has officially hit his senior years. It started with a graying muzzle few years ago, he's gotten calmer. One thing I've struggled with is keeping his weight in check. It seems like the last couple years his metabolism has dropped pretty drastically. He's had a full blood panel including a thyroid check and the vet everything looked normal (even though I know thyroid results may not always be accurate).

He eats less than the recommended amount for his weight, about 16-18 oz a day split into 2 meals, very few treats and an occasional bully stick. He gets walked about 1.5 hours a day and we go on 5-6 mile hikes on weekends (although I havent done so in couple months due to heat). Despite all this, he doesn't seem to lose the weight around midsection. Whats interesting is that looking from the top, he's got a nice hourglass shape, you can see the outline of his rib cage when he walks and there's no fat over the ribs when I palpate it.

Couple days ago, a rep left me couple bottles of a weight loss supplements for dogs. I generally avoid these things because I think they are gimmicky and same thing can be accomplished with food restriction and increased exercise. I was concerned about the ingredients which include garcinia cambogia and green tea. She assured me that they have done extensive testing on the supplement and its even NASC certified.

I decided to give it a try because he's never had issues with any supplements and it might help reduce the size of his lipomas since they are partially linked to dietary fat consumption.

This is the supplement http://www.purelife4pets.com/all-natural-pet-supplements/weight-management.php

I took couple pics of the old man today, and we'll be trying the supplement for a month and then do a follow up post with results.