Volume 14-1.4
[ January 25, 2014 ]
Slim Ling Ling, husky Oreo – no, he’s not a husky, he’s a shih tzu 🙂 : Photo credit: Sandra Bell Kirchman
In “Chow Down – The Oreo Gobble – Part 1,” we found that Oreo apparently lives to eat, unlike Ling Ling, who simply eats to live. What makes the difference in these two dogs, the same breed, born one year and 200 miles apart? Is it that one’s male and the other female? Is it the jollier temperament of the eater (Oreo is a lover, not an exerciser; Ling Ling is on the go at all times, when she isn’t sleeping)?
Does Oreo have better or more taste buds? (As an aside, dogs have only 1700 taste buds, centred in the mouth, compared to a human’s 9000 taste buds. Interestingly, dogs have 3.6 times as many taste buds as cats who tongue in at 470 taste buds. Dogs can discern four of the basic taste sensations: sweet, salty, sour and bitter.)
So with this information, do any clues stand out on the different internal eating patterns of gobblers versus pickers? Let’s look more closely.
Oreo, in leaner times, wondering where his supper is … Photo credit: Sandra Bell Kirchman
Special Food – the Way to a Chubby Angel’s Heart
By the time we realize we had a real problem with Oreo’s weight gain, we had rescued Tilly Tot and had to put her on Urinary SO special dog food and kibbles because of her tendency to make bladder stones (Tilly’s whole story will eventually be told). Our vet, Dr. Kent Weir, at Prairie East Veterinary Clinic, said it wouldn’t hurt Ling Ling and Oreo to eat this food as well, and the two youngsters loved it. Tilly did not (more about that later).
Because Oreo liked this new food so much, he ate more of it, and I finally had to cut down his portions. It broke my heart because one of Oreo’s biggest joys in life was a big meal, followed by treats, with plenty of treats throughout the day.
Tough Love
However, due to necessity, I hardened my heart and put him on a strict diet (did you guess it? Diet is the dirty, four-letter word in our household. 😉 ) By this time, he was up to 22 lbs. I can’t tell you how much I hated going to the vet’s and hearing that he had gained another pound in the six weeks between visits (which were so frequent because, at that time, our groomer had her business at the vet’s). So the next visit after a harsh diet regime, Oreo had lost one whole pound. The vet was surprised and the whole staff were congratulatory. The vet told me that it was maybe a bit much for him to lose that large an amount in five weeks, but he was pleased all the same. Now the trick was to keep it off.
How about your puppy or cat? Do you have issues with their diet?
We’d love to hear about any eating problems your pets might have,
and what you are doing to cope. Just enter a comment at the bottom
of this post where it obligingly says, “Leave a Comment.”
(Next week watch for “Chow Down – the Oreo Gobble – Part 3”)
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Sandra Bell Kirchman
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