Skip to main content

My Dog: Fluffy or a Fattie?

Does Molly's fur coat make her look fat?

My dog, Molly, has been to the vet a few times in the past couple of months for an infection and teeth cleaning. The vet recommended that Molly lose some weight and asked how much Molly was eating. "One and a half cups a day of ... dog food and some cabbage," I said. And yes, that's using a measuring cup, I explained, not a slurpee cup. Yes, Molly gets exercise--she runs on the treadmill every day. Nonetheless, the vet suggested giving Molly less food.

Is this a good idea? Let's consider some observations, facts and assumptions.

First, is Molly fat? Someone at the dog park nicknamed her "Marshmallow," and her hips look quite a bit wider than her chest when she sits down. Yet there aren't rolls of fat on her. When I pinch her fat around her middle, it's only 3/8" thick. Her hind quarters are too firm to pinch. Her midriff is thick and her hips are wide--but maybe that just means she isn't built like a greyhound. She also has a long, fluffy double coat, which makes her look bigger than she is.

What about weight? She's put on ten pounds since I adopted her in 2007. Molly was pregnant and stray when she was picked up and taken to the animal shelter. The first time I saw her, she had a thin, poor, oily coat, and she was docile and full of woeful charm. In other words, she looked like a stray dog at 45 pounds.

At 55 pounds, she's happy, playful, and energetic. (To be fair, improved diet, exercise and a loving home surely made some of the difference here.) Every day when I come home, she demands some affection for a few minutes and then jumps on the treadmill. I crank it up to 10 miles an hour for a few minutes while she barks at birds and squirrels outside the window. Molly can also run up steep hills like a mountain goat, keep up with any dog at the park, and she'll take on all comers--even pit bulls--if she's attacked. She can run under a bench and out the other side at a full gallop. So even if Molly is fat, she's fit and and athletic.

But so far, it doesn't look to me like Molly is fat. Nevertheless, I tried something that Dr. Williams Davis blogged about recently: checking blood sugar levels to avoid eating things that spike your blood sugar, which will put on weight. Molly's fasting blood sugar yesterday was 49--yes, forty-nine. It seemed low, so I checked my own blood sugar: it was 79. An hour after dinner, her blood sugar was 33. So Molly's dog food (Taste of the Wild, bison flavor) can't make her fat--just full. Two hours after her dinner, my mother's meter showed Molly's blood sugar was back to 49. (I used my own meter for Molly's first two tests.) Despite the low BG readings, Molly doesn't have any signs of hypoglycemia. I think those "normal" BG readings of 75 to 120 for dogs are due to a diet of typical corn-based (read: high-carb, high sugar) dog foods.

Another fact: Molly had a mild heart murmur when I first adopted her. A scan showed two congenital heart defects. Yet the murmur disappeared a few years ago. If a dog with a defective heart is overweight, does she run up mountainsides, chase dogs at the park, and jump on the treadmill at will?

Molly doesn't need to go on a diet: she's not fat, and typical calorie-restricted diets don't work anyway. She's a bit like Joe Nameth: she's fit, she's stocky, and she wears a thick fur coat.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Dana Carpender's Podcast; Dr. Davis on YouTube; Labor Day Sales

Dana Carpender, who's written several recipe books and other works on low-carb, has a podcast and is still writing articles at carbsmart.com. She's a terrific writer and amateur researcher (otherwise known as reading , as Jimmy Dore jokes ). I use her book 500 Low-Carb Recipes all the time and I'm looking forward to hearing more from her. I've embedded her podcast on my blog (click on the three lines at the top right if you don't see it, or go to Spotify or other podcast source if you're getting this by email). Carbsmart.com doesn't seem to have a blog feed, so if you want to see the latest posts there, you can sign up for notifications at their site. Dr. Davis has been putting a lot more videos on YouTube, so I've added his channel to the lineup. Click on the three lines on my blog if you don't see it, or go to his channel here .  * * * * * Primal Kitchen is having a Labor Day sale-- 20% off everything. They sell high quality collagen powder, con...

Fermented bread and butter pickle recipe ft. L. Plantarum

After Dr. Davis said the other night that  L. plantarum  may reduce some of the effects of the herbicide glyphosate (which is everywhere), I'm re-running my recipe for fermented bread and butter pickles. Pickling cucumbers naturally have  L. plantarum  bacteria on them, and fermenting them with some brown sugar multiplies these bacteria. (Just don't use chlorinated water to wash them.) And if you're growing your own cucumbers, avoid spraying the fruits with  Bacillus thuringiensis , or Bt (leaves and vines are OK). It's unclear what effect a big dose of Bt would have on humans. Another benefit of DIY pickles: no emulsifiers like polysorbate 80, which is a common ingredient in pickles. If you have GI problems, it could be from emulsifiers. These sweet-and-sour pickles are the tastiest I've ever made. There's just a little added sugar (some of which the bacteria will consume) and turmeric that gives the pickles their bright color.  Special equipment Quar...

Collagen-filled Low Carb Burritos

Low-carb, grain-free Mexican food is hard to find, but it's easy to make your own at home. This recipe has an authentic ingredient: carne de lengua, or beef tongue. Don't be put off: beef tongue is tender, delicious, and full of collagen. Look for it directly from farmers in your area. To cook it, cut it in 1" to 1-1/2" slices and pressure cook for one hour. Enjoy the delicious broth as a bonus. Ingredients 1 slice cooked beef tongue, peeled and cut into small cubes 1 egg wrap (I use these  from Egglife) 1/4 cup cooked black or pinto beans Chili pepper Oregano Garlic (powdered or minced) Cumin Guacamole (with no emulsifiers) Salsa Shredded cheddar cheese Sour cream or homemade cream cheese  with no emulsifiers  Put the egg wrap on a plate and put the beef and beans down the middle of it. Sprinkle with the herbs and spices. Wrap, turn over and microwave for 1-2 minutes. Spoon salsa over the burrito and sprinkle with cheese. Add guacamole and sour cream or homemade crea...

15% Off Starter Culture

Starter culture for the wonderful cream cheese I made is 15% off for the next two weeks (through June 18, 2025). The shop (BacillusBulgaricus.com) also offers rennet and starter for other cheeses, yogurt, kefir, kombucha, sour cream, fermented vegetables, and more. They ship to 118 countries across six continents. The coupon code is LORI_sekd3tkb at bacillusbulgaricus.com .  Photo from Pexels .

Cardio: A Waste of Valuable Dance Time

"I'd rather hold a girl in my arms than a football." -Joe DeCicco, friend and dancing fanatic Have you heard that it takes a woman 77 hours of exercise to lose a kilogram of fat? (For us Americans, that's half a pound.) That's according to a study cited by Dr. John Briffa .(1) The women who huffed and puffed three hours a week for a year ended up 4.4 pounds lighter than the sedentary women. That doesn't surprise me: my own weight loss involved a lot less exercise than what I'd been doing. I did no cardio workouts, just strength training . I had more time and energy for dancing, which is a stress reliever, helps keep me in shape, and it's a ton of fun. It's not expensive to dance (as long as you stay away from the studios). I've found excellent lessons at clubs where the teachers really care about the students getting it. Here in Denver, there are dancing clubs that are run by nonprofit organizations, where the prices are reasonable and...