This article was written by Chris Redenbach CDBC, CBCC-KA, a certified dog behavior consultant and owner of the Balanced Dog, a canine training service based in Atlanta, Georgia.  To learn more about Coach Chris, please visit our “Contributing Authors” page.

Obesity and Heartbreak

My mother loved her dog intensely.

I gave Eco, a Bouvier des Flandres, to Mom as a gift to keep her company after my father’s sudden death left Mom in a very lonely place. Eco filled the void in my mother’s life. Mom was an active and vibrant 80 year old who had retired to the chalet my father had built for them. She and Eco used to take long, leisurely walks through the vast surrounding forest and Eco was never far from Mom’s side at home. Eco went everywhere with Mom in the car too. They were inseparable. Read More

Early this morning an article appeared in the New York Times, extolling the benefits of high-intensity interval training in light of new scientific findings suggesting that short, high-intensity interval workouts may boost cardiovascular fitness just as effectively as longer, more traditional cardio workouts.  The studies upon which the NYT commentary is based can be found here and here. Read More

We prove what we want to prove, and the real difficulty is to know what we want to prove.

- Emile Auguste Chartier

Why Not Today?

Is today the first time you’ve thought that your dog would be happier and healthier if she lost some weight?

Probably not.

If you’ve read this blog before (somewhat unlikely) or if you’re at all interested in the intersection between doggie culture and science (more likely), you’ve probably heard that canine obesity is a serious problem in this country and you probably recognize that your dog’s experience in the world would be measurably better if she were a fitter, healthier animal. Read More

No profit grows where is no pleasure taken; in brief, sir, study what you most affect.

– William Shakespeare

If your overweight dog is ever going to get back into shape, you’ll have to play several different (but equally critical) roles throughout the process.

On one level, you’re going to be a general.  This one is pretty obvious.  You’re the one with the big brain, the one with the ability to set goals, the one with mental faculties that allow for differentiated tasks and strategy-formation, the one primed for (though not always capable of) skepticism and critical analysis.

For most of us, this is the relatively easy role. Read More