First of all, if you’re at all interested in this topic, you really ought to check out Dogs, Dog Food, and Dogma, my book about the science (and business) of canine health and obesity. If you don’t think it’s the most honest, rigorous, in-depth, and all-around helpful book you’ve ever read on the topic, I’ll refund 100% of […]
(What follows is a gross oversimplification of a somewhat nuanced issue. If, by the end of this post, you remain skeptical of my conclusions, I urge you to grab a copy of my book, Dogs, Dog Food, and Dogma. It includes a much more fulsome discussion of this important topic, one complete with citations, end notes, […]
On a high level, the chain of reasoning supporting the claim “your dog should lose some body fat” looks something like this: (1) canine overweight and obesity are “bad” for dogs (they shorten lives and amplify suffering); (2) your dog is overweight or obese; therefore (3) your dog should lose some body fat. Most dog […]
How did you choose your dog’s food? Did you look critically at theories about the food eaten by her ancestors and make your best-reasoned judgment about what she evolved to eat? Did you sift through data and crunch numbers to determine how many daily calories she needs? Did you unearth studies that link certain ingredients […]
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 […]
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 […]
We prove what we want to prove, and the real difficulty is to know what we want to prove. – Emile Auguste Chartier 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 […]
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 […]