There was an article on the Well Blog today about how diet dog food often has more calories than it says it does. And that this contributes to doggie obesity.
I posted a comment saying something to the effect of, "My pit mix gets about 2 miles of walking a day, plus several trips to the dog park a week, and only needs 3 cups of food a day. According to the label on the dog food bag, it says she should get up to 4.5 cups. I can't imagine which dogs need that much! No wonder there are so many obese dogs."
This person responds with something along the lines of, "2 miles is nothing for a Pit mix. She is almost certainly under-exercised. I take MY precious animals for a 4 mile run daily plus a 3-4 hour hike plus a 9 mile run on the weekends plus the run in the yard plus they go to the dog park. Every single day because I am the best dog owner in the world."
I was really surprised at how angry the comment made me. I wanted to reach through the my monitor and wring her little exercise-bulimic-scrawny-ass neck. However, rather than rant on the NYT website, I will do it here.
Commence rant:
F you lady. Not all of us have 8 hours a day to devote to exercising our dogs. Don't you have a job? Even if I wanted to run that much -- which I don't -- I couldn't due to my bad feet. And point of fact: not all pits are distance runners. The last time I took Boo for a 2 mile run, I had to drag her exhausted ass home. Pits are generally speaking power sprinters, not endurance animals. I suppose you think she gets tired because I don't go running with her enough. What, you think I'm a bad dog owner or something? That my dog gets substandard care and not enough attention? That I have no business owning a dog that I can't exercise up to your psychotic standards? Don't be so smug. I'm sure you aren't perfect either. In fact I know you're not. You've already proven yourself to be holier than thou. I hope you trip on your dog's leash your next 9 mile run (when you're 4.5 miles out) and fall flat on your face.
End rant.
Ahhhhh... I feel so much better now.
And for the record, Boo is officially passed out on the couch following her 2 mile walk. She'll wake up for more fun when daddy gets home though, I'm sure.
10 Pearls of Wisdom:
People are crazy! Our dogs would die on a 4.5 mile run!! The lab has an injured leg due to being hit by a car so he can't do much more than a mile. The other 2 are exhausted after about 2 miles. I can't imagine spending 6 hours a day exercising my dogs!
I try to read the Well blog everyday, and when I'm bored or procrastinating, I read the comments- some people really have nothing better to do than make obnoxious comments to other people. I think it's impressive you walk boo that much in med/grad school!
Fuck her.
LOL... actually, I didn't think she was that obnoxious. Clueless, and dog-obsessed, but not too bad. Of course, I've probably met many more dog people than you have. Some are cuckoo. I prefer the horse owner flavor of nutso myself.
You are correct in that most pets do not require the "recommended" ration. Pet food manufacturers want to sell food. The labels on their products reflect this goal. Not coincidentally, there is currently an obesity epidemic amongst pets in this country.
It is also true I wouldn't classify Boo as "very active", but few dogs (and few horses) are "very active". My own horse hasn't seen a saddle in weeks. So what?
Yeah, the "very" is mostly relative to what other dogs actually get, rather than what say... a sled dog or herding dog gets. Last I heard, sled dogs and herding dogs were not what most people do with their animals.
compared to the vast majority of dogs, your dog is getting a large amount of exercise. the problem is not people like you who make sure their dogs get a moderate bit of exercise every day but people who don't ever (or very rarely) actually take their dogs out.
my dog is very happy running about 2-3 miles a day!
Actually, *I* run 10 miles every day with each of my dogs individually so that they all get "alone time", and then we go to the pool and I swim each of them, and we work on their retrieving skills in the water. Then I drop them off at the spa for pedicures, and while they're there I cook them filet mignon and roasted fingerling potatoes (except for Bug, who prefers shoestring sweet potato fries -- so of course I make those for her), and when I pick them up from the spa I usually let them drive home because it's so much fun for them (they take turns). When we get home we spend the rest of the evening on hours-long clicker training sessions in which they learn dozens of new tricks, and playing with their organic hemp squeaky toys that I hand-sew in my free time. We go for a looooong walk before bed, and then they each get a 30 minute massage while we listen to Mozart (I read that it stimulates their cognitive development).
I think anyone who doesn't follow this very simple, minimum standard of care is unfit to have dogs. I can't believe you don't do all this for Boo.
:)
>>Last I heard, sled dogs and herding dogs were not what most people do with their animals.>>
Ah, you clearly haven't met the agility, fly-ball, Schutzhund or tracking enthusiasts (not what most people do with their dogs, either, BTW).
I'm sure Boo would rather play King of the Mountain on the couch vs. run 9 miles. :-)
Wow. 2 mile walk = totally great! Dog owners are insane. I like one of the previous commenters - eff her!
We go through phases: lots of training/playing/walks/runs/hikes a day (our dog is in the category where we should do agility/schutzhund/SOMETHING to keep him occupied)...to almost nothing (20 minutes total - it's raining! - which is inadequate, I will admit). If you're teaching her tricks and stuff, she's getting tons of mental exercise!
Yep. Screw her.
Also, dog food companies overestimate servings to make more money...it works pretty well for them, I think. If I fed my 100# dog straight kibble, he'd get 3 cups a day - even on the days that we do the run/hike/walk/play/swim thing w/ him.
Ugh, yeah. I feel bad, but my dog only gets one "real" long walk a day and a short trip to the dog park in the morning, during the time of year when before work is daylight. You're doing great, especially on your schedule! I try to pamper my dog on the weekend to make up for my weektime inadequacies, for the most part. That lady is just crazy. Forget her!
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