Success Stories

Ernie Slone, a California resident and editor of DOG FANCY and several other publications, once noticed an interesting phenomenon:
“Two people will stop and talk to each other about their dogs, ignoring race, class or status. They don’t know each other, but they know they share a bond.
The fear of strangers or reluctance to engage others goes away when there is a dog. Maybe we are too afraid of strangers or people who look a certain way.
When my therapy dog goes into a hospital room he doesn’t know or care that the person is 98 or 18, Hispanic or Greek, rich or poor. Gang member? Famous author? He doesn’t care. As David Frei says, instead of worrying about training our dogs we should care more about what we can learn from them.
My wife and I once walked around the little town near our home with our dogs one afternoon, and we were stopped by several dozen people.
That evening we took the same walk alone. It was just as busy, but no one stopped to talk.
Clearly my dog makes me a much more interesting person.”

Katie, a resident of Reading, PA, writes:

“To keep in shape, I like to rollerblade around my neighborhood and I take Kiley, a 6 year old spayed female cattle dog, with me. Since I moved home a year ago, she has gained 6 lbs, mostly due to my Mom's sharing habits.

So I take her with me for the exercise, so she doesn't end up overweight. Also, she is TERRIBLE when it comes time to trim her nails. The last time she had to be sedated to trim them. This is unnecessary drugs/stress for her and a big hit on my checkbook. So when I take her with me to skate (mostly on blacktop and sidewalks) she wears her nails down while she runs. And since she is a herding breed, she is perfectly happy to run directly behind me, which is much safer than running in front or pulling me.”

Marc, a veterinarian in Pennsylvania, had great success with an obese patient by applying a simple recipe: eat less and exercise more. He explains:“Boomer, a 5 year old German shepherd, weighed 117 pounds at her yearly physical exam two years ago. She was deemed obese, with a body condition score of 8 out of 9 (see BCS chart). I recommended a strict diet food and an exercise regimen. One long, leash walk was provided every day. Treats had to be reduced and could only be veggie pieces.

A year later, during her following visit, Boomer weighed 108 pounds. And two years later, she weighed 87 pounds, which was considered an ideal weight! That’s a weight loss of 30 pounds! Her body condition score was a perfect 3/5. I switched her to a regular adult diet food, with strict portion control. And I increased her exercise to two daily walks.”