interesting foster question

[Wally 'n' Leto]

Well, a document has been drafted by me and is being proofread by a few of our members, and I'll be sending it out to the rescue the end of the week. It will be distributed to all of the fosters. There has been a suggestion that it should be a sticky on this site too...

Thanks all for your suggestions! They have been forwarded on the president of the rescue.

[Hellas]

I see I'm late, but I was just about to chime in and say that a manual sounds like a great idea. I don't know if you included information on the perils of letting a dog become overweight? I think that's quite important bc I believe some people don't realise the potential harm. They may think it's just a looks issue, and not understand that it can hurt joints, paws and heart as well as cause diabetes and other diseases. Also, I'm not sure they understand that obesity is detrimental to a pug's breathing, so can acutely diminish the dog's quality of life.

Winston gained some weight this summer (post neutering) and we didn't notice right away. It was a real eye opener for me when we put him on a diet and we realised how much the weight had actually affected his breathing and energy. He wasn't even that overweight and it made a huge difference. I'll never let a dog become overweight again.

[AMC7181]

Hellas, I'm right there with you. Peyton and Bailey had gained some weight, and I didn't realize how much it really was. They each needed to lose about 5 pounds (they're "big boned" to start with, but this was still a lot of extra poundage!). We now weigh their food at every meal with a small digital scale; they get half canned food and half kibble, so weighing it is the best way to make sure they get the right amount.

They're now back to their ideal weights, and wow, they look SO much better and they're significantly more active. I won't ever let their weight get up like that again!