Fat Dog Slim

This is the story of Frank's weight loss journey...

{Cue the Jennifer Hudson Weight Watches song....}

It started back in December when we had to make a visit to the vet. Weighing in at a hefty 18.8lbs, we were told that Frank had to drop a few lbs or he'd end up with health issues (because of their long back and short legs, dachshunds need to maintain a healthy weight otherwise they can face back and hip issues).
We were given a large case of prescription dog food (which was $$$, and smelled HORRIBLE by the way) and told that a healthy weight for Mr. Frank would be between 12-15 lbs.

This is his "fat" picture, taking in November 2011. The angle of him and the picture make him look HUGE but for the sake of the story it puts his size into perspective ;)

.... HUNGRY DOOOOG!!

Anyways.... 

Over the course of the next few months, we fed Frank this the stinky dog food, weighing it down to the exact ounce, in an attempt to get him to drop the L-B's. We made frequent weigh-in visits to the vet, slowly watching the weight come off (and his energy level go up!).

At the vet for one of our weigh-ins. This is Puppy, one of the vet's dogs. Puppy assisted in the weigh-in.... (Frank was NOT a fan)

Back in April we could all celebrate because our Frank met his goal weight at 14.4 lbs. (thats a whopping 23% weight loss for those counting). We were so proud of our little guy (and ourselves). Back to the normal dog food!

 

Check out the skinny dog! Look at those hip bones!!

We continue to weigh Frank (and Bean's) food to ensure they aren't getting overfed (and NO human food.... except for the some green bean and carrot snacks). We encountered an even bigger surprise last week when Frank went to the vet to get his rabies vaccine. I was a little worried for this guy to step on the scale (and so was he, because he was fighting me the entire time). The result? MORE weight loss. Now our Frank the Tank weighs in at a slim 13.8lbs (almost 27% body weight loss again.. for those counting).

We are so proud of our little guy! He has so much more energy it's crazy!!! We are also very happy to have made the quality of his life that much better :)

Let's all give Frank a round of applause!!! Yay Frank!!!