Embrace Pet Community blog

Pet Obesity write up!

Our happy little pet community was mentioned in this article on PetSide.com:

Pet obesity might mean that words like “fluffy,” “big boned,” “chubby” aptly describe your dog or cat.

If so, your overweight pet’s health may be at risk. Lea Jaratz didn’t realize the comments people made about her dogs, Lyger and Tahlula, were actually warning signs about their health... 

“When people made fat dog jokes I thought they were kidding around,” she said. “That’s how much in denial I was about my dogs’ weight.” read on.



Happy Lab on the left is Kekoa, one of the challenge participants embraced by Dr. V.

Nulo donation to Pet Charities

As a way of thanking the Nu-Campaign bloggers, Nulo donated $250 to the charity chosen by each individual.  Since Nulo did such a great job by Tahlula, we wanted to pay it forward to the Ohio Rottweiler Rescue.  I suspect that their reputation and health issues make them tough to adopt, and that was confirmed when I spoke with Gayla, the founder, and current foster to 12 dogs!  She's helped dozens of Rotties (and other breeds too!) with medical issues, and said that the money would be going straight to the tab at her vet's office.  Here's one success story, Franky:

You can help Franky and his pals with your own tax-deductible donation.

Thank you to Nulo and the Nu-Campaign Bloggers for your support.

Nulo Wrap Up: The Final Results

Both of my dogs have trimmed down well with the Nulo weight loss challenge.  And while the weight loss hasn't been tremendous (about 2 Lbs a piece or 2% reduction), it's undeniable that both dogs look more svelte and lean.  Tahlula looks like she did as a young dog, and Lyger has the energy he hasn't had in a long time.  Their vet agrees that they both look very healthy and have narrowed in on an appropriate weight-so I'm considering even a small weight loss a success!

Lyger Before:
 

Lyger After:

Tahlula Before:

Tahlula After:

 

Admittedly, we would have had better success if I had put more effort into my dogs' exercise routine.  It's too easy to say, "it's raining" or "it's late".  I also used Tahlula's disc injury as reason not to walk her, and then didn't walk Lyger, because I didn't want to be unfair.  (That's embarassing to type-so many realizations as I do this challenge!)

But, now, with the weight off, they'll be up for longer walks and the next stage of our lifelong challenge.

Thank you to Nulo and the other Nulo challenge bloggers for their support.  We wish you the best!

-Lea, Lyger & Tahlula

Nulo Wrap Up-The Added Perks

So, we're just about done with our Nulo weight loss program, and I wanted to mention a few of the "added perks" that I liked about Nulo, besides the weight loss aspect. 

Perk:  The food clearly tastes good and fresh.  Lyger hasn't passed up a meal in 12 weeks-it smells good, even to me. 

Perk:  While my dogs are eating substantially less, they are actually more satiated.  Where Tahlula used to bother me for dinner about two hours early, I'm rarely hassled for meal times now.  In fact, I even tested this today-feeding her the old food for breakfast, and she came looking for dinner at 1:30 in the afternoon!

Perk: smaller portions = smaller "output".  Enough said.

Perk: Their coats look good-very shiny, sleek and there seems to be less shedding and definitely less dandruff. 

Perk:  Shipping is easy-3 tiered pricing, and the auto-ship alone makes things that much easier.  No more running to the pet food store last minute (or having to cook dog dinners) when you run out of food.  If you're like me, this alone makes the switch worthwhile. 

Perk:  They frequently offer price promotions and multi-pack options that are a bit cheaper-it's not hard to find a good Nulo deal.

Now, let's talk about weighing the perks with the cost.  I've had several people ask, "Is Nulo Expensive?"  Well, you decide.  A 16 lb bag of Nulo dry kibble is $33.95, and it lasted with my two large dogs for exactly 2 weeks.  (An average of 3 cups/day each.) It breaks down to about $1.20 per dog per day. 

Now, you're probably thinking "but I get a 20 Lb. bag for $25".  But, try doing the math-I think you probably feed more of a less quality food, go through that 25 Lbs faster.  End result: Nulo is slightly more expensive than the less premium brand foods.  But, the quality is worth it.  In fact, it might be about the same in the long run.

Often, women have a hard time convincing the guys to invest in pet products.  It's just a matter of getting one selling point across.  For my husband he was willing to pay a bit more for a higher quality food to have lessdoggie dandruff in our air.  Little does he realize that in the long run we will likely pay a lot less for vet bills for obesity related illnesses and injuries. (Diabetes, orthopedic problems, cushing's disease...) 

So, even if your pet does not have a weight issue, there are "perks" to Nulo.

Tomorrow morning-check back for their "after" results-the last post of our Nulo challenge.

Disclosure: Nulo has generously provided free product and other benefits in exchange for our participation in the Nu Campaign to fight pet obesity. We are happy to be a part of this awareness campaign, however, all of the opinions about the product are mine and not dictated in any way by the company

 

Nulo News flash!

News flash!  Tahlula FLEW up the stairs this morning!  Ok, it was more of a leap, but my husband said he'd never seen her move so fast! When your 8 year old Rottweiler can "haul nub" it's a good sign!

Stairs aren't just easier for Tahlula and Lyger-Disco over at Curlz and Swirlz is moving on up too!

At work last week, my fellow Embracers commented on how she is looking trim, and her coat looks great. Her vet tech  gave her a big "atta girl" for getting down to 79 lbs!  I cannot say how grateful I am to Nulo for giving her such a great quality of life.

Ready to start your own Nulo weight loss program?  Save 25% off $25 or more through November 25th with code PETSGIVE

Disclosure: Nulo has generously provided free product and other benefits in exchange for our participation in the Nu Campaign to fight pet obesity. We are happy to be a part of this awareness campaign, however, all of the opinions about the product are mine and not dictated in any way by the company.

Petsgiving Food Donations

Nulo's just launched their Petsgiving program; now, through November 25th, they'll donate a Thanksgiving Dinner to Austin, TX based shelters Austin Pet's Alive or the Animal Trustees of Austin for every $25 order placed.  Doggie dinners include Turkey and Sweet Potato recipe, and kitty dinners are turkey recipe.  There are even chicken and cranberry treats for dessert!  Who needs pumpkin pie?

To help out the homeless pets, just enter PETSGIVE at checkout of any order $25 or over.  You'll even save 25% off your order for participating.  Believe me, if your pets haven't already tasted Nulo they'll be thanking you!

Nulo Week 11: Almost there

When were being interviewed for the Nulo Challenge, I told the organizers that Lyger had barely any weight to lose, but I was wrong.  He's down to 58 Lbs.  He's looking great, and feeling amazing too.  A stranger just asked me if he was a puppy, and was surprised to hear that he's 10 years old.  His energy level is high for his age, and his coat looks just amazing.  My husband remarked that Lyger is looking "athletic".  I'm not sure we're there yet, but at least he's looking more like a heavyweight boxer than a sumo wrestler.

Lyger came into the Embrace offices last week for a visit, and several people commented that he'd lost significant weight.  The general consensus was that he's still got a little bit to go, but he's looking much trimmer.  That made me feel good. 

He's closer to a 5 on the body score than I might like, and has 2 lbs to lose yet:

One thing I wish I'd done in retrospect, at the start of this challenge, was to have someone unbiased help me determine where Lyger was on this body score scale.  Maybe a vet or even just a friend?  I believe that I started him out at about 4.5 on this scale, in complete denial about the extent of his weight issues.  I know now that he was closer to a 5.5 at the beginning. But, then again, isn't Nulo about helping us better understand our pet's nutritional and health needs.

Disclosure: Nulo has generously provided free product and other benefits in exchange for our participation in the Nu Campaign to fight pet obesity. We are happy to be a part of this awareness campaign, however, all of the opinions about the product are mine and not dictated in any way by the company

Nulo Week 10: Body Score = Win!

Betcha didn't know that even dog's can lose weight in their faces.  Yep!  I noticed the other day, that in addition to being able to better see and feel Tahlula's ribs, I can see more definition of the bone structure in her big Rottweiler head.  Her collar is loose too, which I think is the equivalent of being able to fit into skinny jeans for a dog.

For some reason, her weight has stayed the same at about 79 pounds, but I believe that has to be because she's finally building quality muscle, maybe due to the better quality food, exercise, and a new arthritis management plan.  Regardless, she seems to be approaching "4" on the Nulo body score scale, down from about 5.5 out of 7.  She looks very healthy, and is acting wildly frisky-she even jumped up all four paws off the floor last week!  I'm also noticing that her skin and coat are healthier.  She's gone weeks without a bath, and none of her usual dandruff.  For an old gal, she's doing wonderfully.  Her vet has been pleased with her weightloss, and I think Tahlula feels much better trimmed down.

I think by the time the Nulo challenge is over Tahlula will be ready to go to a management portion, instead of a weight loss portion.  Until then, she still doesn't seem starved between meals.

Disclosure: Nulo has generously provided free product and other benefits in exchange for our participation in the Nu Campaign to fight pet obesity. We are happy to be a part of this awareness campaign, however, all of the opinions about the product are mine and not dictated in any way by the company.

 

Nulo Week 9: Help!

Dear Readers,

We have a very serious problem.  Nulo Cookiesare yummy and crunchy, and taste even better than Nulo dog food.  That's the good part.  The bad news is that they are also way high up on top of the refrigerator.  No dog can reach up there!  We know they're up there.  Whenever someone is in the kitchen, we tell them all about how they should give us cookies-but nothing is working!  Here are some of the things we've tried:

• wiggling in front of the fridge, looking at the person, looking back at the cookies, looking at the person...looking back at the cookies
• sitting pretty, as nice as we can
• spinning in place
• showing off our new trick-playing dead.
• making growly-grobbly noises to get their attention

All of these desperate acts, and still we only get one cookie a day!

Do you have any advice on what we can do to get more cookies?  Nulo cookies are too good to eat just one.

Sincerely your doggie friends,

Lyger and Tahlula

Nulo week 8: Meet the Lumps!

Lyger has always had Lipomas (benign fatty tumors) as many retrievers do.  I had a few surgically removed once, only to have them return within a year, so I've just accepted them as more of him to love.

It wasn't until his fabulous weight loss on Nulo that I realized how many lipomas my boy has!  I knew of two in his arm pits (which we affectionately call the "jelly bean" and the "cadbury egg") and one on his ribs.  While petting him last week, I realized that he's got one on his shoulder the size of a small frisbee!  In the photo, it's the light spot above his leg-it looks like a fat roll, but it's just a fat lump!  Nothing the Nulo can do about that.

Anyway, we needed to get some progress photos, so I had him do a sit/stay for his Nulo cookie.  Is it wrong that I love giving him a heart-shaped cookie?  It was almost too hard for him to stay for these, and I managed to catch a blurry shot of him stealing one.  They are nice and crunchy, a good size for a quick treat, or as a training incentive. 

And they're working! He's lost a good few pounds-though we need to get to the scale soon.  I think photos speak for themselves:

Before:

After: