How can we express our love for our dog? Besides feeding it… There are many things we need to focus on when it comes to wanting the best for our guide dogs. One of them is maintaining a healthy weight. We intend to help a wider range of dog owners with this series of articles, so we will cover all ages, from puppies to retired dogs. First, puppies who live with their owners from nine weeks to one year old. Read the article by Fodor L. Döme, who has raised four puppies so far. 

In order to prevent your dog from gaining weight, you need to listen to someone who knows the breed. Unfortunately, this is difficult with labs, because the average person will say to a moderately fat dog that what a skinny Labrador is. Which is true, because it is so easy to make such a fat breed fat that the standard has shifted. But at Baráthegyi we get a lot of good advice on when there are “too few” and “too many” puppies. Which is again an important thing, because we deal with puppies from 9 weeks to one year old. This is completely different from an adult dog. They grow, stretch, swell or thin every week.

You don’t have to ride on their back  

I know two rules of thumb: you can feel the dog’s ribs, and see the belly sticking out after the chest. Not a rule of thumb, but I also know that it’s not good for a dog to “back up”. From personal experience, I can say that if you can imagine a proportionally reduced person who could comfortably ride on the lap, then that dog is bloated. He is happy when he can eat, happier when he can eat a lot, and happiest when he can eat constantly and a lot.

They love it when you feed them, but is it the right way to show your love for them?

Feeding by schedule

I don’t think so. I don’t have children, but no matter how happy I could make them by stuffing them with gummy bears every day, I wouldn’t. Is it easy to agree with that? Yes. And if we look at Labradors, the answer is also: No. But it’s not that clear-cut. The formula is simple. If they learn, I feed them, if they are clever, I feed them, but only as much as they should eat in a day. We’ve had four dogs so far, and apart from the furry bunny ear chews once or twice a week and the occasional doggy snack, they have always been fed exclusively with dog food. If we learn a lot on our morning walk, we distribute breakfast during the walk. If we have a whole afternoon program, the dog doesn’t get breakfast, and he gets his entire daily meal from hand as a reward.

Döme with Hargita

There are many ways to show your love – besides feeding  

There is no such thing as a dog eating more than the recommended amount that day, no matter how cute or clever it is. There are other ways to express love. Csoda was happier than anyone else when you played ball with him. He could run after the ball like a fighter, and you couldn’t get any reward to bring out the eyes that shone at you in extreme fatigue. 

 

Döme with Babér

Babér, when you came home in the evening, or woke up in the morning, or got off the couch after a movie, she always showed you her current favorite toy, blanket, plush, as we called it: “stinky shit”. You told her that its beautiful, you had never seen such a beautiful drooling thing in your life, maybe you stroked it a little, you could have caught a bird with the dog, she was so happy.Babér loved to work. Not only for the food (which she didn’t get as an extra on top of breakfast and dinner, she got her meals as a reward!), but because I was proud of her: 

We jumped an obstacle, we learned something, and the ecstasy that went through me went through her too. We rejoiced together in our shared success.

Babér during playtime

Polly dog loved belly scratching. She would lean back if you walked towards her, waiting for your tummy rub. The highlight of Hargita’s day is when you sit down on the floor with him and he can climb into your lap. He’s getting bigger, heavier, but still. This is our little séance at the end of a successful day. 

Four clever, smart, healthy-bodied, and most importantly: different dogs. Each one will be different. There will be similarities, but besides their endless and insatiable appetites, they will have one thing in common: 

If you get to know them and are open to what a dog really wants, you will be able to make them happy without making them gain 40 kgs. 

Don’t wait until May— you can already donate 1% of your tax to the Baráthegyi Guide Dog School. 

You can be sure that your tax contribution will go to a good cause, as our foundation dedicates everything to training guide dogs.

Thank you on behalf of visually impaired owners!

You can now offer 1% of your tax for guide dog training through the NAV online platform by logging into your client portal here. It only takes five minutes, and you’ll be supporting a loyal guide dog!

And here’s some more good news! If you provide your mailing address, we will send you next year’s guide dog calendar along with our thank-you letter.

Our tax number: 18449149-1-05
Please support the Baráthegyi Guide Dog School with 1% of your tax!

You can read our tax 1% information here.