Theo’s Weight Loss Journey with #HillsPet

This post is sponsored by Hill’s and the Pet Blogger Network.  I am being compensated for helping spread the word about Hill’s Prescription Diet Metabolic Food, but Daily Dog Tag only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers.  Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc. is not responsible for the content of this article.

When we adopted Theo last July from The Humane Association of Central New York,  he was about 4 1/2 years old, neutered and up to date on all his shots.   He was also overweight , super cute and just hilarious.   This is how he looked a few weeks after we adopted him.

Photo credit: © Alice G Patterson Photography

Theo got along with our Nelly and Sophie (our other dogs) just fine, but it  was a few days before Theo was convinced that our cat wasn’t a mortal enemy.

It only took one look at Theo to realize he was food motivated.  Since Theo wasn’t a fan of his crate  I bribed with him with treats, leaving the door open so he wouldn’t panic.  It worked well and within a week or two he would happily go into the crate.

Theo immediately loved my kids.  He has a special Puggle bark for them when they’ve been away for too long and always is happiest to see them.  Theo easily adapted to our family life.  He adores my kids and spends the weekend and evenings in the same room as them.  He loves to play his version of Fetch which is basically throw the ball or stick once, then play tug of war with him.   He’s rough on toys, often tearing them apart withing 15 minutes.  Theo loves to snuggle with the kids best, but any lap will do.  Every evening after the kids go to bed, he lays down on the floor next to my desk or jumps into my lap.

The first night home while we ate our dinner, Theo relaxed quietly nearby.   We were impressed with his good manners.  After dinner, he became very excited and it was clear he expected to eat the table scraps.  I felt sorry for him because I knew he’d never get table scraps again.

We took him to the vet within the first few days after adopting him.  The vet said he needed to lose between 8-10 pounds.   Knowing that he wouldn’t be receiving table scraps, I expected his weight loss to be easy and for a long time it was.  Over the next 5 months, I fed him a reduced calorie diet and we all tried to make sure he played fetch, tug of war and went on regular walks.

It was working, Theo lost  4 pounds by December.  In January though, I noticed that our sweet Puggle had become more troublesome:  snapping at the other dogs when food dropped, accidentally hurting my son as he tried to pick up a piece of pizza that fell on the floor and  Theo started taking stuff out of the garbage can.

By February I started to wonder if it was worth it to try to keep Theo working towards his recommended weight of 28-30 pounds.  I’ve always fed Theo in another room from Nelly and Sophie, but I started putting up a gate to prevent him from charging them during meal time.  Although he was healthier, he certainly wasn’t happier.

My vet thought that Hill’s® Prescription Diet® Metabolic Advanced Weight Solution might be just perfect for Theo.  My biggest concern for him was to have the feeling of being full so he wouldn’t behave like a starving dog.   We transitioned him to the new food over about 8 or 9 days and he didn’t have any problems with it.

Theo looks forward to mealtimes and is very happy to eat this food.  I gave some to Nelly and Sophie who also seemed to like it.  However, I don’t think my dogs qualify as picky eaters.

I took this photo of Theo today, he’s much trimmer at 31 pounds and so far he’s been very pleasant on this weight loss program.

This post is sponsored by Hill’s and the Pet Blogger Network.  I am being compensated for helping spread the word about Hill’s Prescription Diet Metabolic Food, but Daily Dog Tag only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers.  Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc. is not responsible for the content of this article.