NATALIE POLLEY / FAIRFAX NZ
Trudy the dachshund is losing fat through Pukekohe Veterinary Centre’s Podgy Pets Club.
Trudy the sausage dog trots eagerly into the Pukekohe Veterinary Centre and leaps straight on the scales.
After attending weigh-ins at the centre for the last six weeks, she knows the routine.
The scales read 11.1kg – meaning Trudy has lost 13 per cent of her body fat since joining the centre’s free weight loss program, Podgy Pets Club.
Trudy, an 11-year-old standard short-hair dachshund, joined the new club on April 14 at a starting weight of 12.8kg. She was one of the club’s first clients.
Trudy was 12.8kg when she joined the club.
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She’s making steady progress towards her goal weight of 8.4kg and is back to jumping off couches and playing with her human sibling Zane Nicol.
Owner Angela Anstis, of Pukekohe, said she saw an advert for the club in the Franklin County News and knew it was the perfect way to help Trudy get in shape.
“She liked to do a lot of jumping and we were worried about excess weight on her long back. Plus she’s getting older, so we are trying to keep her as healthy as we can so she can be with us for as long as possible.”
A weekly weigh-in every Saturday and a couple of short walks throughout the week are part of Trudy’s routine.
NATALIE POLLEY/FAIRFAX NZ
Trudy has a check-up at the Pukekohe Veterinary Centre, with Zane Nicol.
She eats a cup and a quarter of Hill’s Prescription Diet Metabolic formula each day.
Anstis said Trudy was already a lot more active since joining the club – although missing her former tasty treats.
“She’s not entirely happy with the whole thing, since she’s a guts,” Anstis said, laughing.
“But she’s jumping back on the couch and on the chair like when she was younger – we used to have to lift her – and she seems a lot healthier. With the diet her coat is in really good condition too – really shiny.”
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Pukekohe Veterinary Centre training nurse Chanel Horne, who runs the club, said Trudy had done really well so far.
“It’s a gradual loss, but she is losing weight and she’s going to get to her target weight.”
Vet Robyn Jarrett said it was very important for dachshunds to keep trim.
“They do get a lot of back problems and can get leg problems as well, so keeping trim is very important for overall health and mobility. And slim dogs are happy dogs.
“The metabolic diet is a new approach to weight loss. Rather than fat restriction, it’s looking at nutrients that help the animal metabolise their food better.”
Horne said the club, which started in April, was open to all podgy pets in Franklin needing to lose weight.
“There’s no criteria – just a podgy pet. Ring us up and book an appointment.”
– Stuff
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