“Chow Hounds” is subtitled “Why Our Dogs Are Getting Fatter — A Vet’s Plan to Save Their Lives”. 

The author, Ernie Ward, D.V.M, is known as “Dr. Ernie” and has appeared frequently on various TV shows such as the Rachael Ray show.  Not being a  TV watcher, I had not heard of him until this book came across my eyes.  I decided to read this book for one simple reason:  I have a fat dog.

 Winston, a golden retriever, is five years old and has been with our family since he was a very little puppy.  The first few years of his life, Winston did not get much exercise because we didn’t live in places that made it easy to take walks.  However, since 2008, we have lived in a subdivision that is very walking-friendly.  There are even trails and small open space areas between our houses.  Below is Winston on one of our recent neighborhood walks.   

So, even though we have been walking fairly regularly most of the time, Winston has gotten very heavy.  I didn’t think he was eating too much — in fact, he eats less treats than before we moved to Colorado. 

I learned from “Chow Hounds” some vital information:

“The clinical signs of hypothyroidism are consistent with a slowing metabolism.  Most symptoms develop gradually and do not become apparent in affected dogs until at least three to five years of age”.

Winston is five.  Not only that, golden retrievers are included in the list of breeds predisposed to thyroiditis.

Yesterday I took Winston to Dr. Guy (hey, if I’m reading a book by “Dr. Ernie”, why not call Winston’s vet by his first name too?  At least for  this blog post I will).   Winston weighted in at 110.2 pounds.  More than I weigh!  No question that he was overweight.  Next, Dr. Guy took a blood test and tested the sample for thyroid (T4) levels while Winston and I waited.  The results came back as 0.5 micrograms/dL.  Again, there was no question.  His levels definitely were low.  Dr. Guy said that “low” is considered as 0.8 micrograms/dL or less.   Normal range is 1.6 – 5.0.  So, we went home with Thyrosyn medication and an appointment to come back in 4 weeks to re-check levels and adjust meds if necessary.

“Chow Hounds” is very heavy in reference materials that can be useful if I want to know how to calculate acceptable levels of, say, calorie levels in the amount of dog food I’m giving Winston.  Here is an example:

1.  You have a food that contains 3704 calories per kilogram.

2.  Measuring cup weighs 4 ounces.

3.  Measuring cup and 1 cup food weigh 8 ounces.

4. 1 cup of food therefore weighs 4 ounces.

5. 4 (divided by) 35.3 = 0.113.

6.  0.113 X 3704 = 420 calories per cup

I’m very math impaired, so the various calculations throughout were confusing to me.  Also, Dr. Ernie provides a lot of doggie recipes that often includes exotic ingredients such as kelp, quinoa flour, and oat flour.

This book is at its strongest when informing the reader about illnesses (such as thyroiditis), foods to avoid giving your dog (grapes, chocolate, etc); and exercising your dog.  In fact, Dr. Ernie exhorts us dog owners to get out there and be fit along with your dogs.  He provides work-out programs for us.  I walk Winston 4-5 times  a week for about 30 minutes each time; Dr. Ernie recommends  7 days a week.  Sure, why not?  I’ll try to remember to walk Winston on weekends, as well (or if all else fails, encourage one of the kids to do it).  Winston certainly does love his walks. 

This is a book that dog owners can refer back to often; it might be overwhelming to try to take in all the information at once.  I would like to see this book promiently displayed in vet offices throughout the country.  In fact, I’ll show it to Dr. Guy the next time I take Winston in!

Thanks to Dr. Ernie, Winston should be back on the road to health soon.  I’ll try to remember to provide an update 4 weeks later when his thyroid levels are checked again, and he is weighed in again.

Thanks to TLC Book Tours for providing me a copy of “Chow Hounds” to read for Winston’s sake.  For a complete list of tour stops for “Chow Hounds”, visit this TLC Book Tours Link.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 14th, 2010 at 8:00 AM and is filed under blog tours, book review, dog, exercise, food, health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.