Cinnamon is Fat

Here I am in the dog park this summer.

Hi everyone. It's me, Cinnamon. I have to report that fall and winter don't do much for my girlish figure. I went to the veterinarian's office yesterday for a pedicure. On the way into the doggie spa (a.k.a. procedure room), I stepped onto the scales. 49.6 pounds! I weighed 3.6 more pounds than I did in August. I waddled in to have my nails clipped. I was devastated!

I've written articles on dogs with weight problems and special foods for dogs on a diet. A strong message in these articles was sent to dog owners. Owners were killing their dogs with love! They were the ones that were overfeeding them. So was it my owner that was making me fat?

I also learned that exercise is important for us hounds. When Francesca came to live with us I lost several pounds because we started going to the dog park almost every day. And we romped and played at home. In the evenings we played ball in the yard.

But now it's fall and it's raining. They days are short. We head for bed before 6 p.m. Francesca gets up around 7 a.m. but I sleep in until after 8 a.m. I only get up because I hear breakfast being served!

This is what I do most of the time when it's raining.
Please forgive the ragged blanket.
My good one is in the laundry.

And I don't like going outside in the rain. I stay inside as much as possible. Francesca, on the other hand, goes out rain or shine and wants to stay out in the rain squirrel hunting. (Well, the squirrels are not out but she thinks she might see one).

So what to do. What to do? My owner has decided to CUT BACK ON MY FOOD AND TREATS! I am not happy with that. Here's the plan:

I usually get 1 cup of food in the morning and one cup of food in the evening. Now I'm going to be served only a half cup of food in the evening.

Here's Francesca watching for squirrels
in the pouring rain!

I usually get several treats at once when they are doled out. Now, I'm going to be given two treats only while Francesca scarfs up as many as she wants.

Now on to exercise. That's a tough one. It's fine on nice days. We go to the dog park. But when it's raining and my owner goes somewhere, Francesca goes to Day Care and bounces around all day playing. I, on the other hand, mostly sleep when she's gone.

I don't want to go to Day Care because I don't have patience for pushy dogs and ill-mannered dogs. So that is not the answer. So I am not sure what to do about exercise. Maybe I can convince my owner to take me on a volksmarch once a week. The rain has to let up at least once a week, right?

So that's the plan. I'll report back when I get weighed again. If you don't hear from me, it means I have starved to death! :(

Love, Cinnamon