We have this old dog. He's part Siberian Husky and part Great Pyrenees. He lives to run. And he's skinny and lean and strong, even though he's pretty old. He has taught us a lot about how to control weight and stay in good shape.
It's simple really. Eat well and get lots of exercise.
Our dog is big, bigger than most German Shepherds, or Golden Retrievers or Labs.
But he is NOT fat.
His weigh stays between 58 pounds and 62 pounds all the time, skinny for a dog his size. Some dogs as large as he is will weigh 90 pounds or more.
But he is a picky eater.
I make most of what he eats because he won't eat dog food.
How much he eats depends on the weather. When it's relatively warm in our mountain location he will eat once a day.
But on days when we get bitterly cold weather he may eat 3 times in one day. Today is Feb. 22nd. We have had snow on the ground here continuously since Dec. 18th, over 2 months.
We only feed our dog when he asks for food. He just will not eat if he is not hungry.
If he wants something he will come over to one of us and look at us very intently and then lick his lips. That's the signal that he wants some food. We call it the "puppy mind meld".
The rest of the time he is very active. He walks with us, usually 5 miles a day and he spends the rest of his time on guard.
We need a guard dog because we have large predators like bobcats and black bears.
But the really interesting thing about our dog is he controls his own weight. He has the deep strong chest you see on sled dogs and no belly at all.
His weight never varies more than about 4 pounds, running a bit less in hot weather and more when it's cold.
When he's had enough to eat he stops eating and he never eats dessert, unlike us humans.
His food consists of brown rice simmered in poultry bone broth (Dr. David Williams' recipe for humans), some meat, and some cheese. I simmer up all the ingredients in a big stew pot and then strain it and freeze it. I usually get about 16 pints at a time. He also eats things like carrots, garlic and celery if they have been simmered with meat. In winter we may give him a little fat, too.
If we all ate like our dog does, not necessarily the same things but good food for humans, we would get old, but still be lean and strong and healthy, too. It's a lot better than the health problems that come with being overweight like bad joints, heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.
It might be good to emulate our dog. Leaner people stay healthier. They can exercise because they have fewer joint problems. They may not develop other health problems that are associated with obesity, either.
And that's a big win for everyone.
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