Scale Model

People across the country worked hard getting their dogs healthy and in shape. Pound for pound, everyone did a great job helping their dogs lose weight and enjoy a healthier life. Take a look at our Biggest Losers and how they lost their proverbial love handles.

First Place

“Murray was surrendered by a family that kept him in a garage. We volunteer with Golden Retriever Freedom Rescue in Denver and were fortunate to foster Murray and start him on his way to a healthy second chance at life. We immediately put him on a ‘green bean’ diet: one cup of green beans and one cup of dry food twice a day. We weighed him once a week.

“Of course, along with a high-fiber, low-calorie diet, Murray began to exercise! With Murray this was easy for us, as he loves to play Fetch. Along with playtime, we started with short walks twice a day, and eventually built up to longer walks. After three weeks of his new diet and weight loss, he even did a four-mile hike with us!

“Murray was adopted by a wonderful couple in Greeley, Colo., and they faithfully continued his weight loss regimen. Murray went from 170 pounds to 115 pounds. He is now a healthy, happy Golden, who enjoys long walks, playing Fetch, and making new friends at the dog park.”

As our first-place winner, Murray will receive Petmate’s Black Electronic Portion Control LeBistro feeder and a matching Fresh Flow Pet Fountain. They will make Shereen’s job of watching over Murray’s weight much easier.

Second Place

“When Rubie joined our household, we had two other dogs and free feeding seemed to work out well for us. We still continued to free feed for quite some time, and that is when Rubie’s weight started to slowly climb. When people would come over to visit, they would comment on how heavy she was, and it broke my heart. When Rubie got to the point she could hardly reach around to clean herself, she struggled walking up stairs and just to stand up.

“That’s when I knew I had to take control. In 2006, she topped the scale at 105 pounds.

“After researching different foods, I decided to try Canidae Platinum, a weight-management dog food. I continued this diet, and her weight started to drop. On January 17, 2009, she weighed in at 67.2 pounds for a grand total of 37.8 pounds gone. Rubie is now running and playing like a puppy. Everything about her overall health has improved drastically. Rubie just turned 10, and I believe that due to the weight loss she has gained years of her life back in all respects.”

Rubie wins Petmate’s Black Electronic Portion Control LeBistro feeder. It will help Shari maintain control of Rubie’s food intake.

Third Place

“I wanted to train Duke to perform search-and-rescue trailing service. We noticed a lack of motivation on his part and some huffing while he was running. I immediately consulted with my vet, and we placed Duke on Science Diet w/d Prescription diet and started going for regular walks. We also continued his search-and-rescue training, which was good exercise.

“In just a few short weeks, we noticed a drastic change in Duke’s personality and energy levels. We switched to Science Diet r/d for a while and got some more weight off, and finally leveled off at 90 pounds. Duke is now 7 years old and still maintaining his weight of 90 pounds. He is still an active Search and Rescue K9 for North Carolina Project Lifesaver. He has boundless energy and loves what he does.”

Duke receives Petmate’s Black Fresh Flow Pet Fountain.