Did You Feed the Dog? A Solution to Obesity
by Christy Caplan
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March 8, 2016 
Don’t overfeed your dog because of miscommunication.
Many dog parents – even loving, informed ones – ignore or are in denial about their pet’s weight issues. But it’s a huge issue: according to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, an estimated 52.7% of US dogs are overweight or obese.
Keeping your dog in shape requires awareness, attention to lifestyle, and healthy diet. And while limitations in lifestyle and resources hinder many human weight loss plans, your dog has constant access to a diet manager, personal trainer, and cheerleader – you. Is the main issue your family and their busy schedule – no one can remember if they fed the dog and then oops! Fido had a second breakfast or dinner!
We have that issue each week as my husband frequently travels and when he comes home we don’t always communicate well about whether or not the dogs were fed before I left for a meeting or a dinner engagement.
I found out about “Did You Feed Your Dog” and wanted to see if it could help streamline our busy schedules. Walter is on a diet and we watch Shermie’s weight very carefully.
The product is as low-tech as it gets, children and seniors can use it without a problem and busy families will really appreciate it:
- It is a wonderfully simple device: there is no training required and it mounts easily on an appliance or inside a cabinet door. Sticky foam mounts are included.
- Simple device: You can add magnets to the back and put it on your fridge. You move the slide to AM and PM indicating the dog or dogs were fed.
- Great for when pet sitters come, house sitters or house guests are involved – we have a dog walker and separate house sitter when we go away so I look forward to their comments.
- Better than an app on your phone: This is a very simple task and the last thing you need to do is log onto another app. I really appreciate the “back to basics” approach of this device.
You purchase it here. It’s $9.95.
Here are some other tips to keep your dog trim – so in addition to this cool, new device:
- Awareness: a surprising number of dog owners can’t recognize whether their pet is overweight. Vets and various organizations have promoted pet BMI calculators, but you can easily assess basic weight issues with at home measures.
- Lifestyle: lifestyle and activity are essential to maintaining a fit and healthy body. Regular access to the outdoors, stimulation, and social interaction can be make the difference between obesity and health.
- Diet: In addition to how many times a day you’re feeding, keep track of HOW much you’re feeding your dog every day between meals and treats!
Resources:
#Sponsored Post:
This post is #sponsored by Did You Feed Your Dog. I am being compensated to help spread the word about this product but My Life With Dogs PDX only shares information that aligns with our mission to keep dogs healthy and happy. “Did You Feed Your Dog” is not responsible for the content of this story.
I love your photos! We really liked this product too, it made it easier for us to adjust to regularly scheduled meals instead of freefeeding.
I loved your post and the pic of your cute munchkin — I was so happy to see another blogger review his product. I think it’s a really simple, smart idea for busy people. 🙂 Did you get a note from Cold Nose News about networking? I recommended she reach out to you — she markets newsletters to dog businesses so I thought of you…
This sounds like a great product! Also, would work for medication. Our former dog, Pip, struggled with his weight most of his life. He was a small dog and not very active. He passed away of heart disease in 2013. We are now so careful with our current dog, Ruby’s weight.
Thanks! I actually think the medication application is as good as the food application! I’m so sorry about Pip – we are also super careful as Beagles tend to carry a lot of weight which I know will decrease his life span… appreciate your comment.
A great little tool that I obviously need. This fits in really well with my post on pet nutrition! Measure your food and choose foods that don’t have a lot of carbs! They just can’t digest them the same way we can. Don’t let your pooch have a tummy pouch!
Oh! I cannot wait to read you post! Yea, measuring the amount and actually paying attention to that is so important! No tummy pouches!
It should be up on the site where I did my guest post. You can access it by clicking the link in my most recent post on tossedcookie.com!
What a great product. This would work great with supplements too as I am always forgetting if I gave Maggie hers! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks! Me too! Sometimes I forget and I even put it out on the counter — we add some herb supplements and after it’s mixed in you can never tell!
We really love this tool – and appreciate the thought that went in to helping pet parents track their fuzzy’s feeding schedule!
Thanks! I totally agreed – they did a nice job creating something that people struggle with!
This is a great idea for dogs with multiple care takers!
I thought so too! Thanks!
Cool product! My older dog is famous for trying to convince us that he hasn’t eaten yet when really he has. He’s outsmarted us and gotten second dinners more often then I’d care to admit.
Second breakfast has happened in our house more than once!
That’s a great idea! So many people have miscommunication about if the dogs were fed, etc. Too bad they don’t have one for treats! LOL! My husband loves giving out extra treats!
Agreed! When I think of all the treats I give these three all day and then my husband gives them more when he gets home – we can adapt this to treats 2X day!
Pet obesity is a huge problem! This is a really cool gadget, it would be helpful in any household even where pets aren’t obese.
Love & Biscuits,
Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them
I liked it since it was so easy to use! Thanks!
The bf and I feed separately designated meals. If we took turns, it would probably be much more confusing and need something like this!
That’s how we are! When Mike travels its easy but when he gets home early from work I’m not always here to say don’t listen to Shermie! He’s not starving!
It’s pretty hard to forget to feed the cats – they’re extremely diligent (and loud) in reminding me. LOL
LOL – I just spit out my drink, I have had the pleasure and lived with two awesome cats after college and I remember the “dinner” reminders :)!
My husband isn’t allowed to feed Ted breakfast because he gets up early (sometimes very early) and Ted was getting up earlier for breakfast (I mean 3 am!) and then coming back to bed with me. Too disruptive to my sleep so now only Mommy feeds breakfast. That did the trick.
I keep a baby gate up at night in front of the bedroom door as I’m trying to get the dogs to learn that gate up means we’re in bed! Or beagle will try and convince us that middle of the night feedings should be part of the routine as well! Yikes!
This is so cool! I also appreciate the “back to basics” approach – I think sometimes we rely on technology too much. I wonder if they have one for cats, too. I could use one for “did you medicate the cat?” Both my babies get Pred in the morning and evening and this would help me keep track of their dosing schedules a little more effectively. Thank you for sharing this product!
Thank you! Pred is so tricky since you have to give it at the same time every day as I’ve also given it to our animals on many occasions. I’m going to ask about this as so many folks mentioned this as a helpful application.
This is a great idea for families where more than one person is responsible for feeding the pets. I am the only one that feeds my boys and Bentley lets me know if I am 2.5 minutes late! LOL!
I love how so many of us have animals that tell us EXACTLY when they think it’s time for dinner. And daylight savings didn’t help matters in our house. They think dinner should be served at like 2 p.m.
What a great idea! I have to leave Post-Its right now if I need to tell my hubby that I’ve already fed the dog. 🙂
Thank goodness for post-its as I leave those for my husband all the time on the cabinets!
Pet obesity is a huge issue so great to promote any product that might help. Kilo often tries to trick different family members into believing he has not eaten for days, let alone hours. We should probably try it as we have to be very careful to keep him fit and trim.
It might be worth a try for sure: I can put you in touch with the owner if that’s of interest, please email me! Christycaplan@gmail.com.
This would be good for pills too.
Totally agree.
This is a great tool. I could use it for my medication and vitamins!
So many people mentioned medication and supplements and I know I could use some assistance there with my dogs as it’s overwhelming sometimes!
These are really neat! Great for families. I don’t have to worry too much, as I am the only one that feeds the dogs! 🙂
Thank you! Agreed – great for larger families!
What a great idea for folks who have dogs on medications (like my Epi furangel Gibson was) and if different family members are responsible for feeding the pets!
I agree – I actually think they should consider a version for medications as many people mentioned this as an application.
I like the simplicity of this and it is perfect for my house where my kids take turns feeding the dogs dinner.
One of the testimonials I read was with larger families so I think that’s definitely his target audience for this!
We are on a tight routine here but learned at our recent visit to the vet that Henry has gained 1/2 Kilo. Thankfully the nicer weather has arrived. This looks like a great idea for houses with several family members – I’m sure Henry tries to convince my husband he hasn’t been fed some days!
It’s so hard to keep weight off of our Beagle and extra meals are on his wish list as well so hopefully this would help avoid extra meals and weight gain!
What a simple idea that can be very effective.
Agreed: Better than another app.
What a great idea! It’s so easy to use 🙂
Thanks! I liked that it was low-tech too…
I have something like this at my house. At one time there was 4 humans living in my house and I was loving that they all were feeding me. Once my humans noticed they got something like this and I’m sad to say I’m only being fed twice a day.
I hear you – twice a day just doesn’t seem like enough!
That is a clever little device! My cats are always trying to convince me and my husband that they have not yet been fed. Pets are sneaky! Being able to keep track of feedings is very important.
Thanks! They are super sneaky! Our dogs would be fed like 5X/day if we weren’t careful!
This is great! Do they also have a version for cats?
Thanks! They clearly need one!