H is for How Did I Let This Happen?

Guys, I am stressed out over my dog's weight. He is officially OBESE! Yes, you read correctly, he's a fatty-fatty. To give you some perspective, let me describe him to you. He's a small-sized Maltese with kinky hair...basically, he looks like a Bichon Frise. So, he should weigh between 7 and 10 pounds.

Well, JC weighs 17 lbs! He snores now, and he's only 3 lbs shy of the airline-approved weight. In other words, he can't travel with me in the cabin unless he and his carrier is 20 lbs or less. That's on top of the fact that he must be able to comfortably stand and turnaround in his carrier, which sits underneath the seat in front of me. And worse of all, it's my fault. I over fed him when he was younger (He's almost 4 now.), and I stopped taking him on walks.

So now the journey begins...I vow to help JC lose 7 lbs. I don't know how long it's going to take, but I'm going to try. Based on some recommendations from my vet over two years ago, I'm switching JC's food to Iams Weight Control Adult Dog Food ($14 for 8 lbs.). He can only have 3/4 of a cup for the entire day. Since he has a bad habit of eating his poop when he's hungry, I'm going to monitor his wee-wee pad. Lastly, I'm going to resume walking him every other day (I'm based in NYC and hate walking in the cold! Ugh. I need to move to LA where we can walk on the beach almost every day).

To help keep JC fit for his walks I'm going to use Doggles Pet Sunscreen with SPF 15 ($11) to prevent sun spots from appearing on his pink skin (He doesn't have an undercoat, so he must have sun protection.). It's a water based spray formula that's made just for pets. It's a non-oily and non-irritating, water soluble SPF 15 that's coat and skin- perfect for light skinned dogs and the tips of cats ears. I'll follow the sunscreen with flea and tick spray from EcoPure ($7). It's the all-natural way to treat pests. With Earthbath grooming wipes ($15), I can use these thick, large, moist wipes to clean JC's filthy paws post-walk. It's ideal because it won't remove spot on flea control. Lastly, I'm going to neutralize and eliminate his body odor with PET HEAD "Poof!" Magical Deodorizing Spray ($18). This Asian pear-fragranced magical spray from the for-humans brand Bed Head TIGI is pH adjusted and free of paraben, petroleum derivatives, sulfate and DEA.

Wish us luck. I know I'll definitely need it.

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