Fit Fido Contest: The Biggest Loser for Dogs
While it’s somewhat easy for us to notice weight gain on people, it’s never easy to admit it when our pets gain weight—who doesn’t like their pooch fat and happy? But it starts to be a problem when it begins affecting their health. That’s why Pittsburgh’s darling doggy daycare,The Dog Stop, decided to host Fido Fitness—“The Biggest Loser” for dogs.
They began by compiling a list of questions for possible contestants to gauge how much work each dog might need. From there, each branch of The Dog Stop chose one applicant as their contestant. The prize was set as a free 20-day daycare package.
The contest began on April 27 with the contestants attending three full days of daycare (free of charge) every week for four weeks straight. At the daycare, the dogs were encouraged to be active through games, group play, and one-on-one activities. While there, they would get healthy midday nutritional snacks. Outside of the daycare sessions, staff instructed the owners on how to change their dog’s diet at home to a healthier one.
Jessica Ruple whose dog, Basil, competed said before the contest, Basil’s, “health was suffering and his breathing was getting heavier.” Jessica wanted to see her dog get his life back and said, “In the beginning he was very lethargic and unhappy but now at the end he is more playful and enjoys playing and running more. Not to mention, he is in a better place health-wise than before which means he will be around longer.” Basil lost 10 pounds overall and had a great time doing it as Jessica said, “Both of my dogs love the people [at The Dog Stop], and are always excited to go back.”
The winner of the competition, however, was Obrycki—a sweet young Golden Retriever belonging to Samantha and Michael Kapko. Samantha said they decided to enter Obrycki when, at his last vet appointment, they were told he was overweight. Samantha said, “We chose to enter Obrycki into the Fido Fitness Contest because he is a loving, playful, and energetic dog who needed to lose a few pounds. With a baby on the way and both my husband and I working full time, our time is limited to help Obrycki lose weight. Obrycki is an intelligent and wonderful family member who deserves extra playtime. We want Obrycki to be a 
big brother to our baby for as long as possible and the Fido Fitness contest helped do just that!”
While Samantha said the first few days were exhausting for Obrycki (from all the sudden exercise), by week two he was doing much better. As a result, Obrycki lost a total of 18 pounds during the Fido Fitness contest—making him the winner.
With the great success of the first competition, The Dog Stop may have found a wonderful event to repeat every year. Keep an eye out for any future events and, until then, make sure to bring your pooch by The Dog Stop for a fun day they won’t forget.
