Sparky's Quest

Sparky was previosuly fed breakfast early in the morning, a fact that I must have "conveniently" forgotten after going to bed late on Sunday night. Undeterred by this late bed time Sparky was up and ready to go at 6:00AM this morning and although I rise relatively early it was a bit of a suprise to be greeted by a Spaniel face an inch from mine as a wake up call.

I rose to the occasion and took him out for a walk. This would be our first official walk together and I was excited to see what I was up against. It was slow going. We went to the park that's about 4 blocks from home and after this short distance he was tired out. We rested in the park for a bit and made a slow trip back.

I was encouraged by the fact that his mobility is great, with no stiffness of soreness in evidence. He is just suffering from a severe lack of stamina and all the extra weight he is toting around.

It would be a much greater problem about the weight if he had a mobility problem. It has been my experience that if you ease a dog into a good, consistent exercise program they respond rapidly. I have always been amazed at the ability of a dog to rapidly gain stamina and strength despite all of the weight!