Cravings cramping Cocoa’s style

How hard is it to break a hound’s habits?

Taylor Swift might be able to ‘shake it off’, but when it comes to your pet’s poor habits, it might not be as straightforward.

Last week we took a look at the aftermath of a pet prone to boredom. Hyperactivity, whining, garbage raiding and destructive chewing all form part of your furry friend’s natural nosy nature.

We established that it is essential to incorporate mild exercise into a pet’s daily routine in order to combat their instinctive behaviour.

To keep the barking bouts at bay, Cocoa was introduced to an exercise routine involving a 10 minute game of fetch daily. Although her blue ball has seen better days, the results have been quite promising.

Cocoa has come to enjoy her ‘strenuous’ workouts to such an extent that she cannot contain herself when 5 o’clock rolls around. The plump pooch seems to have adopted the mantra ‘every day is play day’.

Her heavy breathing was cause for concern, but Cocoa seems to be coping quite well. The panting ‘pup’ might have to take it easy for a while, but the results speak for themselves.

‘Step 1: Portion control is key’ is again relevant in cracking the code to Cocoa’s conduct.

Although portion control was effective at first, Cocoa has found a way to supplement her diet with something sweet on the side. The neighbours’ overhanging apricot tree has become this dachshund’s endless source for snacks. But how much is too much?

Since we cannot control how often the apricots fall to the ground, the only other option is to fence off the area so her sneaky snout cannot stray.

What was anticipated to be a walk-in-the-park doggy diet has become a multifaceted endeavour to help Cocoa beat the bulge. The pudgy ‘pup’ seems to resemble a teenager with an answer to just about everything.

Every day might be play day for Cocoa, but her battle of the bulge is far from over. With the provisions for pudgy pets set in stone, the war might just be won before the year draws to a close.

See next week’s edition of the Newcastle Advertiser for an update on Cocoa’s progress and whether or not the hound’s headway will again be halted.