Why are stray animals skinny?

Instructional Guide

Learners will explore 2 different things that can cause stray dogs to be skinny. While the main topic is stray animals, the concept can be applied to general weight loss versus weight gain. The lesson will start off by a story, followed by a matching activity, and crossword puzzle to test their knowledge.

Intended Grade Level

Intended for 2nd-4th grade. Students should be familiar with general idea of the stomach and intestines, and the concept that the body needs food for energy

Learning objectives

1. Students will be able to describe why stray dogs are so skinny and explain what is going on in their bodies
2. Students will be able to match diets to how a dog will appear
3. Students will be able to explain why intestinal worms are bad

Lesson Format

This can be done in any size group, or as a whole class

• Students will popcorn read the storybook. An audio is available for those who miss the lesson (30 min).
• Students will work independently to match the diets to the dogs based on what they learned from the story (10 min).
• Students will work in small groups or independently to fill out the crossword puzzle using terms found in the story. (15 min).

Lesson Background

This lesson focuses on how a lack of food and presence of worms can cause an animal to lose weight. When a stray dog, or any other animal, does not eat enough, their body has to use other sources of energy. The animal uses fat stored in the body instead of food. As the animal uses more and more fat, it will appear skinnier. Often in dogs that are strays, you can see their ribs, hips, and other bony protuberances. To a vet, this is a body condition score of 1-3. It is important to note that over feeding is also bad, as this can cause addition of fat. The animal becomes overweight and has a body condition score of 6-9. Ideal weight is a body condition score of 4-5. This means that the animal has the right balance of food and exercise.

Intestinal worms live in the stomach and intestines of animals. Often, the animal eats the worms when they are eggs from something that has died. These eggs grow inside of the dog because it is the perfect home. It is warm and they are able to eat all of the food that goes into the dog’s stomach. These worms absorb nutrients before the dog does. This makes the worms grow and the dog loses weight.

Veterinarians look for worm eggs by collecting a fecal sample. This is a piece of poop from the animal. The poop is mixed with a special solution to make the eggs come to the top. This solution is then put on a microscope slide and the veterinarian is able to see how many eggs and what type of worms are present. It is important to know which worms are there because that changes what type of medication the dog is prescribed.

Small frequent meals are important to gradually get the dog used to digesting food again. This is also something a veterinarian would discuss with the owners. Veterinarians have a very important role in helping stray animals.

Activities

The first activity is to read the story about Jimmy and his stray dog. Popcorn reading can be added to help children with their reading comprehension skills. Audio files of the story are available to use if that is preferred.

Questions to ask after reading:

1. What does it mean to be a stray animal?
2. What are the differences between a stray dog and a dog you might have at home?
3. What are the 2 ways Scruff became skinny when he was a stray?
4. What can Jimmy do to help Scruff become less skinny?

The matching game helps the kids distinguish between feeding not enough food versus feeding too much. Underfeeding leads to weight loss, while overfeeding leads to weight gain.

Questions to ask after the activity:

1. What are ways that we can make sure our animal is the right weight?
   1. Encourage students to think about eating the right amount of food and exercising the right amount

Common misconceptions and challenge points

1. Students may not understand how not eating causes weight loss. Some students may be curious about what actually happens in the body to cause this process.
   1. Explain that in a healthy person or animal, the food we eat is transformed into the energy that we use to walk, run, play, and do school work. If we don’t eat, we will feel hungry, but our body is still able to do these activities. Encourage them to think about this concept. If we can still walk when we are hungry, we must be getting our energy from somewhere. This is where weight loss comes in. Our body needs to be able to walk and pick up things, even if we don’t have food. To get this energy, we break down other parts of our body. The more of our body that is broken down to make energy, the more weight we lose. It is important to eat enough food so we are not breaking down our body.
2. Students may be confused about how worms eat but the dog doesn’t.
   1. Explain that the worms live in the tummy of the dog. In order for food to be made into energy, the food has to go through the tummy into the intestines. The worms that live in the stomach eat this food before it goes into the intestines for the dog to make energy. Thinking about what we learned in this lesson, the worms are getting the food and not the dog, which means the worms are able to grow instead of the dog. This means the dog has to use other ways to make energy, like using parts of its body.

Assessment

Students will complete a crossword puzzle which summarizes their learning from this lesson. The crossword encourages students to learn terminology that is used in the story. Crosswords help with problem solving, spelling, and concentration. This is a good activity to do at the end to see how much the students comprehended from the reading. It will include questions directed at each of the learning objectives. Students can complete this activity in small groups or individually. The online module automatically gives students a grade and they can access the correct answers from that page.

Further exploration

What do veterinarians do coloring book- https://ebusiness.avma.org/files/productdownloads/what-do-vets-do-coloring-book-english-12-2021.pdf

How to feed your dog safely- https://www.fda.gov/media/75722/download?attachment

What is an ideal weight- https://vet.purdue.edu/engagement/sepa/documents/Fitness_Dog_Weight.pdf

Fitness for you and your dog- https://vet.purdue.edu/engagement/sepa/documents/Fitness_Doggie_Fitness.pdf