Furry Friday: Belly Boy

Over time we have graciously given our little Rye-guy a number of cute nicknames, all of which he answers to.  Bearded-boy, Buddy, Rye-rye, Rye-guy, Bubba, Riley Baby, Love-Bear... the list goes on and on.  Truth be told, he just likes to be talked to so I think if I even called him an obscenity he'd come prancing over happily.  Lately I've taken to calling him Belly Boy because, well, he is getting a little bit of a belly on him.  What can I say? He has his mother's sweet tooth and an affinity for snacking around the clock.  But since he is a "tweenie" (not a standard or a mini) it's really not good to start letting him pack on the pounds.  Dachshunds are prone to back problems already and since he feels the need to avoid using his steps while getting down from the couch, throwing that extra weight into the mix is like a ticking time bomb for an expensive vet visit.