Morbidly Obese

Breathing troubles, back legs quiver when moving, dislike of getting up.....how can people let dogs get this way?

She was a stray. at least 8-10 years old. We're thinking Doxie/Min Pin? X. She's fat, fat, fat, FAT! And she's got cataracts....hides from the camera, ducks when I turn on a light, hiding under desks/tables where the light isn't so bright.

My Gigi got that way from the cushings... Oh according to my vet Gigi is plump/fluffy overwt not obese ...

This gal has had a fully work-up & vet check, I believe. She was breathing so hard we thought she'd die....

humm do you know her wt ???

low to no grain food.... Gigi has lost over a lb ... and her waist is back

17 lbs. give or take a few ounces

wow .. she looks in the pic only about 14 ///

I am guessing 12 is ideal ish??

What????? She's got such a little frame to weigh that much! That makes me really mad.

We saw a dog at the vet once, a miniature poodle that weighed more than my Standard doodle. He did BOTH cruciate ligaments just fetching the ball. I was talking to the vet nurse about it and she said the dog's owner was like, `Well, my grand-daughter just keeps feeding him chicken'. Yeah right. I've never seen such a distressed animal.

And if the grandkid is doing that, well, stop her! How hard is it? Sounded like the kid and the dog could both have benefited from some better grandparenting

I'll try to get a pic of her gut when she's laying on her side. It's terrible. She should be about 13 lbs, tops.

OK. This is the best I can do for a pic of her tummy bulging...the camera flash freaks her out/make her eyes hurt(cataracts).

I feel so bad reading what you guys are saying when I have a chubby dog ...... he came to us chubby but that was 2 years ago and the vet has said he needs to lose weight. I have stopped Jim from feeding him Italian food and starting strictly feeding him Merricks ...... 2 cans a day ...... and he is swimming ...... and he also has exercise daily at daycare and we walk him twice a day........ and he drinks lots of water everday because his particular breed really needs it ....


Are we on the right path? Does anyone know?

I would have never said that dog was obese, Natalie, thats how much I dont know.

Some people love their dogs too much. We took in a foster one time that was horribly overweight. She was a 23lb Bichon Frise named Abby, who should have weighed around 12lbs. She would breathe extremely hard like you described, so I took her to the vet and had her thoroughly checked out. She was healthy other than being so overweight. Her owner loved her to the point that he took her everywhere with him including for a walk around the neighborhood every evening (weather permitting). The problem was that when they got home he would feed her an entire package of "Pupperoni" treats if she wanted them. When the man passed away, his wife said that she didn't know the first thing about taking care of Abby. Here is what she looked like when we brought her here:




Before we placed her, she had lost 5lbs. Her new owner put her on a good diet, and was taking her to work with her. Here is a picture of Abby 9 months later... she looked like she was supposed to...


Hope this little one has a happy ending to her story like Abby did.

Pami, all you can do is work slowly. My Macey, a Lab/GSP X is overweight as well. She needed to drop 15 lbs & we're down 5 so far....would be doing better if she hadn't eaten her entire food container.

It's a matter of no treats(period). No begging. No human snacks. Feed only a set amount of food, even if they beg for more kibble. More wet food, less filler dry. Regular exercise, rain or shine.

Has Snowbutt had his thyroid checked? Or any bloodwork?

Originally Posted by Pami

I feel so bad reading what you guys are saying when I have a chubby dog ...... he came to us chubby but that was 2 years ago and the vet has said he needs to lose weight. I have stopped Jim from feeding him Italian food and starting strictly feeding him Merricks ...... 2 cans a day ...... and he is swimming ...... and he also has exercise daily at daycare and we walk him twice a day........ and he drinks lots of water everday because his particular breed really needs it ....


Are we on the right path? Does anyone know?

I would have never said that dog was obese, Natalie, thats how much I dont know.

Click to expand...

Sounds like it, but the best thing is to know your dog's weight and know what the ideal weight should be. Like with our Schnauzer, Koty, he's overweight, but his is caused by a thyroid condition that he's on medication for. His ideal weight is around 14lbs. When I had his thyroid tested (with the full wellness test), he was at 16lbs, but everything appeared normal, so we started monitoring his food intake more. He ended up jumping up to 22lbs. That's when we found out that the thyroid was now showing a problem. He's down to about 18lbs, so we're on the right track, but still have a ways to go. Dogs with medical conditions like the thyroid or Cushings do tend to be overweight, but that can be controlled. Our Shelties, on the other hand, are at their ideal weights. If you're monitoring the food, exercising your dog, and watching the treats, you should see a drop in the weight. What breed do you have?

Originally Posted by white cat lover

It's a matter of no treats(period). No begging. No human snacks. Feed only a set amount of food, even if they beg for more kibble. More wet food, less filler dry. Regular exercise, rain or shine.

Has Snowbutt

had his thyroid checked? Or any bloodwork?

Click to expand...

Snowbutt

He is not getting any treats other than his wet and no dry. He doesnt beg for any food either, but that has not always been the case when Jim was feeding him. You know for his daycare they require blood tests, but Im not sure if he has had his thyroid tested. Jim actually handles that. I will certainly ask.

Originally Posted by TNKittyMom

dog, and watching the treats, you should see a drop in the weight.

What breed do you have?

Click to expand...

Awwww those pics you posted above are amazing. Snowball is a Bichon, too, but he is a larger Bichon. He weighs about 22-23 LBS now and should weigh (according to the vet) about 18 LBS. His Mom and siblings were the larger breed of Bichon, too.

We have a neighbor who has a Bichon who weighs about 25 LBS and his legs are long and he is very slim and is at his exact weight. And we have another neighbor that has a large Bichon that weighs about 23 LBS and he also as the correct weight.

I would love to see Snowball at his correct weight, too. I have to really work with Jim on doing the right thing for him. Im going to show him the difference in the pics you posted.

Natalie, Im sorry Im hijacking your thread, but Thank You for helping me

http://thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=138398

heres a link to him ....

Awww. I saw his pictures. He's cute! I love a Bichon's personality. I just don't like the grooming of them. Abby was a sweetheart and you could really tell that how much better she was feeling after the weight started dropping. When people talk about how much a dog should weigh, I'm in agreement with what you were talking about...it depends on the individual dog. Like with our Shelties, one weighs 18lbs, one at 35lbs, and one at 41lbs, but they're all at the right weight for them.

After dealing with Scully it makes me sad to see them so overweight

Hijack away Pami! There is a difference between you & Sandy's former owners. You are trying, if Sandy's former owners had tried, she wouldn't have ended up where she is now. That is really negative, but people do not seem to grasp that fat animals aren't healthy. I tried to take Sandy for a walk & she can't hardly make it to the end of the driveway(farm driveway, so longer, but not like super long). It's difficult to get them to drop weight when they cannot walk well!

Two more pics from last night. She crawled up in bed next to me & rolled right over onto her back for a tummy rub. She then proceeded to roll around kicking me. Slept in PJ & Punky's spot(which had them peeved).
Tummy rubbies!

She does this all the time, walks up to something(like a wall) & leans against it?

Awwwww Nat look at that first pic of her ......... she looks scared and happy at the same time ..... awwww I wish I could rub her tummy for her. She will realize soon that shes in the best possible place for her.

I bet PJ and Punky were upset she was in their spot In my house, the cats make the rules for the dog, period and he has to listen thats the reason hes with Jim a lot so he can have his time away from the cats.

Sandy is a typical Doxie, very "high & mighty". She's nipped at PJ & Punky a couple of times when they tried to take "her" spot back. Thought about nipping me once, but knew better. I am alpha dog(woof!).