Getting an obese dog in shape
My concern is that he is so inactive and so overweight that his joints are probably under a lot of stress. I don't want to push him too hard, but I don't want to be easy on him. How would you start? Any tips? He is 85lbs and was eating 4 cups a day. I have him at 2.5 cups with treats now. We would walk him 5 miles a day if he would have it, but as it stands he can barely do a mile. |
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| Do you have a place that offers hydrotherapy close to you? An underwater treadmill would be ideal. |
Unfortunately we can't pay for something like that, but good idea on swimming in general- that should be easier on his joints! We will be trying the dog beach asap... but something tells me he will not be thrilled with getting in the water  |
| Hydrotherapy or swimming would be a good idea.
Also, it might be a good idea to visit with your vet about diet. I was lucky enough to work with a canine nutritionist and found that the calorie/protein content can vary quite a bit from food to food. Just because a food is called lite - doesn't always mean it is " lite". Sometimes it is lite for that brand - but not compared to other foods. The nutritionist was able to find a food that was low in calorie but provided enough food to satisfy my older guy. He has had two TPLO procedures and an extra 5 lbs in weight makes a huge differnce on his joints. Good Luck! |
Too much excercise suddenly at such a weight can cause muscle strain or tear a ligament. Easy does it, at first. Nice slow walks are fine, for now. No arobics just yet! 
You will be amazed at how even shedding a couple of pounds will make a huge difference to his capabilities! In a couple weeks he could be up and raring to go! |
| Rudie is pretty short - maybe you could get one of those taller kiddie pools for exercise. You all might get kind of dizzy though...... around, and around..... |
Abigail, the dog we adopted last August has since lost 24 pounds.  Note, this wasn't easy. We had her checked out by the veterinarian and worked out a diet plan. She is on Wellness Weight Management (with the occasional after meal carrot ).
In addition to the low calorie food (you get to read a LOT of labels) we also increased her exercise. When she first joined us, Abigail didn't have much stamina. It was almost too much for her to make it to the end of the driveway and back. We started off with three short walks a day and slowly increased the distance. It took time but now she easily does two miles at a time. Good luck Jennifer, Baxter, Cassiopia and slim Abigail |
| You could always try replacing a cup of kibble with a cup of green beans for awhile, too. |
| Thanks for the tips. We will be doing the green bean diet with lots of short walks and *hopefully* swimming.
That's very encouraging about Abigail! We are feeding him California Natural, because that is what Marley eats. I figured we would just reduce what he was eating before and add healthy snacks. I will see what our vet thinks. One more question- he sort of walks funny, almost like a limp but it doesn't seem to be one particular leg bothering him... he just has a bit of a hitch in his giddyup. Should I be concerned that it's hip displaysia, or is it most likely just all that extra weight? I realize my vet will give me the most accurate answer, but it might be a few weeks before we have an appointment and I don't want to do anything damaging in the mean time. |
| Another thing to watch on the labels is the kcal/cup number. That is how many calories each cup that particular food has. It varies A LOT.
I have done a lot of research label reading, to get Chewie to gain. He gets full easily (he's not a picky eater) and I wanted to get as many calories as possible in each cup of food he consumes. He gets 1/2 his portion of what everyone else eats, and 1/2 of California Natural Puppy Food. It was the highest kcal/cup of any food I could find locally. There is a lot of variety between flavors/recipes in the same brand, so you really need to look at each one. You want the opposite - the LEAST kcal/cup. You may be surprised what brands/recipes are lower. |
got sheep wrote: Another thing to watch on the labels is the kcal/cup number. That is how many calories each cup that particular food has. It varies A LOT.
I have done a lot of research label reading, to get Chewie to gain. He gets full easily (he's not a picky eater) and I wanted to get as many calories as possible in each cup of food he consumes. He gets 1/2 his portion of what everyone else eats, and 1/2 of California Natural Puppy Food. It was the highest kcal/cup of any food I could find locally. There is a lot of variety between flavors/recipes in the same brand, so you really need to look at each one. You want the opposite - the LEAST kcal/cup. You may be surprised what brands/recipes are lower. ^^^ Dawn is correct about the kcal/cup varying. If you can't find the calorie content on the package, you can call the company and they will give it to you. You may have to feed your sheepies different foods for awhile. |
| Yeah, good news re: Abigail!!
I remind folks about our Glacier who left our foster home weighing 90 lbs, returning 5 years later at 158 lbs.  Vet suggested all sorts of weight loss foods, I said, let me try green beans. So Glacie ate 2 x a day: 1/2 can salt free green beans and 1 cup good quality food (Solid Gold or some such) and received some vitamin supplements. Treats were baby carrots. She now lived in a large yard again and could walk (at first waddle) around at her leisure. Exercise came gradually as she joined the other dogs run the fence or just romping about. Within a short time....just a few months....she was back down to 89 lbs. That was 6 years ago and she's still going strong, but back to only dog food, but still loves green beans (only canned.....gag...) and of course her carrots. |
| Not to step on toes here, but also remember dogs
usually lose pounds much slower than we want them to. I've heard that too fast can be hard on their system - don't know facts on that though. Shellie |
SheepieBoss wrote: Yeah, good news re: Abigail!!
I remind folks about our Glacier who left our foster home weighing 90 lbs, returning 5 years later at 158 lbs. Vet suggested all sorts of weight loss foods, I said, let me try green beans. So Glacie ate 2 x a day: 1/2 can salt free green beans and 1 cup good quality food (Solid Gold or some such) and received some vitamin supplements. Treats were baby carrots. She now lived in a large yard again and could walk (at first waddle) around at her leisure. Exercise came gradually as she joined the other dogs run the fence or just romping about. Within a short time....just a few months....she was back down to 89 lbs. That was 6 years ago and she's still going strong, but back to only dog food, but still loves green beans (only canned.....gag...) and of course her carrots.I use salt free green beans for my 1 girl too. It helps to fill her up, keep her full & maintain her weight. We have also found that the new "shredded blend" formulas of Purina Pro Plan have helped some of our dogs lose weight. The shredded portion must take longer to digest or something. We gave our 1 girl the same quantity (say 1-1/2 cups per feeding, 2 times a day) & she lost 15 pounds without having to cut her amount of food. |
Shellie wrote: Not to step on toes here, but also remember dogs
usually lose pounds much slower than we want them to. I've heard that too fast can be hard on their system - don't know facts on that though. Shellie My vet said safe weight loss should be 1/2lb to 1% of weight. |
Lil Walty wrote: I realize my vet will give me the most accurate answer, but it might be a few weeks before we have an appointment and I don't want to do anything damaging in the mean time.
Not necessarilly. My vet very smartly told me to look for a sports vet when Miss Marley had a hitch in the giddyup. Not one around, but we found a rehab therapist who is very knowledgable. Unless your vet is a ortho specialist he/she may not be able to be of much help if it is caused by something subtle. Just saying you might want to start looking for a specialist now. |
| Quick weight loss in cats can be fatal due to the strain it puts on the liver. Don't know if that applies to dogs, Glacier was about 6-7 when she lost her weight. Older dogs, slower is better. |
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