keetamouse Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 I have a morbidly obese 14kilo Maltese boy who arrived in to care today from Wagga, the previous owner has feed him over the last 12 months (he is only 12 months old) a kilo size lasagne regularily, he has a cough (not surprised) can anyone advise me the amount to feed him so he loose's the weight slowly. I will be taking him to my vet on Monday but wanted to start him on a reduced diet ASAP, apparently he wakes at 3 in the morning and will eat anything he can, wooded table, legs off chairs, he will be in a wire dog crate tonight and the only thing he will have in there is a blanket, hopefully he won't eat that. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks Maree Canberra Pooch Rescue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 Goodness me! That is one large and rather spoilt dog One important hing is to not cut him back too savagely. Losing weight too quickly can cause some nasty medical issues. Do you feed raw or a dry food? If he is going mad wanting to eat give him some raw carrots or something to chew on. I would weigh him so you know how much he is too begin with, then you would probably only want him to lose half a kilo a week. If you have dry dog food Give him a low cal variety - if have it- and maybe start with a cup - not sure exactly! You can always add a substantial amount of cooked carrot or pumpkin to bulk his other food out. Just make sure you weight him weekly to make sure he is not dropping weight too quickly. Good luck sounds like you have your work cut out for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 R&L: One important hing is to not cut him back too savagely. Losing weight too quickly can cause some nasty medical issues. My vet says when a dog's that big, getting weight off fast is a good thing. I'd give him what you consider to be a normal meal for a dog that size until you talk to the vet. But if he's THAT hungry, and at that size, I'd suggest you run a thyroid panel on him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vehs Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 poor little bugger gotta be cruel to be kind here and really cut him back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freundhund Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 I am stunned, I have to be honest and say I never, ever thought you could put that much weight on a Maltese! Is it possible to see some photos? How much should a "normal" Maltese weigh? Good luck with getting him to loose weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skruffy n Flea Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 me too freundhund --- i have two maltese mixes and both are less than half keeta's malt!!! from my research a maltese should grow to at best 7 kilos and i agree with monitoring its weightloss regularly but to getting its weight down a quickly as possible --- today there are so many good quality weight loss and weight management foods for dogs that contain all the essential ingredients that there really isn't any risk to the dog's health of the weight is dropped at a reasonable pace... also from my research, an active dog should be fed 3 to 4% of its bodyweight and i'd take that to be its ideal body weight, so about 200 gms per day total split into two meals --- it's easy to fill the spaces in between those meals with low fat energy snacks during the weightloss program in order to keep him active and therefore burning more fat... his previous owner should be charged or at least cited for low end animal cruelty... the lil guy is lucky to have you come across him --- he at least now has a chance at a good healthy life good luck and please, keep us updated on his progress... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinbcs Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 R&L:One important hing is to not cut him back too savagely. Losing weight too quickly can cause some nasty medical issues. My vet says when a dog's that big, getting weight off fast is a good thing. I'd give him what you consider to be a normal meal for a dog that size until you talk to the vet. But if he's THAT hungry, and at that size, I'd suggest you run a thyroid panel on him. Good advice. The vets sometimes fast very obese dogs for several days on water only to get weight loss started. Anyone who has read the James Heriot books will remember the story of Tricky Woo the overweight Peke that was fasted on water only for a week. I too would be feeding normal size meals for a the size he should be and giving him carrots or broccoli stems to chew to keep him occupied. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KZs Mum Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 If you were thinking about bulking out his food......One thing I learnt recently from the dietician at work is that butternut pumpkin is not the same biochemically as regular pumpkin. It has calories that count!!! I think that it would be really hard for me to feed this little guy what he was 'used' to.....I think I would give a normal meal for his ideal weight. Poor little guy. He's one lucky little chunky monkey! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SchnauzerMax Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 R&L:One important hing is to not cut him back too savagely. Losing weight too quickly can cause some nasty medical issues. My vet says when a dog's that big, getting weight off fast is a good thing. I'd give him what you consider to be a normal meal for a dog that size until you talk to the vet. But if he's THAT hungry, and at that size, I'd suggest you run a thyroid panel on him. x2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skruffy n Flea Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 If you were thinking about bulking out his food......One thing I learnt recently from the dietician at work is that butternut pumpkin is not the same biochemically as regular pumpkin. It has calories that count!!! I think that it would be really hard for me to feed this little guy what he was 'used' to.....I think I would give a normal meal for his ideal weight. Poor little guy. He's one lucky little chunky monkey! hi just for clarity... which pumpkin has calories that count? the butternut pumpkin or regular? i just wanna avoid confusion and remove any ambiguity thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 R&L:One important hing is to not cut him back too savagely. Losing weight too quickly can cause some nasty medical issues. My vet says when a dog's that big, getting weight off fast is a good thing. I'd give him what you consider to be a normal meal for a dog that size until you talk to the vet. But if he's THAT hungry, and at that size, I'd suggest you run a thyroid panel on him. That's interesting as I was always told don't as it can release too much fat into the blood stream which can then go to the Liver and cause problems. I will ask my vet again when I go in next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 (edited) With overweight dogs there is a program you can follow, I've used it myself with success and it takes weight off them appropriately (not too fast): Monday: Mashed Veggies only - you can give as many as you like. Just make sure you don't include veggies with high Sugar content such as Carrots. I would use loads of Butternut Pumpkin, Brocolli then some potato, sweet potato, a fair few beans, cabbage, parsnip etc. Tuesday: Mashed Veggies only Wednesday: BARF Pattie (However much is suitable for that sized dog at its' normal weight) Thursday: Mashed Veggies only Friday: Mashed Veggies only Saturday: BARF Pattie (However much is suitable for that sized dog at its' normal weight) Sunday: Mashed Veggies only Monday: Mashed Veggies only And so the cycle continues. Exercise is going to aid this type of diet, free running is the best. If you have a super overweight dog then you can't do heaps of exercise, so free running at a park with some toys and a bit of encouragement would be safer. *Side note: Some turn their nose up at the veggies to start with....tough luck....have the bowl down for 15 minutes and then take it away....they start loving it soon! I would also be added Minerals and Vitamins to his diet if he's eating inapporiate things and crate the little monkey or confine him with a kiddie gate so he can't get out and eat stuff he shouldn't. Tablets: http://www.vetnpetdirect.com.au/VPORGT Powder: http://www.vetnpetdirect.com.au/VPORGVIT Edited July 17, 2010 by sas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 R&L:One important hing is to not cut him back too savagely. Losing weight too quickly can cause some nasty medical issues. My vet says when a dog's that big, getting weight off fast is a good thing. I'd give him what you consider to be a normal meal for a dog that size until you talk to the vet. But if he's THAT hungry, and at that size, I'd suggest you run a thyroid panel on him. That's interesting as I was always told don't as it can release too much fat into the blood stream which can then go to the Liver and cause problems. I will ask my vet again when I go in next time. There is something called hepatic lipidosis, which is often caused by fasting in overweight cats; but it is not so common in dogs. 14kg is huge for a maltese- my 3.5 month old lab puppy is not even that! please post some pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 (edited) You may find that the weight drops off fairly quickly since you're with-holding any access to lasagne! (I.e. there may not be anything really drastic you need to do, just feed him a good light dog diet be it raw or dry.) Edited July 18, 2010 by Staff'n'Toller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brennan's Mum Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 Ohh that poor dog All the best in helping the not-so-little fella lose the weight. Amazing what some owner's think is alright to feed their dogs!.. Eating that amount of lasagne daily wouldn't even be good for an adult human! let alone a small dog. By Lasagne I am assuming you mean human lasagne? Just checking in case there is a brand of dog food I do not know about called ''lasagne'' ( though not holding onto that). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingduster Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 wow, and I thought these shelties I groom at 24 & 28kg were big for their size!!! wowzers; 14kg Malt?! I have no real advice, but good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golden Rules Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 I am stunned, I have to be honest and say I never, ever thought you could put that much weight on a Maltese! Is it possible to see some photos? How much should a "normal" Maltese weigh?Good luck with getting him to loose weight. I had a little foster dog up until a couple of weeks ago - a Maltese cross - he weighed in at 12.3kg His elderly owner must have fed him anything and everything. The poor wee thing LOVED his walks and LOVED raw food over dry so it would have been easy to get the weight off him (given time) but he is now with his new forever home. You may find that the weight drops off fairly quickly since you're with-holding any access to lasagne! (I.e. there may not be anything really drastic you need to do, just feed him a good light dog diet be it raw or dry.) I agree! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravyk Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 :rolleyes: That is HUGE for a Malt. I have had great success getting overweight dogs to lose weight on a mixture of roo meat/mince and mashed pumpkin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridie Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 That is HUGE for a Malt. I have had great success getting overweight dogs to lose weight on a mixture of roo meat/mince and mashed pumpkin. Mashed (heated in micro) pumpkin,I am using every day & for newbys reading this thinking........no way would my dog eat pumpkin! I thought this also & I am so pleased & surprised that not only Bindie who is on a diet but the others lap it up.I have been giving them say...1/2 cup of pumpkin with 2 tablespoons of sardines,or quality canned dog food for breakfast.Did you know that Pumpkin is a fruit! One cup is 30 calories,I gram fat & 7.5 carbs. Good luck with your Malty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MalteseLuna Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 Purebred Maltese are normally around 2.5-5 kg - mines about 3 kg. There are 'bigger' Maltese that are larger but these are generally crosses. And I thought a 10 kg pug was OBESE Carrots are quite good for dieting dogs and humans Hope the night goes okay and he doesn't eat the blanket Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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