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People With Fat Dogs


BlackJaq
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oh I still remember an old client at the kennel. she had an american cocker spaniel and that dog was FAT. he struggled to move and breath. she would tell people he eats "2 cups a day" that what she would write on her intake paperwork etc... she would then provide the "cup"....a big gulp slurpee cup. I measured it out out, each big gulp cup held SIX cups of kibble yup this lady was feeding a little american cocker 12 cups of kibble a day, PLUS unlimited treats AND according to her family members- bacon and eggs every morning for breakfast. that dog had health issues coming out of his ears, he was never not on a million medications for all his skin issues. every time the dog boarded we confiscated the big gulp cup and stuck an 8 oz measuring cup in her dogs food container lol. during a 3 month stay, her family members and neighbours(the fatness culprit was the lady, all the other family members knew the dog was fat and wanted him slimmed down) worked together and came to us to slim the dog down while they were away, he got exercise at the kennel plus neighbours took turns coming by and taking him for walks, his food was cut to 2 actual cups a day etc.. he was still fat when he left, but he had the ability to trot! I haven't seen the dog since, I am sure the lady wasn't happy with the collaboration, but I hope the family and neighbours managed to get through to her a little :(

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My mobility challenged girl Pickles weighs in at 14kg, but needs to be fed as much as a 28kg dog to keep her condition. Her mobility issues mean that she works much harder at getting about than my other dogs - and she's a busy little bugger at the best of times anyways. People tell me she is skinny, but she is also muscled dfferently to most dogs due to her mobility issues and how she gets about. She is kept lean, but not skinny, due to her isses - if she was to carry too much weight, it would negatively impact on her quality of life enormously. I got into a fight with a new vet at a local vet clinic once about her condition - she said Pickles was proportioned wrong, and I pointed out that the reason she has no discernable chest muscles is that she doesn't actually use them like other dogs... her walking style is "unique" to put it mildly... *grin* Her regular (read treating) vet is more than happy with how she is proportionally and health-wise - Pickles is perfect for Pickles basically.

My old girl Zeddy is 14 years old now, and apart from a little bit of arthritis and some greying about the face and feet, doesn't look her age at all. She is a Rotti/Pittie mix, and weighs in at 28kgs - perfect weight, and she has a lovely waistline/tuck. Most people and vets put her age at around 7-8 years old - and then are amazed at finding out her actual age. The only real hint that Zeddy is older than she looks is that she doesn't run too good any more, and takes a little longer to get out of bed in Winter... *grin*... but she still tries to play zoomies... *sigh*

If either Pickles or Zeddy were to carry any extra weight, I'm sure they wouldn't be with me much longer... so I do regiment what they get fed.

Funnily enough, I'm not as fussy with feeding myself as I am feeding my dogs... lol! I could probably drop 10kg, but I can't be arsed... *grin*

I have a friend who has 2 larger than life young Labs - she says she only feeds them the same amount of food I feed mine, and she takes hers for a lot more walks than I take mine - but her boys are easily in the 40kg range, whereas mine is only 28kgs... I just tell them they look well loved when I see them... they appear to be really healthy in every other respect, their activity levels are normal for crazy Labs, etc.

T.

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Guest hankodie

He does look great hankodie!

Thank you BlackJaq! I should really be weighing him more as I have no idea how heavy he is but I adjust his food according to his body condition and it seems like a good way to monitor his food :thumbsup:

Edit: I use the knuckle test to gauge my dogs weight - http://successjustcl...do-or-fat-fido/

I love that knuckle test!

I had never heard of that before, thanks for sharing :)

Great test. But does coat make a difference? I'd think a dog with a full coat and thick undercoat would feel a bit padded even when pretty scrawny. In my kennel days I was often surprised when I washed a dog that some apparently well filled out dogs became thin when wet.

Good point sandgrubber, my frenchie has a single coat so I can feel her ribs a little easier. With Hank I just put my fingers as close to his skin as possible but I find it still works pretty well. He does look a lot more svelte after I give him a bath though! :laugh:

Another diagram I've seen is this one but I don't think it's applicable to all breeds.

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Guest Maeby Fünke

I used to struggle with my Pug's weight and people often made insensitive comments. It used to p*ss me off no end :laugh: It really upset me that they thought I was intentionally harming him. I changed to a cooked, homemade high-protein diet and he finally began losing weight. And now I actually have to feed him *more* to keep him at his ideal weight!

Here he is at his largest. In this photo he weighed about 12 kg...

Groverstail.jpg

And in this more recent photo he weighs 10 kg (his ideal weight) :thumbsup:

SkinnyGrover2.jpg

Edited by Maeby Fünke
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He does look great hankodie!

Thank you BlackJaq! I should really be weighing him more as I have no idea how heavy he is but I adjust his food according to his body condition and it seems like a good way to monitor his food :thumbsup:

This is what I do, too. We have 5 dogs all up so food needs vary a lot and also fluctuate with exercise levels.

The type of food also influences the amount. I seem to feed less when we have fresh meat available (from hunting, slaughtering etc) than when we have only kibble.

At the moment everybody is at a good weight except OH's male because OH is in charge of feeding that one and he has not been adjusted from his winter feed to warmer time rations.... He is only slightly over and I am working on OH about it... :p

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I used to struggle with my Pug's weight and people often made insensitive comments. It used to p*ss me off no end :laugh: It really upset me that they thought I was intentionally harming him. I changed to a cooked, homemade high-protein diet and he finally began losing weight. And now I actually have to feed him *more* to keep him at his ideal weight!

Here he is at his largest. In this photo he weighed about 12 kg...

Groverstail.jpg

And in this more recent photo he weighs 10 kg (his ideal weight) :thumbsup:

SkinnyGrover2.jpg

Sometimes I think it's just a matter of finding the right diet for your dog :D

Your Pug looks very trim and fabulous now. I'm trying to figure out how to put a photo of my dog on here but my iphone won't cooperate.

My Shihtzu cross isn't big on eating, she regulates herself, doesn't always eat all her dinner and refused treats if she's not hungry. She'd have half a cup of biscuits a day and a small bowl of some meat or dog food. A pigs ear can last weeks. I'm told most dogs will eat till they burst but she doesn't. I guess that's a good thing. : )

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Guest Maeby Fünke

Your Pug looks very trim and fabulous now. I'm trying to figure out how to put a photo of my dog on here but my iphone won't cooperate.

My Shihtzu cross isn't big on eating, she regulates herself, doesn't always eat all her dinner and refused treats if she's not hungry. She'd have half a cup of biscuits a day and a small bowl of some meat or dog food. A pigs ear can last weeks. I'm told most dogs will eat till they burst but she doesn't. I guess that's a good thing. : )

Thanks :)

I can't believe how easy it is to keep the weight off him now. And that I sometimes have trouble keeping it on! My Pug would never stop eating if he could! He loves his food :laugh:

By the way, I edited my earlier post because I was worried that I sounded like I was preaching :o I'm just so excited and happy to have a slender Pug.

Edited by Maeby Fünke
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I used to struggle with my Pug's weight and people often made insensitive comments. It used to p*ss me off no end :laugh: It really upset me that they thought I was intentionally harming him. I changed to a cooked, homemade high-protein diet and he finally began losing weight. And now I actually have to feed him *more* to keep him at his ideal weight!

Here he is at his largest. In this photo he weighed about 12 kg...

Groverstail.jpg

And in this more recent photo he weighs 10 kg (his ideal weight) :thumbsup:

SkinnyGrover2.jpg

Sometimes I think it's just a matter of finding the right diet for your dog :D

Your Pug looks very trim and fabulous now. I'm trying to figure out how to put a photo of my dog on here but my iphone won't cooperate.

My Shihtzu cross isn't big on eating, she regulates herself, doesn't always eat all her dinner and refused treats if she's not hungry. She'd have half a cup of biscuits a day and a small bowl of some meat or dog food. A pigs ear can last weeks. I'm told most dogs will eat till they burst but she doesn't. I guess that's a good thing. : )

Thanks :)

I can't believe how easy it is to keep the weight off him now. And that I sometimes have trouble keeping it on! My Pug would never stop eating if he could! He loves his food :laugh:

By the way, I edited my earlier post because I was worried that I sounded like I was preaching :o I'm just so excited and happy to have a slender Pug.

You didn't sound preachy to me. I love Pugs we nearly got one when we were looking for a dog, a friend of mine told me they shed a lot, is that true?

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I used to struggle with my Pug's weight and people often made insensitive comments. It used to p*ss me off no end :laugh: It really upset me that they thought I was intentionally harming him. I changed to a cooked, homemade high-protein diet and he finally began losing weight. And now I actually have to feed him *more* to keep him at his ideal weight!

Here he is at his largest. In this photo he weighed about 12 kg...

Groverstail.jpg

And in this more recent photo he weighs 10 kg (his ideal weight) :thumbsup:

SkinnyGrover2.jpg

He is looking so good now!

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Guest Maeby Fünke

You didn't sound preachy to me. I love Pugs we nearly got one when we were looking for a dog, a friend of mine told me they shed a lot, is that true?

Oh my god yes! My house is ankle deep in fur! But most Pug owners will tell you they wouldn't have it any other way :)

Edited by Maeby Fünke
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I used to struggle with my Pug's weight and people often made insensitive comments. It used to p*ss me off no end :laugh: It really upset me that they thought I was intentionally harming him. I changed to a cooked, homemade high-protein diet and he finally began losing weight. And now I actually have to feed him *more* to keep him at his ideal weight!

Here he is at his largest. In this photo he weighed about 12 kg...

Groverstail.jpg

And in this more recent photo he weighs 10 kg (his ideal weight) :thumbsup:

SkinnyGrover2.jpg

Sometimes I think it's just a matter of finding the right diet for your dog :D

Your Pug looks very trim and fabulous now. I'm trying to figure out how to put a photo of my dog on here but my iphone won't cooperate.

My Shihtzu cross isn't big on eating, she regulates herself, doesn't always eat all her dinner and refused treats if she's not hungry. She'd have half a cup of biscuits a day and a small bowl of some meat or dog food. A pigs ear can last weeks. I'm told most dogs will eat till they burst but she doesn't. I guess that's a good thing. : )

Thanks :)

I can't believe how easy it is to keep the weight off him now. And that I sometimes have trouble keeping it on! My Pug would never stop eating if he could! He loves his food :laugh:

By the way, I edited my earlier post because I was worried that I sounded like I was preaching :o I'm just so excited and happy to have a slender Pug.

You didn't sound preachy to me. I love Pugs we nearly got one when we were looking for a dog, a friend of mine told me they shed a lot, is that true?

Oh my god yes! My house is ankle deep in fur! But most Pug owners will tell you they wouldn't have it any other way :)

I'm still very tempted, I love the look of them and their dignified attitude. :)

Edited by Alison03
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Interesting conversation this morning. I got out of my car with my pup at the river. Some lady (without a dog mind you) told me that he was too heavy eek1.gif.

All I said was "Oh really, come over here a minute" Let Nova go jump in the river and comes back out looking like a skinny drowned rat.

She apologised.

It's pretty obvious to me that he is just a giant fluff ball laugh.gif

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Guest Maeby Fünke

um, can people please stop quoting the photo's in each reply. Makes it hard for some people with limited bandwidth, on phones, etc. Thank you.

Sorry, I didn't think of that. I have edited my replies :)

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