thanks for the great quality of your website, each time i come here, i’m amazed.

Thank you. Obesity in pets is a big issue, no pun intended. Even bringing it up to clients we need to be careful, which is the reason many vets don’t tell their clients the pet is heavy. Instead they either have a chart hanging on the wall showing what to look for in a heavy pet and hope the person looks at it. Or they have a check box on the info sheet that goes home with the pet stating if they are at the correct weight. No one reads those! But “dog-forbid” they should tell people to their face about this all too important aspect of their pet’s health for fear the person might take it personally and leave for another vet.

Love your site – terrific information. Thanks

Thanks for your comments and questions. I’m terribly sorry to hear about your dog’s issues, especially at such a young age. What I know about Immune Mediated Arthritis is there are 2 kinds. You say her’s is the idiopathic kind, which leads me to believe they tested for the secondary or systemic type, which affects the larger joints in the body. Also, it’s cause is an infectious disease like lyme, ehrlichia, a bacterial, fungal or viral infection. If these have not been ruled out that is where I would begin. If there is an underlying issue which is still present then all the pred in the World won’t help in the long run. Some vets also treat with a drug called azathioprine, or Imuran, in addition to steriods.

In general, steroids are very bad for long term because they suppress the immune system. However, sometimes we have no choice in order to make our pets comfortable. The good thing is that the disease your dog has is treatable and has a good chance of making a full recovery, though it may take a while. But double check about ruling out any underlying diseases.

Now, to keep her weight down and stop the counter surfing. As you know, one of the side effects of steroids is increased appetite & water intake. Also, steroids in general make you become more bloated even if you don’t eat more. I like the Honest Kitchen stuff, as well as the grain free breakfast you are feeding her. When I feed H.K. food I add more water to it than it says. You can try that so the food is more filling but it’s only water. The 1/2 c. should come out to over 1 cup of food. I’d also make sure the canned food you are feeding is grain free, and maybe feed that either as a lunch or snack just before bedtime to spread out the food more. As for the counter surfing, that’s going to be a management issue until this is resolved. If she gets anything off the counter in the meantime she may continue the behavior even after the is stopped. If you have a pool that would be great low impact exercise for her. No pressure on her joints but she’s burning calories. You can also add veggies to her food but stay away from stuff with too much starch or sugar like corn, yams, potato, beets & carrots. Shredded zucchini is good for taking up space, or low sodium canned green beans, but rinse them a few times to get extra sodium off of them.

I hope this helps. I feel for you & your girl.

Laura

Yes, they do act more their age when you take the weight off. I had a client with a lab who was overweight and they just couldn’t seem to take the weight off, I think because they couldn’t visualize what she was supposed to look like. I took her for a month or so & they were amazed when she came home. They were able to see the difference in both her shape & her attitude. She was acting like the 3 yr. old dog she was. My gray area though is older dogs. Most dogs lose weight & get pretty thin as they get older and lose muscle. But then if they get sick, even an upset stomach for a few days, they don’t have any extra to pull from. So I have to admit that I’m in a little quandary over that. If you add just a pound or two extra for that emergency, you are also adding more weight for their back ends to carry around. It’s a tough to win situation and a judgment call. But, we can only do the best we can.

Thank you so much for reading my blog and taking the time to make a comment. It’s nice to know I’m not just rambling to myself .

Thanks for chiming in on this. It is such an important topic that people don’t seem to understand. Yes, a toy breed can be difficult to keep at a good weight. The tiny amount of food they need just doesn’t seem like enough to some people. The people though, don’t seem to take into consideration how tiny the dog’s stomach is though. It’s so easy to over feed. If your mom is someone who gives her dog a lot of treats try talking her into giving carrot chips instead. Or my mom’s dog loves the frozen veggies still frozen. Don’t give too much corn though, a lot of starch & sugar. Keep on her about it. Her tiny dog could live to be 16-18 years old, or she could lose her much earlier just from being heavy. Thirty percent is a huge amount on any dog, let along a tiny dog.

Laura

Laura