Fat Wiener!!!

[isobelsmom]

Maybe I shouldn't say fat-at least not yet.
Isobel is beefing up and I can't seem to get control of it. I've had her at the vet and after tests to rule out anything abnormal, all he said was: "Your dog is getting fat. Make her lose weight." Well, thanks a bunch! And I just paid you how much? http://dachsie.org/ubb/rolleyes.gif
Her intake of food has not increased; if anything I have dropped her intake. Her play and exercise is good (Quincy runs her hard and long). And I am at a loss. She eats low cal food and snacks are healthy and low fat- just like her mamma (except Isobel is getting better stuff than her mamma).
HELP! I am at a loss as to what to do. She looked so good for a while and over the last month she's started to balloon http://dachsie.org/ubb/eek.gif and is loosing her girlish figure.
Any suggestions? Isobel doesn't seem to mind but I don't want back and other probs. to set in. Thanks!

mary

[This message has been edited by isobelsmom (edited April 22, 2000).]

[Penny's Aunt]

Is Isobel spayed? Spaying will decrease some need for food (just like humans).

Exactly how much food does she get a day? If she's chunking up, it's probably still too much for her activity level.

Is she a couch potato? A nice walk once or twice a day will help use up the calories, as will ball-chasing, etc. Inside games will help, too.

[Dolly's Mom]

Hi Mary!

Be sure you are feeding her a good premium food and NOT MUCH! Dolly who tends toward the chunky side gets 1/2 cup a day. She is 18 lbs. That's 1/4 cup kibble (she is on Solid Gold Hund N Flocken) per feeding. Also I try to make both Dolly and Maddie WORK for their treats and they don't get too many. One way I do this is put a treat in a kong and have em dig it out....Maddie hasn't caught on to that one yet, but Dolly LOVES it. Another thing I do is take one square of a jerky treat and make it 4-6 pieces and hide the pieces all over inside an old sheet. Both the girls LOVE to root for the treats! They both sound like pigs rooting for truffles. http://dachsie.org/ubb/biggrin.gif If that doesn't help, try another vet who can tell you something you DON'T know!

Keep us posted.

Sandi

[Cindi]

When I had my very young male (well, he was 2 yrs. old but I had to wait to finish his show career) neutered he ballooned what appeared to be overnight. He was on Purina Pro-Plan light and just kept getting rounder and we got LOTS of exercise (we had started agility). So, I asked my vet for drastic measures and he prescribed Purina Obesity Maintenance (OM) food. The dogs LOVE it and on his regular amount of dog food (1/2 cup and he was 11 pounds) he lost 1.5 pounds in 3 months. We all were shocked it took so long cuz this food is supposed to melt the weight off. Anyway, it was just what we needed to get it off. Now he is back on regular light food and is maintaining.
I think the metabolic changes after being neutered kind of knocked us off the weight bandwagon for a while.
Now I use the food as treats http://dachsie.org/ubb/smile.gif.

[MaverickMom]

Mary,

I know what you mean! My Sasha is only 6 months old and she weighs 14 lbs. She is a little chunk! She was one of only two in the litter and for a while there we all(including our vet) thought it was just puppy fat but at her last visit he said she is definatly overweight! I think she gets plenty of exercise. She and Maverick play and wrestle and run constantly. So, I cut back on her food intake (yes, she's on a high quality food). That was over a month ago and I don't think she's lost a single ounce! I, too, am worried about what this could do to her back. I feel like if I cut back on it any more she will be hungry all the time. So, I know what you're struggling with.

Sonya

[sillysadie]

Sonya,

I am sure Silly and Sasha are twins.- with the submissive peeing too. I have the same problem with my pudgy boy. We go for walks, he fetches ALL day and wrestles with Sadie in between. I have been using Healthy Treats for Silly and feed him Nutro diet for overweight dogs. Silly looks to have gained weight! Sadie who has always been trim is really losing too much weight and becoming too thin. I am going to put her back on her regular food. Silly is much more active than Sadie also. He only gets a treat a day and I put it in a Kong so he has to work for it. I know he will always be pudgy. He has a wide head, chubby short legs, and a shorter frame but I would like to keep him from adding any additional weight to his frame. I'll keep trying!

Shelley

[isobelsmom]

Sonya,

Isn't it frustrating? I was out with Isobel and Quincy tonight running them ragged. Quincy finally pooped out after about 50 laps around the yard and isobel was still ready to go. so . . .we played soccer with her wiggle-giggle ball and then did some obedience. I was panting and she was barely winded. I've cut back on her food, have always used kongs (so she has to work at it!) but the little snot is still gaining. She's on a lite food and minimal treats. I really do not know what else to do. She really does get tons of exercise. <sigh>

I'm just afraid that I'll wake up one morning and she'll have oozed out the sides of her crate http://dachsie.org/ubb/eek.gif How would I explain that to the vet http://dachsie.org/ubb/confused.gif

mary

[MaverickMom]

Shelly,

Yep, Sasha and Silly are just too much alike! Sasha has the really short frame too, real stubby legs and she round. Maverick is like Sadie, he is taller and very slim. I was feeding them out of one bowl but I came to the conclusion that Maverick was only picking at his portion which meant Sasha was eating most of both helpings. So, I bought seperate bowls that hook onto the insides of the crates so that I can crate them while their eating and make sure that Sasha is only getting her share but like I said it doesn't seem to be helping. I wonder if I should put her on a low cal/fat food. I have never heard of the Purina Obesity food that Cindi mentioned, nor have I ever seen any of it. I may mention it to my vet and see what he thinks.

Mary, yes it is extremly frustrating. Maverick is so slim and trim and looks so healthy and Sasha looks like a sausage with little stubby legs. I am so worried about how unhealthy it is for her. Like you, I don't know what else to do! She's only 6 months old, for pete's sake!

Do I remember correctly that someone out there once said something about giving them canned green beans along with their kibble to help fill them up without the fat and calories? Was that you, Wienergal?? Tell me about it again, please.

Sonya

[sillysadie]

I tried the green beans and for a while he picked at them then did not eat them at all. I also tried the carrots. I have never seen a dog literally spit a carrot across the room like Silly did. Then it sat on the floor all day. I believe we have each others siblings! I think I will make a trip to vet soon and see if he thinks something might be wrong. I think it is just genetics but you never know when something is out of whack. This is my first chubby dachshund - mine have always been so sleek and lean- and I admit I am so puzzled but I love him anyway. He is a total cuddler and requires a few smooches every hour or so.

[Penny's Aunt]

I read that if your dog isn't crazy about vegetables, to grind or blenderize them, & start adding them gradually, mixed in well with the rest if the dog's food.

[Tina]

It would be interesting to know if all the owners of two (or more) dachsies must wrestle with this problem how you could keep your one dog slim and make the other one eat just a little bit more. Two of my dogs are siblings and the third one is their mother. One of the puppies (now 9 months) has been very slim and sporty all her life. She is about the same height and lenght as her sister and mother, but weighs almost 5 lbs less. At the moment she is practising jumping on the dinner table straight from the floor. Yesterday she almost succeeded. Her sister on the other hand seems to gain weight although she only eats about half of the amount her sister does and low-calorie- diet. Their mother also belongs to the "effective food-consumers" At the breakfast and dinner-time I keep close watch with a broom in my hand to prevent my doggies from eating each others´ food http://dachsie.org/ubb/smile.gif

[Mandy]

Henry and Jakey have the same problem. Jakey is very slim. Henry used to be, but now he is chunky. He started getting chunky after (a)he was neutered and (b)we brought Jakey home. Of course Henry wanted the puppy food and Jakey wanted the light food. Bart and I were constantly feeding them in separate rooms under supervision, but they still managed to get some of the other's food. Our vet told us to go ahead and put Jakey on light food too now so we shouldn't have a problem. The only thing is, I have to keep switching brands because Jakey likes to have a different kind of food each bag (and I thought dachsunds would eat anything?) http://dachsie.org/ubb/smile.gif Henry is starting to get his shape back slowly. Of course, Henry was broader than Jakey s to begin with.

[isobelsmom]

I tried the veggie's with Isobel, even cooking and mashing. I don't know how she did it but she seemed to suck off the veggie gunk, spit it out and eat her kibble. I was impressed http://dachsie.org/ubb/biggrin.gif although I coulda popped her one what with mamma going through all that trouble. All the other dogs ate their veggies. Geeezzz! http://dachsie.org/ubb/rolleyes.gif

[This message has been edited by isobelsmom (edited April 25, 2000).]

[Mrs.F]

Hmmmm....I think it's a lot like humans. Those that are naturally slim and trim LOVE living on veggies, but those of us that are not quite so slim and trim, well, we'd just as soon pass up the veggies for the fattening stuff....

[Tanya]

Mary, WhenPunkin started putiing on weight, my vet yelled at me because Punkin had a back problem. Though I had changed nothing, she kept getting heavier. She never got fat fat, but she was chubbier than she needed to be. Our vet put her on Purina OM (I think another member mentioned this also) and it really took off the weight. It was the only food that worked for us and Punkin loved it. We also cut out the treats and started giving her raw carrots an broccoli and she REALLY loved that! Carrots were her favorite snack. She would also chase a tennis ball for as long as you could throw it for her so she got plenty of exercise. Good luck.
Tanya

[Cindi]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Tina:
[B]It would be interesting to know if all the owners of two (or more) dachsies must wrestle with this problem how you could keep your one dog slim and make the other one eat just a little bit more. Their mother also belongs to the "effective food-consumers"

I love that EFC!!!!! I have one girl that is an EFC, a neutered boy that had to go on Purina OM and a 6 month old girl that never gains weight (8.2 # as of today). The two adults get one meal a day and I stand guard. Chubby girl is now on OM, boy has graduated back to Purina Light and baby girl has 2 different kinds of puppy food (I haven't decided which one to keep her on so I mix it.) When the baby gets her dinner the big kids get one small cookie. Otherwise, they eat the broccoli stems and carrots for treats.
(OH, we do train with Bil-Jac for agility but on those days the adults don't get breakfast! They get a piece of diet food while the baby eats.)
So, that means for 3 dogs I have 4 bags of dog food....what we do for our children. http://dachsie.org/ubb/facelick.gif