How can I help my arthritic dog loose weight?
I have a dog who’s 7 years old. He weighs in at about 70lbs and he should weigh 55lbs to be at the perfect weight for his build. Over the years he’s just put on a little weight at a time and we didn’t notice it was so bad until about a year ago. We started giving him measured meals and only icecubes for treats.
I was walking him twice a day for only 15 minutes but I noticed limping and swelling in his joints when we got back so I stopped walking him so much and started massage before and after the walks. We took him to the vet and she recommended he loose the excess weight as quickly as possible and that I could give him 1/2 a baby asprin if he seemed in pain. That does help but he hasn’t lost any weight and when I try to walk him he will literally collapse after about 20 minutes and refuse to walk any further. It scares me -especially since he’s too heavy to carry home.
How can I help my dog? I’m not ready to give up or loose him yet.
March 21st, 2011 at 1:51 pm
This sounds hard on you, the only thing is take him back to the vet and tell him all this ask all questions make him or or give you some advice not just baby asprin. Could be a food out there to help this problem or a certain type os pain killer or antibiotic for your dog
March 21st, 2011 at 2:13 pm
TRY GIVING HIM SOME PILLS TO LOSE WEIGHT-FROM THE VET. Give him light meal-once per day and try some tea(against cholesterol or obesity) after the meal
March 21st, 2011 at 2:13 pm
Reduce his food, feed a lite dog food, add green beans or PURE pumpkin to fill empty spots and swimming is the best exercise for an arthritic dog, or person. Feed twice a day to help him not be hungry and lose weight and no people food. Overfeeding will kill him so reduce his food and feed a diet dog food with veggies. Carrots make good treats, mine love the baby carrots which come clean and peeled for lazy butts like me..lol.who likes them too. If he is an only dog you can put his reduced dinner into a treat ball which dispenses food while he knocks it around providing exercise and food at the same time and it will tak ehim awhile to get it all out.
March 21st, 2011 at 2:49 pm
Wow. No at seven years old you should get a number of years with him yet. I have a simular problem. I have a 7 year old lab that has epilepsy. That means he MUST be fed three times a day, low glucose and he fits, as well as his medications increase his appetite. And being a lab his tummy is hardwired to his brain.
We are currently in the process of loosing 5kg. He has lost 2kg so far.
Make sure you are the only one to feed him. Any extra tidbits and it will go straight to his hips (so to speak)
Only do the exercise he can handle, pain wise. I can’t over exercise my lab as it will trigger a siezure if he gets too tired.
Perhaps try to walk him 3 or 4 times day for 10 minutes at a time. Also swimming might be a good exercise option for him. Give him a good work out without stressing his sore joints.
Cut back his food by a third. To fill him up so he’s not starving cook up some rice. Boiled chicken is a good low fat option. And vegies are good too. Add those into his meals and he’ll get the nutrition he needs without feeling like your punishing him. There are also a lot of low fat dog foods around these days.
I feed my lab the rice,chicken,vegie mix with his normal “yummy” food. But the portion of the “yummy” food is much smaller than normal. It does take a bit of effort to prepare but I find it working. He’s not constantly cry coz he’s hungry and he is loosing weight. As well as managing his illness.
Hope this helps. Good Luck.
March 21st, 2011 at 3:36 pm
Since more exercise is out of the question, cut back on his food a little-feed him a little less than the chart on the bag recommends. That’s just to estimate how much to feed, you have to adjust according to weight and exercise level. You can also see about a weight management food. I know Science Diet makes one. Did the vet check his thyroid to make sure its doing fine?
Swimming may also help, if he doesn’t mind the water.
March 21st, 2011 at 4:20 pm
You started on the right track with the diet and exercise. Did you change his food to a weight control formula? That will also help. If you don’t want to change his food, then you need to cut back on the amount he is eating. And there are better things to help him than just 1/2 baby aspirin. We have a 13 yr old pointer mix who has arthritis in her hips and rear legs. In addition to the anti-inflammatory (the aspirin), we give her a glucosamine/chondriotin supplement and it has helped immensely. She is now able to get up and down off of the sofa, which she could not do a few months ago. There are several that you can buy over the counter at someplace like PetsMart or Petco. Also, Omega fatty acids can help give him relief. If those do not help, ask your vet for a medication like Rimadyl. But – do some research and watch your dog carefully because although Rimadyl can really benefit most dogs with arthritis, it has also been proven to cause liver damage in some. Some dogs, just like people, benefit from a steriod injection at the affected joint (cortisone most common in people, prednisone generally for dogs). If you can manage your dog’s pain and discomfort, then walking will be easier and still the best way to exercise him. The weight loss is critical. Good luck!
March 21st, 2011 at 5:17 pm
Well, trying some of those diet dog foods may help. It’s a tough cycle though, I went through it a couple of years ago with my cocker spaniel.
You are doing the right thing with moderating meals and maybe a low calorie dog food would further help.
You may need to see the vet again to see what other pain killers you may be able to give your dog to help.
Good luck
March 21st, 2011 at 5:40 pm
I would check back with the vet, if his joints are giving him that much pain, they may want to put him on rimadyl. I would stick with the reduced calorie foods, no people food snacks, you can add green beans, sweet potatoes, carrots to his food- helps to fill him up without adding so many calories. If you have access to a pool or beach or lake, swimming is great excersize and easy on the joints. Instead of trying to walk him for 20 or 30 minutes, why not do 10 or 15 minutes a few times a day. You can take him out early before you leave for work, as soon as you get home in the afternoon, and again before bed time. Good luck.
March 21st, 2011 at 6:10 pm
Get glucosamine-DQ (sometimes called cosequin-DQ) from the vet, or get PetTabs vitamins for older dogs from Petco, it has glucosamine in it. It will make so much difference with his arthritis pain and stiffness. Try that first before any other prescription for arthritis because others can over time lead to kidney or liver disease in your dog.
and just fyi, you dont give the glucosamine only when thereseems to be increased pain. It’s given every day to make a difference, please give it a try for your dog.
March 21st, 2011 at 6:49 pm
senior dog food, less calorie per bowl but has all nutrients he will need,they also have formulas that have additives for the joints to help ease the pains
March 21st, 2011 at 7:16 pm
Go to your vet and get the dog weighed, they have particular foods that are for overweight dogs such as royal canin sensitive range, which you can only get from a vet. Perhaps you need an x=ray to check out of their is a genetic problem for your dogs stiffness and pain.An aspirin wont really work, you need something like metacalm which is prescribed by the vet.The vet will arrange to weigh your dog either weekly or fortnightly and adjust the feed accordingly.
March 21st, 2011 at 7:25 pm
Try Sasha’s blend. An excellent product.
This should help with giving your dog some releif from arthritis while you will be able to exercise your dog.
Also, it’s not actually a cruel thing to not feed your dog for a couple of days as their bodies are built to go without feed for days in the wild.
March 21st, 2011 at 7:26 pm
Have you tryed hydrotherapy? it wont put as much stress on his joints (as its not load bearing excersize) and will burn off sooooo many calories – as every muscle is used, when your dog gets used to it and they turn on the jets 15 minutes is equivelent to a 15 mile run – along with a good diet that should put him well on the way to recovery.
March 21st, 2011 at 8:25 pm
pedigree makes a special dog food for arthritic dogs that also contains a wieght maintenance supliment,unfortionatly i cannot think of exactly what it is called off the top of my head.sorry
December 9th, 2011 at 1:37 am
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