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Hi. My name is Debra aka MundeeB. I am owned by a Tripawd Silky Terrier who lost her front leg 5 years ago when other dogs attacked her while owned by the breeder. She is close to 10 years old now, and our biggest problem is her weight. The breeder told me she should not weigh more than 6 pounds and she is now at 11 pounds. It is affecting her ability to climb up and down stairs.
We are feeding her Iams for senior dogs. We were told that this would be a lower fat choice for her. We feed her no more than 1/3 cup, however, she is still gaining weight!
She doesn't play, having been raised to live in a cage most of her life before we adopted her. If I take her outside for a walk, we cannot get more than 3 houses down the block before she sits down and refuses to walk any further.
Any suggestions?
Hi Debra, welcome. You're pawesome for adopting this girl! Fear not, helping your dog to lose weight is a lot easier than when a human tries to lose it! And yep, Tripawds need to be MUCH more svelte than their four-legged counterparts to decrease the risk of joint problems.
Ok, so first, has she been checked out by the vet? There could be something like a thyroid issue going on. I would start there.
Next, keep in mind that many senior dogs foods are filled with tons of fillers and aren't as low cal as they claim to be. I have read in a lot of places that there's no need to give the senior dog food as long as she's getting proper amounts of adult food relative to her age and size and activity. So if not senior food then what right? Well, here are some great articles by the Dog Food Advisor to help guide you in the best direction for her:
Suggested Low Protein Dog Foods
Next, check out this helpful interview with Dr. Patty Khuly, who is a canine weight loss advocate and offers a ton of help with her Fat Dog Diet App
Learn Three Legged Dog Diet Health Tips from Dr. Patty Khuly
Finally, when it comes to activity, walking isn't necessarily the best weight loss activity for Tripawds. Our ebook, Loving Life on Three Legs, explains why, and provides a ton of tips about things you can to do keep her slim without subjecting her to extremely long, unnecessary walks that can do more harm than good.
Oh, one more thing, do search our Tripawds Nutrition Blog for canine diet tips that others have found successful.
I hope this helps. Please keep us posted and let us know what works.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Debra,
I've had pugs for more than 15 years and they get overweight when they walk by the fridge! I've tried lots of diets over the years. My quad pug Tani is now 13.5 years old and has terrible arthritis so it was imperative that I control her weight, she has been on the roly poly side most of her life 
What finally worked consistently for her was getting her off kibble. I use a dehydrated mix from Honest Kitchen and add my own meat. I still use kibble for treats and training. But with her diet now she can have a bigger volume of food for less calories. I also use green beans for snacks, both pugs love them and they are filling and have very few calories. I use the canned kind, no salt added.
With small dogs I think it is really important to find out the actual calorie count in the food you feed, there is a small margin of error. I figured out how many calories I was feeding the pugs when I got their weight stable. Then I used that to calculate how much of the new diet the pugs could eat. A lot of work, but we are finally at a really good place weight wise.
I know the Honest Kitchen food is in one of the links Jerry gave you, and it is important to make sure there are no medical issues.
Good luck!
Karen
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Maggie's Story Amputation and Chemo
Find me now on Tripawds Circle
Hi MundeeB! And es, kudos to yo for saving this sweet little girl! Clearly she "picked" yo so she would kow wat love felt like!
Just want to add I have a huge challenge keeping weight off my chunkof a Bull Mastiff...aka "the eating machine"!
Krun-Karen had me google for the how many calories a dog should have based on weight. It was very helpful.
I also do Honest Kitchen, alng with home cooking chicken, veggies, etc. One thing that shocked the eck out of me was when realized how caloric her salmon fish oil supplements were. I just hadn't thought in terms of where some of her "extra" calories were coming from. I feel they ARE important to her well-being so I continue with those. I try real hard to make her treats "nutritional" as food is a defining factor for this girl!
I'm nt a role model at all, as I've only been successful in not letting her gain extra weight, but haven't gotten her to lose weight...so sort of a victory I guess
And I afee with everyone else, have her checked thoroughly to make sure there are no underlying issues, no arthritis, etc.
Best of luck to yo and keep us posted, okay? AGive your sweet pup a hug for us!
Saly and Happy Hannah
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Be sure to check out these Tripawds Nutrition blog posts too, or search all blogs here.
Trouble is the Biggest Winner (Trouble's Canine Reducing Diet)
Best Tips for Keeping your Tripawd Slim
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thank you all for some excellent articles on the weight issue. I'm happy to learn that my giving my dogs green beans are a good snack. My vet told me that raw green beans and carrot sticks are good if the dog will eat them. I have been using Salmon oil every other day (as my other dog has very dry skin). I will cut that out of Holly's diet.
I will keep you posted on how we are doing with everything concerning Holly.
MundeeB and her sidekicks, 3-legged Holly and Mack R. Doodle the wonder Yorkie
Oh awesome! Please do let us know how it goes. Good luck!
By the way our Wyatt Ray will eat anything fruity...apples (no core or seeds though, toxic), banannas, oranges, you name it!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Well, we weighed Holly today after having changed her diet last week: Down 1/4 lb.
I am trying to get her to play in the snow now that the stuff has melted enough to where it doesn't bury either of my dogs. With the really cold temps, they do get frisky and they are chasing each other around the yard.
Hey, is it possible to upload a pic to this forum? If so, how?
Yay on the weight loss!
We'd love to see a pic of her having fun in the snow. Here are instructions for uploading photos.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Congrats on the success so far! The salmon oil as a culprit makes sense! (Hindsight is always 20/20).
If you could use any more suggestions:
What about interactive, puzzle or kong toys to put her food in? Then she works off some calories while getting to her food. Also, I've heard another benefit of canned pumpkin (one of many) is that it can help dogs feel more satiated. Not MY dog, unfortunately, but besides just plain canned pumpkin (no added sugar!) from the grocery store, I've also seen (and tried - again my dog is insatiable) specially formulated products in the pet stores with pumpkin and/or yam and other stuff that supposed to help digestion and/or to help them feel full. The brand I've seen is called Fruitables.
Gerry has been a tripawd since 12/16/2009.
He was a shelter dog with a mysterious past and an irrepairable knee injury.
Videos and pics of Gerry's pawesomeness can be found at: http://gerry.tripawds.com
Oh! Great news!! A quarter pound is a lot of weight for a little dog! CONGRATULATIONS!!
And I'm glad to hear she's enjoying playing around in the snow!
Can't wait to see the pics! I just know she's adorable!
Oh, and I just wanted t add...I know you mentuned cutting out salmon oil to help take the calories off. My Hapoy Hannah is 120 lbs......-..shhhhhh.....shhhhh....don't tell anyone though, because she has GAINED two lbs. recently...and I've been trying to realy watch her weight!! ANYWAY, because she's such a chunk of a dog, everything she takes is "mega-dose". S she was taking five of this particular capsule a day. Anyway, I'm still giving her the salmon...I think it's really important for her situation, but I've cut back some. And all in all, it's realy not a huge amount of calories. Sooooooo, point being, maybe you would want to i troduce some back into her diet for joints and dry skin, etc. And maybe a Vitamin E supplement would help with the dry skin too. Ask your vet.
Can't wait to see the pics!
And cngratulations again!! Ice cream tonight!! Oh! Wait! I mean...GREEN BEANS!!!
Sally and Happy Hannah
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
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