October 14th Weigh in

Olivia has finally accepted the fact that dogs in our house eat in the morning and the evening every day.  And she's accepted that the dogs in our house actually eat dog food.  The only treats I give her are mini carrots, which after 3 days of refusing them, are now her favorite treat.  Mini carrots, green beans, and other veggies make good low calorie treats.  My dogs spit them out, but a table food eater usually loves them.

Weight = 29.6 lbs

Chest = 26 1/2 inches 

Waist = 25 inches

October 5th Weigh In

Progress!  It may only be 0.8 lbs, but its progress.

Weight = 32 lbs  (-2.5)

Chest = 27 inches  (-1 in.)

Waist = 26 inches  (-1 in.)

Exercise!! September 2011

Exercise is relative at this point, but critical to weight loss.  To Olivia, it's boot camp; to my dogs, it's not even a decent walk.  This poor dog can barely make it 100 yards.  She is so overweight that the heat is literally life threatening to her.  (This is Texas, so we're still very hot in September.)  So the advice here is to start out slowly in the coolest part of the day.  We take breaks as needed and go as far as she can safely tolerate.  In addition to walks, I put her in the pool once a day for some impact free exercise.  I just stand in the pool, put my hand under her chest and let her paddle. The key is DAILY exercise in one form or another.

When a dog becomes this obese, that fat takes on a life of its own.  It does not want to leave and becomes its own organ system releasing all kinds of nasty hormones that increase appetite and slow metabolism.  If you restrict calories too drastically, the body goes into starvation mode and is more determined than ever to hang on to that fat.  Exercise does wonders for speeding up metabolism and increasing muscle mass (and muscle burns more calories than fat), but it does require some caution.  Dogs this fat easily become overheated.  Dogs expel body heat through panting, and its not an efficient system when they are obese.  I worry about Olivia's painful shoulder, her knees, and her spine which are all under tremendous stress.   

How do we get started and how long will it take? September 30, 2011

The first thing I did for Olivia was to take her to work with me for a check up.  I gave her a physical exam, ran lab work, tested for heartworms and intestinal parasites, and updated her vaccinations.  

The bad news. On her physical exam, Olivia is very lame on her right front leg.  She has shoulder pain due to the joint strain caused by her obesity.  She is has mild to moderate airway obstruction due to the fat deposits around her neck.  Her heart rate elevates with very minimal stress.  She can't sit normally and it is difficult for her stand.  She is unable to trot; she can walk and sort of fling herself forward in a gallop.  She is very heat intolerant.

The good news.  She is negative for heartworms & we don't find any intestinal parasites.  Her blood work is fairly normal.  She's not diabetic (yet) and her kidney & liver values are still normal.

So, how do we get started?  Slowly.  And how long will it take?  I'm guessing at least 6 months.  

First is to choose a diet.  I chose Hill's R/D because it's readily available for me (since I'm a vet), it's well balanced & it has a proven track record.  The down side is dogs who've been stuffing themselves with table food don't find it very tasty.  I decided to feed her both canned and dry, because I'm sure she will not like the dry food alone.  Then I calculated the amount to feed based on Hill's recommendation for a reducing diet for a 15 lb. dog.

Now to change lifestyle.  This isn't a problem, since we don't feed our dogs table food and we give our dogs at least an hour of exercise per day.  I simply do not have "the need to feed."  You can stare at me with your big puppy eyes and do all sorts of cute tricks, but it doesn't cause me to fix you a bowl of ice cream.  But lifestyle change is the biggest hurdle for most pet owners.   There has to be big changes in diet and exercise to reduce weight in a dog this obese.  The great thing is the changes are healthy for us as well.

Next time, we'll tackle exercise..... 

September 27, 2011 First Official Weigh In (and it's not pretty)

At her first weigh in, Olivia is down from her peak weight of 34.5 lbs.  This is due to several one week stays, in which she did "doggy boot camp."  Basically eating diet dog food and as much exercise as she can tolerate.                   

 

Here's the official stats:

 

Weight = 32.8 lbs

Chest = 28 inches 

Waist = 27 inches

I don't think the photos even do her fat justice.  She is so overweight, it looks like if she gained another ounce, she would actually explode.  To put her size in perspective, we have two German Shorthaired Pointers, who weigh 43 & 48 lbs.  They are very lean & athletic and their chest measurement is the same as Olivia's and their waist measures 19 inches.  These are dogs that are 3 times the size she is supposed to be.