New to site. Please give me advice. Hi to all. I am new to this site but already love it. We have a three year old female, spayed yorkie who is extremely overweight. We have tried everything to reduce her weight. I have changed her food about three times and nothing seems to work. We have had her on Eukanuba vet prescribed Optimum weight loss, which did nothing. I then changed her myself to Natural Choice lite, which again did absolutely nothing for her. I now have her on Wellness lite, which isn't helping her to lose weight. The only thing it seems to be doing is making her stool extremely hard. She has a sensitive stomach and often goes through periods of time where she vomits, bile. She is ALWAYS hungry. We do not give her any treats, other than a few kibbles of whatever food she is eating. We do not give her human food anymore, although we have tried raw vegetables which she will eat, but it doesn't really help. She still seems to be starving. We do not even give her bones of any kind anymore since she often would throw up and I had thought that contributed. As a matter of fact she just threw up as I am posting this. She inhales her food, and a problem with wellness is that the kibbles are quite large. I soak them in warm water for a few minutes but it doesn't seem to do much. She eats her food in two seconds, it's no wonder she throws up constantly. If she isn't sleeping she is miserable and always brings me into the kitchen and stares at her food and cries. My daughters and even husband accuse me of starving her and will yell at me for only giving her 1/8 to 1/4 cup of food twice daily. She is about ten pounds and according to her vet, she shouldn't be more than 7 or 8.. based on her bone structure. I know a big problem is that she hates any type of exercise. She is wee wee pad trained which contributes to this problem since she does not have to be taken out for walks. Even when she does, she will lie down and I end up carrying her each time we take her out. She at times even cries for us to pick her up to go from room to room, since she apparentely doesn't like floor changes.. carpet to wood. Yes, she is spoiled and I do take her everywhere with me, and she ends up being held. We do play ball with her, but after a few minutes she has had enough. She sounds like me. Does anyone have any advice on how to reduce her weight. I do not want to put unnecessary weight on legs/hips or cause any additional health problems for her. Could someone please recommend something. I am going crazy trying to reduce her weight and still letting her remain happy. My vet keeps insisting that if she looks like "that" she is getting enough food, yet she acts as if she is being starved by us. If anyone knows of a healthy weight reduction food with small enough kibbles, please let me know. We are almost ready to let her use my treadmill, although I can see her flying off the back of it. We have even tried to have her swim in our not too large bathroom tub.. she hates it. I am sorry for the long post, but if anyone can give me any advice I would greatly appreciate it. I am glad that someone recommended this site to me, it seems terrific. Thank you for your time and have a great day. Randy and Reese |
Why dont you talk to your vet andsee what he would do for her diet. Sometimes vets have diet food I dont know if it is any better than whats on the market. Good luck I am thinking of putting my dogs on diet food also because they have gained too much weight. |
Hi, I speak with my vet constantly I have had Reese on Eukanuba optimum weight control, which is vet prescribed. It did absolutely nothing for her weight. I was also told by many laypeople that Eukanuba is by far the best food for a dog. My vet is monitoring her, but often will just say that she is getting enough food, according to her weight and appearance. That does not help us. She seems to be starving. They keep telling me that more exercise is necessary. That's great, talk Reese into that. I can't even follow that basic rule, let alone Reese doing it. Thank you for your response. As in humans, exercise is the key to weight loss, but I was hoping that a particular food would also help. Have a great day. Randy |
Does she have any other furkids to play with? She might enjoy the exercise if it's with another yorkie or similar sized dog. Is there a dog park near you? I know a lot of spayed females that seem to just put on wieght no matter what their owners do. I have so many yorkies they don't have time to gain too much weight!! They're always chasing each other around all over the place! I wish I could find a way to bottle up their energy! Suz |
Welcome to YT Randy and Reese. I dont have much advise regarding food to help Reese loose weight, but I think that she needs exercise. I know is not easy since she doesnt seem to like to walk, but a little every day might help. My Gucci is a picky eater. I feed Canidae dry kibble and Innova wet. |
Buy several cans of unsalted green beans, I mix this in with my overweight dogs food, and they love it and it is filling, yet very few calories. My dogs are fed 1/8 cup dry food in the mornings with a teaspoon of lowfat cottage cheese added 2 to 3 times a week, and for evening they are fed a little over 1/8 cup dry mixed with about 1/8 c. homade chicken mixture I make, and for the overweight ones, this mixture is cut in half and replaced with green beans. This is how I keep them in shape for the shows. They do get treats when they are being trained to walk in the show ring, and other times as well. |
Welcome to YT.. I think with what you have described it could be possibly a thyroid condition. Have explored this at all with testing??? Just a suggestion... :D |
Reese's dislike of exercise We do try to take her out quite a few times, daily. Since we are in New York and the temperture has dropped she literally shakes as soon as we walk outside. She can have a down coat on and it wouldn't help. When people speak about true indoor dogs, Reese is it. When I take her outside I wrap her up in a blanket and she is wearing a sweater. She still will shake, and not out of fear, she is fearless. She does not like any form of exercise with the exception of ball playing which we do several times a day. She is not a stair climber, a furniture jumper, but just wants us to pick her up for each "activity" of hers.. which is usually eating in the kitchen, and changing rooms to get better sun. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining.. her personality in many ways is a blessing. She is not a jumper, she doesn't ruin furniture and we always know where she is.. which is usually by my side. This is really just her nature, and probably that she has legg perthes, which is a congenital hip disease. That is another long story, which I will spare all with, but we have had several specialists, (including a renowned specialist at Cornell) who told us to leave her alone until GD forbid she is in pain or lame. So far luckily enough, she is fine, other than exibiting the unsually calm yorkie behavior. We do realize how important exercise is for her and will continue to "fight" with her to walk or do anything to get some exercise. Thanks so much for all of your advice and nice responses. If you do have any recommendations on weight loss food, please do let me know. Randy and Reese |
Do you have a pic you could post of her? Also, do you have any other pets? Maybe you could get a kitten? That could maybe entice her to play a bit more! |
Thanks again to all I did neglect to tell that Reese has been tested at least three times for a thyroid problem She given a blood test about six months ago and once again thanfully it came back negative. I appreciate that recipe. When you say that you cut the evening meal in half do you give a total of 1/8 of green beans and her food in total, and also cut out the chicken? I have been giving her just her wellness light food 1/8 to a 1/4 twice.. once at 8 AM and then again at 6PM. Someone told me to feed her later. At 5PM she is rushing me into the kitchen and crying. I doubt she would wait till after 6. I have given her cut up peeled apples, carrots (which I was told have too much sugar in them, by some) and fresh green beans, which I can't say she loved. But I will try the no salt canned. Are the canned ones supposed to be healthy for them? I had always thought that canned vegetables were extremely unhealthy. Thanks again for all of your help. |
overweight reese I do have many photos.. in fact I have more around my home than even my three daughters. They often complain to me, after counting all of my frames, as to why I have so many more of Reese. I did try to post her photo by my name, but I had problems. The browsers did come up but it said that there was an error. Then I read about the size of the photo and needing to change the digital photo size... now it was getting too involved for me. I thought I would let my 13 year old do it for me. She does not photograph chubby at all. She actually appears to be much smaller in all ways, in her photos. So when I do figure out how to post them, please do not think that I am pushing for her to be an anorexic. Trust me she is far from it. She is probably over 10 lbs, now, plus her coat is fuller now. But you really do feel her weight. She also has a smaller head than most, LOL I am making her sound abnormal, so she appears to give a very small impression until people see her entire body. We are all obsessed with her, she is totally spoiled and loved but I am extremely concerned for her health. As for the second pet, we have been looking for one, another yorkie or maltese, but I have those mommy blues, that I am going to take her out of the limelight by adding another. I know that this will not be the case, since even with my human daughters, they got over it. Although, my older daughter, soon to be 21, often does say she should have been the only child.. of course there would then be more of everything for "her". She will appreciate her sisters when she gets older, more and more, as Reese would appreciate a furbaby sibling. |
3 Attachment(s) Here are some pics of Reese! Who by the way is very cute!! I think she looks perfect! :D |
Thanks for posting them, but as I said.. her photos are deceiving. Lucky Reese. I should only be as lucky. |
Reese is so cute and adorable. I can tell she is spoil, well we all spoil our babies. :) Lucky's mom, Ty for postinf the pics for Reese's mom. Love her name by the way. I love that chocolate, :) . |
Thanks Marie, Gucci is adorable too. Where did you get her red sweater? I love it. We were going to name Reese Gucci and at the last minute decided on Reese. |
Reese is gorgeous. I'll tell you from experience with Muffin that the only way I could keep her weight down was through exercise. There is no way around it. Perhaps you should try a treadmill. :D I saw Passionfruition had Sully on the treadmill and when the weather was bad my Muffin also spent some time on one, but she didn't like it. She did love to walk, though, so we were lucky. That's almost the first thing I ever did with my puppies when i brought them home. After about a week, the harness went on and we went for our first wild walk. First walks are always nightmares. :D There is no way around exercise to losing weight, whether you are talking about people or animals. So, I'm no help, I'm afraid. :confused: |
Thanks for all of the responses. And I sure do know how important exercise is, but I agree with Reese. I can't stand it either.. They say that if you see a chubby dog, you will see the chubby "mom" with it, and that is the case with us. I am going to buy some stringbeans and try to take her out for walks more. I must say I just got back from being out with her and she shook the entire time. It wasn't even that cold out. haha.. she is now taking another nap. See you all later.. Thank you. |
Try feeding her baby carrots (raw). Maybe she'd enjoy some raw apples (no seeds please), and things like that. Mine loves stuff like that. :D |
reese and her ongoing battle of the bulge I have tried carrots and apple.. due to her stomach being so sensitive, she usually will throw up from those too. I am going to try it again though. Reese's problem is that she is so hungry that she just inhales anything we give her. The wellness kibble is so big, in comparisn to other foods, and hard (even when soaked), yet she still managers to swallow it without chewing. I am going to cut up raw vegetables again and mix it with her food. I think I am going to take the suggestion of the canned no salt green beans and see how she does. Thank you for your suggestions too.. I will try those again too. If you know of any lite food that is healthy and works with more exercise.. please let me know. I did see sully on the treadmill and we couldn't believe it. He looked so cute. That would be exactly what Reese needs. Unfortunately I really do think she would get hurt, because she dislikes walking let alone running on a treadmill. Sully was going faster than I could. Out of curiosity what speed was he doing? I wish I could try it.. I might put her on at a very low speed and see what happens. Maybe in a few weeks, Reese will give Sully a run for his money. |
I don't know how fast Sully was going. My Muffin was going very slow - just fast enough to keep her going! :D She had a docile personality and trusted me, so she'd let me do things with her. I was right beside her, too. I am an over-protective mommie. I was with her and I am with Kacee. You might check this site. They have every dog food known to man: http://www.petfooddirect.com |
muffin is adorable.. thanks for the site. |
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Oh man Reese is very good looking! I am going to be brutely honest here. Start immediately with what I call tough love!! Here are some things I thought of while reading your mail. 1) I presume you have had a varity of tests done.....i.e. kidneys, liver, heart, thyoid (I saw that post) etc. And all check out fine. 2) If she has leggs perthe disease she REALLY needs the surgery. She needs the surgery while she is young and before her muscles waste away..she will get to the point of NEVER walking. Also I would be willing to bet she is in pain. Even a minor case is painful. 3) take the advice of the no salt green beans added to her food. This is a filler and will give her a fuller feeling without adding calories. Continue to carefully measure her food. Maybe divide her total daily ration into several smaller meals. 4) AND here is the biggy. STOP CARRYING THIS DOG AROUND. Start immediately letting her walk everywhere possible. As for exercise. With some conditioning you can train her to only eat AFTER her walk. Each time she insists on eating..grab the leash (or carry if you HAVE too) and take her for a walk....short walks in the beginning. Get her use to the idea....she MUST work for her food. This is the tough love part. ***BUT be aware this is dependent on her leggs perthe condition. If she cannot walk even a short distance (say a city block) then she really does need another look at her hip (s).*** I would say if you can employ even some of the tips offered in this thread you may begin to see some progress with her. Good luck __________ DISCLAIMER: My opinions are just that..my opinions. Before acting on ANY advice I may offer please check with your vet, breeder and/or mentor! |
Reese is BEAUTIFUL and doesn't look overweight to me either but the hunger thing sounds like it must break your heart - I've heard GREAT THINGS about adding string beans to their food that MMYorkies mentioned - I read about a woman who tried it and her yorkie really did lose weight.... and I never forgot being surprised it was with green beans...GOOD LUCK with your baby - she is very pretty |
Reese's weight problem I have to thank both of you for your responses. I would like to know more about legg perthes from you. I have researched it quite a bit and have spoken with at least four or five vets and two specialists. Her xrays were sent to a specialist at Cornell who said that he wasn't convinced that she had legg perthes. He and the vet (a friend of my daughter's dad) said to leave her alone if she was not showing signs of being in pain, or limping for that matter. When we had taken her to a specialist on Long Island, more of a factory, they had of course said that they immediately wanted to perform the surgery.. and not only on her hips but her knees. I might seem lax but I can assure you I had followed up on numerous occasions. I have been with my latest vet for over 2 years. She has xrayed her and also told us to wait since they didn't look too bad, and also was not positive that this was legg perthes. She felt that it was foolish to go in and operate if she never shows any signs of it bothering her. Now, being so "lazy" can definitely be a sign of this condition, although none of the vets, whom I saw for first, second and third opinions found that to be the case. Most felt that she was "spoiled" by us and that it is the nature of her personality. I honestly do not believe that she is in any pain. She never wimpers or cries, she is certainly capable of climbing steps, although she does wait for us to place her on the first step. She does run, and quite a bit to play ball or just run around my property. She does not act like the "normal" and quite often very hyper yorkie. She is by no means a jumper, will not attempt to jump on or off furniture (unless she hears someone eating in the next room). I do fear waking up one day and gd forbid seeing that she is limping or cannot walk at all. Now that it has come up again, I will probably call in the morning to ask my vet if she should get xrays, again. I will take your advice about the carrying from room to room. We have shown her some tough love, by letting her bark or cry from another room. I will often scream out to her to come here.. and she will, unhappily. I know I seem nuts, as if I am able to analyze her every move, but I think most would agree, they certainly do have strong personalities, easily seen. I once again appreciate all of the help and will certainly take all advice into strong consideration. I am definitely starting her on the canned string beans and gave her a baby carrot with her dinner tonight. I must admit we took her to drop off one of my daughters at a friends home, and she did throw up on the way there. She has an extremely sensitive stomach but continues to gulp down her food. I have tried various techniques with that also, spreading the kibble around my kitchen ( the things we will do for our babies) to try to slow her down. I should videotape her, since she looks like the canine vacuum cleaner. She will still manage to race around gulping every piece she finds. Thanks again for all of your help and thank you for the compliments. We certainly agree that she is a beauty.. both in looks and personality. All of the yorkies on the site, whom I have been lucky enough to already meet, are beautiful. I hope you all have a great night and look forward to chatting again. Randy and Reese |
Hi again. I had forgotten you mentioned the sensitive stomach when I earlier suggested baby carrots. I was thinking that perhaps you could boil them. My last yorkie, Muffin, loved cooked carrots. :D |
I found these websites. Maybe you could try this dog food, its supposed to help w/ weight loss. http://www.healthypetnet.com/Healthy...lname=10075847 This website offers a sample pack of that food for $3 w/ free shipping. http://www.petprokennel.com/site/532373/product/K9-3pak This Canine Zone dog food is supposed to be really good. Hope this helps! :) |
thanks for the links I cannot believe how your yorkies smile so much. I had to send the link to my daughter at college. They were hysterical and ooooing and ahhing about how cute all of your babies are. Thanks for the many links and suggestions about diet. I will lightly cook her carrots. It will probably be easier on her stomach. I liked giving her raw vegetables since I felt that the crunchyness of them would make her feel more filled.. it would also take her longer to eat them. Unfortunately she has trouble digesting them too. I will go slowly with her and hopefully she will feel fuller. All of your yorkies are adorable. It makes me want to have a million more. My daughter just said that she can't wait to get her own. If it was up to her she would have one in college. Thankfully I am still controlling those purchases. Reese is sleeping next to me and I think I need to do the same thing. Thanks so much for all of your help. It has been so much fun. I am so happy that a person on Craigslist told me about this site. The people could not be nicer here. See you all soon. Randy and Reese |
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