Well it is almost a year since Penny Lane's surgery. She is doing wonderfully, however I am a little worried. When I walk her outside she hop/walks with her back legs. But in the house when she is walking and playing she is fine.
And when I walk her like 3 days in a row she walks to the side. She only walks up and down the block, I don'r know if she can take a longer walk. If I take her around the block she walks to the side.
She is basically herself, and has been since 3 weeks after the surgery. But it is only these few things that worried me.
I have never been in this situaition before and don't know if this is good or bad. Penny has been to the vet about 3 times, for check-ups, shots and stuff. Each time they check her out they say she is doing fine, except for her weight. Which is another problenm all together.......
I don't have any first hand knowledge......I just wonder if she gets tired quickly. Or that the concrete is hard on her back and legs. I DO know from first hand experience that carrying extra weight is bad for your back and your whole body.
How much overweight is she????? I almost had a cow last week - I took Rudy in for the chewing on his paws - and they weighed him....14.5 lbs......I said to the vet....Holy Sh*t ! HA - it slipped out before I realized I said it- she just laughed. That is the MOST he has ever weighed although he still has a waist, and to me doesn't look heavy. Hopefully the weather will cool off some, so we can start walking more.
Hang in there Penny Lane - and eat those carrots !!!!
All of mine have gained a little over the summer. I am not feeding any more than normal, I just know that due to the heat they are not as active and always perk up when the weather gets nicer. Probably the same for Rudy. I still cannot believe how much he and Lily look alike. (except for the naughty bits) :icon_geek:
Baby carrots make good treats for doxies trying to lose weight.
Do they know what is going on with her weight? I know you've posted about it several times before, but I wasn't aware of anything very recent.
I know the weight just piles..... Penny is a tweenie so I never know how much she is suppose to weigh. When she was a baby the vet said she would round out to be about 17 pounds. But I think she should be a little thinner than that.
She was about 19 pounds in March. But than she went down to 18 a nd I don't remembe the onces.
Let me think does she get tired quickly????? Ummm, she seems to when she is outside. We walk her up and down the block (which isn't long at all). But when we take her around the whole block, she gets tired. She is like me not very active!
I guess they are like us, they just put weight on..... But Penny already had weight on!
The vet suggested maybe giving her a prescription light dog food. But I am not sure if I should go that route yet..... :scratch:
You might want to start walking her around the block daily to see if she will drop some of the weight. If it is her weight causing her to have problems with her legs, then that will help. It will also strengthen her back muscles and that's a good thing too.
Yes I know I have posted about this, but I did lower her calories intake, and I was going to cut it down more, but 1/4 cup of food in the mornign and 1/4 doesn't seem like enough. And if I do give her that she seems to look for food.
I know that all the one's have been exposed to that have back surgery tend to hop when they are running. I have seen that walk to the side also. I think that it would sure help if you can get some weight off but I know I am not good at that either. I do have a recipe for a diet that you can cook (it's easy) that really takes the weight off. If you want it let me know and I will find it. Also the carrots for treats are a great idea. I also supplement their food with frozen green beans and broccoli mine love them. Have you ever tried the Springtime supplements? I really do swear by them for back dogs. I really think all doxies should be on them but especially the back babies.
What do you feed her? I feed Rudy the Solid Gold and it calls for 1/4 in the morning and 1/4 in the evening. It all depends on what it recommends on the package.
Penny Lane is just one of us "healthy gals" !!!!! :headbang:
Well, have you tried about 3/4 cup a day instead of a 1/2 cup? That with the excercise and watching the treats. I don't know how often she gets them so I won't say to cut them back. Just make sure she earns them by pottying right or doing a trick or something.
Yes I WOULD LOVE :heart: :heart: for you to email me the diet plan as well as the kind of supliments you are using...
here is my work email lruisi@halstead.com
I don't have a computer at home yet.....
I feed her Wellness liver flavor kibble, that is all. Then she gets some green beans for doing her business....
Sorry I didn't read the rest of the post.... Yes I tell everyone Penny is just Big Boned...
On the package it says she should be getting 1 1/4 to 1 cup of food, and she isn't getting that much, so how can I cut it down anymore?
I guess I will just give her 1/4 in the morning and 1/4 at night.... And take out the (2) 1/2 of a 1/4 cups that she gets as well. :xfinger: :xfinger:
Well I guess she gets about 3/4 cup of food; because she gets a full 1/4 in the morning and and at night. Then she gets 1/2 of a 1/4 of a cup with each 1/4 cup..... is your head spinning yet? because mine is!
Lori,
Sounds like Penny probably has some permanent nerve damage from her back injury. Just like with people some dogs don't always go back to 100% after a severe injury and surgery sounds like she is doing really well if she is able to take short walks with you ... take that as a blessing :apls:
Just keep her weight down as much as possible since she is less active she will require less food a tweenie that isn't getting much exercise probably needs no more than 1/2c. of food per day total. I feed my very active tweenie girl 1/2c. of food and she is a really good weight... i have found that Canidae (senior less active formula) keeps the girls weight in check and helps their ears be less cruddy too :thumb:
Congrats on Penny's great recovery!!
Jen,
Thank you for your reply!!! I know Penny is lucky to even be at the stage she is in at the moment. Penny actually started to walk only a week and half after her surgery. So I guess I just thought she would snap back to 100%. In either case, I am sooo happy she has come as far as she has!
Have you checked for hypothryroidism in Penny Lane? I spent over five years struggling to keep Rudy's weight under control. He got as heavy as 18.2 pounds, and I could never get him under 15 pounds. Once he was diagnosed as hypothyroid and put on Thyroxine, the pounds fell off. I was able to keep him in the 12 - 13 pound range until Jessica started "feeding" him.
Max has become slightly hypothyroid in his later years and we use a small dosage of Thyroxine to keep his weight from increasing. In addition, his reduced activity level also makes him more prone to gain weight.