Senior Dog Walking?

[Weily4Life]

Good and Bad news today

First the bad news: Went for the nail trim and she weighed 103.3 pounds , so very little progress since her last weigh in, not even a full 1 pound lost. Although she is down a total of almost 5 pounds in two months, so I guess I should look on the bright side. At least she was down again. Upon arrival home I told DH the results and that treats would have to be limited he was not happy. He likes to give biscuits, for just about everything.

Now the good news: I decided to drive somewhere with sidewalks (5 miles from us) and Fozzy was an eager beaver to walk. So much to see and smell, she even was trotting some of the time. She took me by surprise and I had to pick up speed in order to keep up with her. I wasn't about to ask her to heal at that time. She was hanging her head high and was happy to be out and about. I guess the neighborhood has gotten a little bit boring for her day after day; morning and afternoon and sometimes evening. I am going to have to get a little bit more creative with other areas for her to walk and explore.

[Weily4Life]

Just wanted to update...

Fozzy has more energy these days and walking has been going better. Her arthritis slows her down from time to time but she does't refuse to walk like she did.

...couple of contributing factors to her energy and enthusiasm:

1. Slow steady progress with weight reduction. She is now at 96 pounds. It was so amazing that even when she topped out at 108 she still had the tummy tuck. She was hiding a lot of her extra weight in her shoulders and chest...much trimmer there now.
2. Greta is completely recovered from her surgery and can go with us on pack outings.

Now comes the difficult part of maintaining...and finding the correct amount of food.

[StephanieandToby]

YAY Fozzie! That's great news!

[jlaack]

This is awesome news! Maintaining a lean body weight is super helpful for dogs with arthritis! Keep in mind that beyond being useful for keeping the weight off, exercise also helps to build muscles which help support arthritic joints. Anyhow pat yourself on the back for your progress and give Fozzie 1 extra treat tonight!

[Weily4Life]

Thanks StephanieandToby and jlaack,

It seemed like such a long road, but when we finally made it we had a "party" at vet's scale. I'm sure she was wondering what was happening--that was a new experience for her. Gave her congratulatory treats then, and gave her that extra treat as you suggested.

I am thinking about a weekly road trip to vet to track weight and keep a handle on things. Fortunately, they are only 5 miles away.

[SABELLESMOM]

Does Fozzy like or will he eat carrots? My DH was a big one for giving treats all the time. I had him substitute carrots for some. Then I made up dices of meat... 1/4" works well, both for training and ramdom treats.

They don't care about having a whole biscuit if they can have a dice of ham, cheese, leftover pork chop, steak, chicken, or hot dog! One or two dices ONLY, for weight control...Mr. DH!

The other thing is to subtract the treat amount form his dinner. If DH can "see" how "small" dinner becomes... he'll be more willing to regulate himself to a slightly atlered routine. Mine did fine... It was our beloved little cocker, who looked and acted much better at 17-20 lbs... not 25-27 lbs!!

[Weily4Life]

Thanks for the suggestions SABELLESMOM,

I forgot about the carrot thing. When restricting the diet more we cut out a lot of the treats, including carrots. We slice them up and are also using them as treats.

She loves tidbits of string cheese also, we just don't give it as often as before. My DH also would go to excess with the treats previously, or feed tidbits off his own plate, I had to get stern with this. He has been so much better now. He realizes the harm previously now that he sees how active Fozzy has been.

She is running and playing so much more than she was previously. She acts more like a teenager now then a senior dog.

[Weily4Life]

I have more success to report on Fozzy. Had her in for weight and she is down to 93 pounds.

Ran in to the vet and briefly discussed her weight. Interestingly, he asked if I was trying to take weight off her. After confirming that, he said she would even be better off leaner and to take off about 5 more pounds. The interesting part of all this is when she was in for her physical earlier in the year and she topped out at 108, he said she looked fine.

I don't know if he didn't want to offend me or what when I asked about her weight at that time. It is rather puzzling though that he has changed his tune.