Overweight Corgi's - Any suggestions?
I have the hardest time with Jodi and weight. When we first got her she was five years old and a little underweight. Having been passed around a bit in our family she was also VERY insecure. So we did spoil her - I admitt :):) I've just never had a Corgi who would "cry" (whine) for food like this one. They all are food hounds - no doubt about it - but Jodi is just fanatical about it. We're down to 1/2 cup of "diet" food (very expensive, very healthy food) twice a day and one small raw hide "stick" along with maybe two small cookies a day. She does get taken for walks most every day - but I cannot get the weight off her. Any ideas? I can't cut back on her meals - does anyone know how fattening raw hide is for dogs? Other than the weight and some aggression towards other dogs, not all others just some, she is a very happy, well loved Corgi.
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Permalink Reply by WhiteDove on
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This may sound weird, but have you had her Thyroid tested? It would be a blood test. . . .I know in humans if their Thyroid is off, they can gain weight alot easier than the average person? Just a thought. . .Check with your Vet about it. It doesn't sound like you're overfeeding her and she gets walks, so it sounds like something else is going on with her that you might not be aware of.
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Permalink Reply by Susan Bradford on
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Thanks for the advice! I don't think we need to go that far quite yet - she has lost some of the weight on her latest diet - I stress "some"..........I think I'm more concerned with her whining for food. I have, because of her seemingly unsatiable hunger, thought about getting her thyroid tested and will mention it to the vet the next time we're due for a visit but she seems very ehalthy otherwise. Oh - I like the "thong" picture - very funny :):)
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Cool. . .you're probably right. . . .I think she's beautiful the way she is too. . . .that thong picture cracked me up. . . .
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Permalink Reply by Bonny on
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The whining could be a behavior she has learned to manipulate you with, and does it out of boredom/frustration/or whatever else rather than hunger. You could work with her on stopping this by never rewarding whining with food (even at mealtimes--only calm submission gets food), and redirecting her to something else when she does it. There's no need for her to make you feel guilty, she has a stable home now and nothing for you to feel sorry about :)
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Permalink Reply by Bill Gotthelf on
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No the green bean diet works very well. Remember to buy no salt added canned or frozen green beans. The frozen ones work the best. Also if you cut back to far on the kibble (dry food) you will need to supplement their diet with some vitamins. If you are going to add the green beans and cut back on the dry food you should not use a weight loss dry food. Cutting back on the dry food you should insure that the dry food is a high quality food with meat listed in at least 2 out of the first 3 ingredients.
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Permalink Reply by Cheri on
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Our corgi was also overweight and a food hog too. We cut her kibble down to 1/2 cup per day but then supplemented it with veggies so she'd still feel full. We mix in chopped green beans, broccoli, carrots or any other cooked veggie that she likes. Then we mix in a little pumpkin and a vitamin supplement. You just have to really grit your teeth and ignore the whining for the greater good. I know it's hard, oh boy do I know it's hard. But we managed to get over 5 pounds off our little gal. She was 28 pounds and now she's down to 22. We've increased her kibble and are experimenting with the amount to see how much it takes to stablize her weight. As they drop the weight they start to feel better and get friskier. Our gal progressed from walking to longer walks to eventually running. She can walk up to 4 miles now before she poops out.
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Permalink Reply by Avyon on
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So here's a question.
Those charts on the back of dogfood bags. Should we follow those or not? I can't remember the brand right now but its puppychow (once its gone she's moving to adult food YAY!) and it says for her weight to give her two cups which we have been.
She's growing like a puppy should, I just want to make sure we don't overfeed her and if the chart is just for growing dogs or a good way to keep her weight balanced?
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My experience with the charts on the dog food bags are that they are just a guide. For my dogs the charts are way over the amount one of our dogs gets and just right for the other dog. I think you just have to go by environment. If they're gaining weight, you cut back. If they're losing, you increase. You have to experiment to see how much they need. For example our Cardi puppy was getting 2 cups a day until he had surgery. After he had the surgery, once he felt better we had to keep his activity level low. He started to gain weight really fast so we cut back just a bit so he was still gaining but not so fast. But our adult Pem gets 2/3 of a cup a day and her weight it stable at that amount. It's a guessing game. That doesn't help does it?
And I think just like humans, different lines of Corgi's can be big boned. My Pem is small for a Pem. One of our friends has a foster Pem that's one of the littlest ladies I've seen. And at PWC Nationals you see all sizes.
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Puppies usually will not be overweight as they need the extra calories to grow on. Plus they are high energy dogs that love to be doing something. You should be feeding them a puppy type dry food for at least the first year and then go to a quality adult food. The puppy food is higher in calories so keeping them on it past 1 year is asking for problems. Also in changing dry foods you should mix some of the old with some of the new in decreasing amounts until it is completly switched over, this will help avoid loose stools. Adding vegetables is good as long as they are green, no corn, beets, etc. Pumpkin (not pie filling) can be used as a filler also along with the green veggies. If you find them turning their noses up at the veggies PetSmart and other Pet stores sells a sauce (Iams) in different flavors that you can add a little and they will eat them all up.
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You guys are great :) Thank you for the replies they completely answered my quests haha
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Permalink Reply by Cindi on
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Oh boy does this look like our rescue! Corgis are notorious beggars. You've got to learn, first off, to say no. When we got Moira she weighed in at a morbidly obese 47 lbs. She's now at 33 lbs and still losing. She was on the green bean diet when we got her and it wasn't helping at all. Of course, I think the foster family was cheating. We put her on Bil-Jac reduced fat. She gets 2/3c. a day. That's it. She's not starving by any means. But she's coming to work with me several times each week (I'm a trainer for PetSmart) and I'm walking her little legs off. She looks and feels SO much better. She's become quite spunky and is playing with all the other dogs like a youngster.
Seriously, whatever you do, cut her food intake. Cut her treats or use healthy treats like baby carrots, wheat squares or cheerios. But you will have to use the tough love.
As for rawhides, I avoid them. They don't digest well and I've seen a number (too many, actually) who get pieces stuck in their throats or guts and get horribly sick. Granulated ones aren't as bad as they at least break up into small pieces. The best thing is healthy stuff. If you're trying to keep her occupied, try putting the baby carrots in a Kong and putting them in a baggie in the freezer. You'd be surprised how busy they can keep themselves with frozen carrots.
It's not uncommon for Corgis to be a bit dog-aggressive. But, it is a behavior that can be addressed. Get with your PetSmart trainer (or at least find someone who is certified and uses positive reward-based training) to work on the aggression. Fear aggression is not uncommon considering that she's been passed around.
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Boy - you don't check this for a day and now I've got so much information to digest - no pun intended:) I think our biggest downfall is giving in to the whining....and the brown eyes.....and how she can make herself either so damn cute or pathetic depending on her mood. I think my husband has it worse than I do - I don't feed table scraps - he's been busted more than once slipping her a "taste". Basically folks - it's up to us to excersise and no people food (aside from veggie's) to get her back into shape. I appreciate everyone's fantastic advice and tips though. Thanks!!!!
Moonmystic - Jodi has a habit of not eating the rawhide unless we're in the immediate vicinity and I monitored (sp?) her closely with the first few so I knew how she ate. She loves carrots though so I will try them frozen for her - I'd just feel so much better if she had (truly) healthy treats. As for the aggression - I think I'll start a blog about her behaviour on here one day soon and monitor her progress through that. Glad to have you as a friend on here as well :):):)
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