Is your Corgi Overweight??? Take a second look!!! UPDATE!!! 9/14/2009
Let me first start by saying... our Soffie is a tall girl and quite a bit larger boned than our Griffyn and weighs in at 38lbs. 3 weeks ago Soffie pulled up lame on her hind left leg. This following a full tilt run across the front yard. Hard to know exactly how the injury actually occured but.... the end result was a torn cruciate ligament. We had an appointment this past monday with an orthopedic surgeon (believe me we had already done so much research on this injury!! Pros / cons to surgery. Pros / cons to controlled maintenance) And here is a direct quote from the surgeon report and the very first thing listed on the Surgeons recommendations for Soffie's recovery.
"Soffie presented to the FVRC for evaluation of a left hind limb lameness. Her general physical exam was unremarkable, except she is moderately overweight. The orthopedic exam showed effusion (increased joint fluid) in both knees, but only the left knee was painful. There was no instability elicited. We suspect that Soffie has a partial tear of the left cranial cruciate ligament. Although surgery is an option, it is reasonable to give her time to see if the lameness progresses.
Recommendations:
1. Weight loss is the most important aspect of treatment. You should be able to easily feel the ribs when you pet her and she should have a visible waist when viewed from above. Begin by decreasing her food intake by 20%. If you would like to offer treats, please use rice cakes, carrots, or take kibble from the measured meal. She should be weighed in 2 weeks to assess progress. If she is not losing weight, then decrease intake by an additional 10%" (end of quote from surgeon)
Soffie's prognosis is the same with or without surgery. Arthritis!!! And she is only 3years 7 mos!!! And there are signs she will have problems with her right hind leg too! And her weight is the largest contributing factor!!
We're dealing with what we have to do now. And that is keeping her totally restricted. We have a pen in the house to keep her in a small confined area. At night she sleeps in her crate. (I miss her in bed with me!) We bought a ramp because she cannot do even 2 stairs out to the back yard! No walks! Out on a leash only for potty breaks! No jumping, no running, no sudden movements. No swimming ( until after her recheck in 4 weeks) imagine how hard that is going to be for my little swimmer when we're on vacation next week at the lake in Maine.
Anyway.... bottom line. Would we have been more diligent about her weight had we understood the consequences??? The answer is an emphatic YES!
We really didn't think Soffie was overweight because of her height! We were wrong! And I hope any and all of you out there that read this post will take heed and do what is right for your beloved corgis!!
"Soffie presented to the FVRC for evaluation of a left hind limb lameness. Her general physical exam was unremarkable, except she is moderately overweight. The orthopedic exam showed effusion (increased joint fluid) in both knees, but only the left knee was painful. There was no instability elicited. We suspect that Soffie has a partial tear of the left cranial cruciate ligament. Although surgery is an option, it is reasonable to give her time to see if the lameness progresses.
Recommendations:
1. Weight loss is the most important aspect of treatment. You should be able to easily feel the ribs when you pet her and she should have a visible waist when viewed from above. Begin by decreasing her food intake by 20%. If you would like to offer treats, please use rice cakes, carrots, or take kibble from the measured meal. She should be weighed in 2 weeks to assess progress. If she is not losing weight, then decrease intake by an additional 10%" (end of quote from surgeon)
Soffie's prognosis is the same with or without surgery. Arthritis!!! And she is only 3years 7 mos!!! And there are signs she will have problems with her right hind leg too! And her weight is the largest contributing factor!!
We're dealing with what we have to do now. And that is keeping her totally restricted. We have a pen in the house to keep her in a small confined area. At night she sleeps in her crate. (I miss her in bed with me!) We bought a ramp because she cannot do even 2 stairs out to the back yard! No walks! Out on a leash only for potty breaks! No jumping, no running, no sudden movements. No swimming ( until after her recheck in 4 weeks) imagine how hard that is going to be for my little swimmer when we're on vacation next week at the lake in Maine.
Anyway.... bottom line. Would we have been more diligent about her weight had we understood the consequences??? The answer is an emphatic YES!
We really didn't think Soffie was overweight because of her height! We were wrong! And I hope any and all of you out there that read this post will take heed and do what is right for your beloved corgis!!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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I agree; very helpful post!
Thanks so much, Judy, for using your difficult experience to pass on some good information.
Good luck with Soffie. Here's hoping she has a speedy recovery and is her old self soon. I don't know about dogs, but lots of people live very active lives with arthritis.
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Permalink Reply by Judi, Dawn, Soffie & Griffyn on
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Thanks Beth!
We had hoped that if we even just made the difference for one corgi out there then it was worth it. (looks like Conan is one!) And hopefully we'll reach at least a few more!
Soffie is adjusting to her new restricted life. Dawn has joined a group online that consist of people who have had first hand experience with a dog with this type of injury. We have every confidence that Soffie will be able to lead an active (even if altered by some restrictions ie: no more jumping on furniture, my bed etc) life with proper care and maintenance for the eventual onset of arthritis.
The bonus in all this is that we hope Griffyn will benefit from Soffie's accident. We have him on weight maintenance as well. And he is also getting a daily dose of Glucosomine, Chondrointin & MSM!
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Thanks Conan! We decided to wait a little before we try to measure Soffie, for the exact reasons you mention in this post. It's hard enough just keeping her still, let alone trying to get her to let us measure her! LOL!!! But we are going to take a picture of her at the weight she is now. And then later on after she's lost the weight and we'll post up a before and after.
We switched foods too. We are using the EVO reduced fat. But we have also looked at the Wellness Core weight control. And.... we have looked at the Orijen. Some of what we've read indicates it might be a good idea to alternate foods, to keep a good balance and to keep our pups from getting bored.
Soffie still looks for her little extra after her meals. We had already reduced her measured meal by the amount I would give her as the "bonus" (the little extra she asks for) Now we are using green beans as the little extra. We buy the frozen cut green beans in the large family size bag. Both she and Griffyn love them!!
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Permalink Reply by Garrett, Katie, & Conan on
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We considered EVO too. I figure that if it's best for humans to eat a variety of foods, it's probably good for dogs too. It's a little harder with Conan because he has a very sensitive stomach. We're not sure if it's the grains or the chicken, so we're trying to grains first. The green beans are a good idea! We've always used carrots but I think green beans would be good too. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing the before/after pictures! The pictures we have of Conan are when he was a little heavier, but he lost weight since then. But he still needs to lose some, so I'll post more when he's thinner!
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Permalink Reply by Derek on
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I know people call my Miranda fat because of her fluffy fur but she is actaully ideal for her size, about 30 lbs. But the vet had told me when she was 33 pounds not to let her get any bigger. It is a naturally thing that she weighs less in the summer. She hardly eats anything in the summer with the heat and she plays more because the weather is better for it. But I was also worried about her health. When she was 7 months old she tore he ligament and it was insane trying to keep her from playing as a puppy. She repeatedly retore the ligamant because she would go wild one day and be sore for a week. I feel bad for your position, but it is really hard to tell sometimes if your dog is overweight. Miranda fit the dscription of a healthy dog. you could feel her ribs, she had a girlish figure. I had no idea she was at the max for her healthy weight. I would not beat yourself up over it, but I would be careful.
I used Wellness brand dog food with her to help control the weight. In some ways using reduced calorie food it great because you can feed them as much, they just get less in the end. It worked well for her, maybe it would work for you.
Hugs for the Baby, and I hope her leg is better.
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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I started with the green beans this past year too. It seems to help since mine are both insatiable! That plus the occasional carrot. We feed Innova and feel that they do well on it but there are a lot of choices out there. My dogs will eat anything so I try not to get too carried away and their treats are kept really small. Their short legs and big dog bodies can pack on pounds really fast so we measure carefully. It also matters how active they are. Izzy is a couch potato so I try to feed her a little less.
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Griffyn is a gobbler!! He eats anything and I'm convinced he doesn't have a clue about what the food tastes like. Soffie is a very picky eater. That was part of our problem with her. She checks everything out before putting it in her mouth. Then, she eats very very slowly, one bite at a time, sometimes one kibble at a time, chewing every morsel!!! She is a real food snob! So we were surprised and extremely happy when she accepted the green beans so readily.... but she only likes the frozen ones, and they still have to be frozen when she eats them. She turns her nose up at a carrot! And doesn't like apples. Sigh..... she's such a little prima donna!! LOL!!!
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Our Standard Poodle was a picky eater. The current dogs not at all. He used to hide treats he did not want behind the couch, at that time I had teenagers and they were always giving him treats. I learned to look behind the couch daily. The weird thing was that he was a garbage dog. If he had a chance to get into the garbage it was all over. Premium dog food ,however, he picked around it. I would break up his heartworm pill and put it in his food and he would pick around it. We had to switch to giving him a pill. In retrospect, I should have put the pill in the garbage. Ha ha....
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Permalink Reply by Becky S on
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I was getting a little concerned about Brody when he weighed in at 34# last year. But after getting Lilly he weighed in at 31# this year! Nothing like a little more activity (chasing each other around the back yard, house, etc) to take off a few pounds.
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Becky,
Good job getting Brody down from 34. But remember your post.... 1# = 4# of stress on the knee. I reached down and unclicked Soffie's leash and said "go get your brother!" Do I wish I could turn the clock back? YES!!! One second, can change your life forever!!!
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Cindi...... Let's see the "after" pic!!! I know she's at 28lbs now, right?!!
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