Dragster seems uncomfortable..
Hello!
I have been giving Dragster, my 4 year old Pembroke, glucose pills that my vet recommended because I told her he stretches a lot and seems a little stiff in the mornings. I have him on one at night since we just started about a week ago. It says for his weight, around 37-39 lbs, that I can give him two. I wanted to start him off slow to new things to make sure his sensitive tummy could handle it. The problem is that it seems since I have been giving him the pills he is more uncomfortable.. he is stretching more and sometimes his back twitches in places almost like a muscle spasm. He is only 4 and I want to make sure my baby keeps a healthy back so he can be happy. Any suggestions? We have also been dieting a little bit, cutting back on food so he does not get over-weight. He only eats once at night and he has since he was a puppy. I tried feeding him 3 times a day and he would not eat it, only once at night.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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Sorry I don't have any advice but hope he feels better soon!
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Permalink Reply by John Wolff on
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You mean glucosamine with Chondroitin and MSM, I think (glucose is a sugar). This is a long-term diet supplement for cartilage health. Don't expect any quick change from it. It's not an analgesic for pain relief. I add this to their food . I believe there is some solid research indicating that it may be not empty snake-oil. It's basically the stuff cartilage is made of. Popular supplement for people, dogs, horses. I eat it. Eating gristle is probably the same thing.
38 lbs. sounds overweight to me (Al & Gwynn are 24-5 and 20), but Dragster may be bigger-boned. If he is overweight, getting him skinnier with less food and plenty of gentle exercise is the best thing you can do for him. Remember that exercise must be added slowly and gradually (if you suddenly take up jogging, don't start with 10 miles a day). Exercise you're accustomed to prevents skeletal problems, but exercise you're unaccustomed to can hurt you.
We feed twice a day.
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Permalink Reply by Alison Prasavath on
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It is funny you mention Dragster twitching now that you've been giving him those pills. I had been given Noodles some joint/hip suppliments and I noticed he started twitching more. When we ran out, I didn't bother ordering any more.
Also, it is good to know there is another big-boned corgi out there. Noodles is a 40 pound Pembroke and I get told all the time he is fat. If his vet thinks he is fine and I can feel his ribs, then he is fine. He goes jogging twice a day (about 3 miles) and plays at home, so I'm not worried. He eats twice a day, but it totals to 3/4 cup (dry food and green beans or pumpkin). I tried having him eat only one time and he thought I was starving him. Little does he know he is getting the same amount.
Sorry I wasn't of more help, but I understand because I noticed the same thing with Noodles.
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Permalink Reply by Dragster and Bailee on
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I do mean Glucosamine with the additives for dogs. I bought the brand for dogs, my vet said I could use a human brand but I felt more comfortable getting one made for dogs. Dragster is a big boned corgi and very low to the ground. He is also has very thick hair. He looks like most of the Queen's corgi's as far as size goes. He only eat's once a day and less than half a cup so I suppose it would be best to just talk with my vet. Thanks for your help and support!
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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Hmmm. Both mine get glucosamine and I definitely noticed it helped my girl, who would get ouchy if she really overdid it before, but rarely does now.
Do be careful about weight. I have one who is on the big side of the standard at about 27 or 28 pounds (for a female, that's pretty big). My boy is oversized at over 13 inches at the withers and has a massive chest. He got up to around 40 pounds and he didn't look too fat but I didn't want him that big so I brought him down. At 38 pounds the vet's office said he was fine but his breeder said he could lose a pound or two. I'd say his ideal weight is 36 pounds but we do agility so he's down to around 33. He looks a little skinny from some angles, but fine from others. Point being he lost close to 10 pounds but I WAS able to easily feel his ribs at 41 pounds and he's still fine at 33 pounds. That's a 20% difference in body weight where the ribs could still be felt.
Corgis tend to put on weight over their loin rather than their mid-section, and my experience is that you can still feel their ribs until they are actually obese and ribs alone is not a good indicator.If he's having signs of problems at such a young age, I'd have him try to lose 4 or 5 pounds even if you think he's ok. You will be surprised at first of all how your eyes can trick you when looking at your own dog that you see every day, and secondly how hard it can be for a vet to judge a dog with such short legs and a massive front end. Our vet commented that it's very tough to judge healthy weight on a dog with that build.
Honestly looking at your profile pic it does look like he's carrying a few extra pounds to me.
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Here's why it's hard to judge weight by pictures.
Here's Jack at 38 pounds (and remember, even at his high of 41 pounds I could STILL feel his ribs):He looks ok, but do you see that little bulge on his back, right in front of his hips? That's what his breeder said he could lose.
He's in summer coat there. The problem is, in winter coat he actually looks heavier when he weighs 5 pounds less, depending on the pose. Because here he is at about 33 or 34 pounds, early last winter:
He looks bigger, but he's not. The difference is coat. How I'd look in a down jacket compared to my summer tee-shirts.
Here is is on the exact same day, but running this time so you can see his ribs:
For both of mine now, instead of just feeling for ribs I look to see if they are getting that bulge of fat around the loin area. Maddie carries a ton of coat so she looks chubby until she's wet. When she's wet she looks skinny. She has a longer, softer coat. She weighs 5 or 6 pounds less than him but has so much hair around her underbelly and sides that you can't see that cut, muscled look even when she's fully stretched out in stride:
Jack's coat is so dense that even wet, if he's in coat you can't tell how his weight is just by looking at his front end; you need to check his loin.
Hope that helps a little. Good luck with Dragster!
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Thank you, Beth for the pictures and the descriptions. It helps me with keeping track of how Noodles is doing with his weight. I'm going to try a bit harder to have Noodles lose a couple more pounds and I'm more than positive it is going to be a battle. Noods stands at 14 1/2" tall, but from looking at your pictures, it looks like Noodles could stand to lose a couple more pounds. Wish me luck!
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Glad you found it helpful. :-) It has taken me ages to get comfortable looking at my Corgis and judging weight. They are so darned stocky.
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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on
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I know that nobody needs to be spending more money, but my recomendation would be to run a thyroid test to be on the safe side. One of the symptoms of low thyroid is that dogs get fat even with very little food, and the amount of food you describe (3/4 cup total, which includes green beans and pumpkin) is a small amount. When you reduce food you also reduce nutrient intake, so you want to make sure the thyroid is functioning properly. Low thyroid can affect every organ in the body, as well as joints and even temperament.... and is a very easy and inexpensive thing to treat, if needed. You may ask your Vet what she thinks about it in your particular case.
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Noodles actually had his thyroid tested and it came back fine.
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Great! I would then try to step up gradually the exercise before reducing the food further. I'm assuming 3/4C is ALL he eats and is not getting a lot of treats or other forms of food :-) The supplements will help, but take some time, as John said.
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Also check the calorie content of the food. Some foods are close to 500 cal/cup, while others are nearer 350 (I'm talking about foods with primary animal protein as the #1 ingredient; the super-low-calorie diet foods have mostly vegetable protein and I'd personally only feed them to a dog with such obesity that it's an immediate threat to health).
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