Overweight, or some other problem???
Hello all,
Odie is approaching 2 years old in March. My husband and I were just noticing recently that he appears to be "filling in" and growing into his adult body, he seems to be a bit more "thick" and "stocky". I weighed him today, and he is 31 pounds (which I think is ok, right? Maybe a LITTLE on the high side?) I don't overfeed him, or feed him scraps, and he gets plenty of exercise every day.
A few weeks ago, every few days or so, he started getting a limp (from his left front leg). It seemed to happen mostly at night, and by the next morning it was gone. We have tried figuring out what it is... has he jumped down from furniture that is too high? Has his little body blown up so fast that he's not used to carrying the weight? Or is the harness we are using for him too "restricting"?
We are going to Petco today to get him a new, softer harness. We are going to make his walks a little bit longer today, and I am going to SLIGHTLY decrease his dry food (but like I said, I am not overfeeding him!)
I have absolutely no problem taking him to the vet, if it indeed is something to be checked, but the limp comes and goes, therefore making me believe that it's not broken or permanently strained in any way. Has anyone else ever had this issue? And what else could it possibly be??
Thank you in advance for any advice!!!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Lisa and Odie on
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Hello Amy & Rubie Rae! Thank you for the advice... I will cut back on his food a bit, and I'm not going to let this go on much longer before taking him to the vet, but like I said, it comes and goes... so I'm going to watch him for a few weeks first.
You are in Fort Collins??!! I grew up in Loveland, and hope to some day (within the next few years) move back that way to be near family... maybe Odie and Rubi Rae can meet some day!
Again... thanks for the advice!
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Permalink Reply by Jane on
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How much food does he get a day? He might be getting to that age where you need to cut it down a bit. My pem is pretty average sized in my opinion and was 30 lbs last time we were at the vet, so just that number doesn't seem crazy high or anything. It really depends on the dog's build. If the limp has been a persistent problem I would probably take him in to the vet just to rule out something like elbow dysplasia.
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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You may want to try a good quality low fat food and/or add some green beans to his meals to give him a little bulk. The actual weight is not as important as looking at him to see a indentation before the hips and a tummy that goes up before the hind legs. I feed mine 1/3 cup twice a day with green beans at dinner. Izzy needs the low fat food as she is not terribly active and Sparty as a very active 12 year old needs regular food. Keeping the weight down is the best thing you can do to keep them healthy, corgis especially since they are a dwarf dog.
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Permalink Reply by Chris West on
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I wouldn't worry too much about the limp. Frosty had that every time he got up from a nap from about the time he was 2 until he was almost 3. I have heard from lots of other corgi owners that it is pretty common and they usually grow out of it. There are some past discussions about it, but I can't for the life of me remember what they were called lol.
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Here are some of the past discussions I found about the limping... I think all of these discussions are about 2 year olds or younger...
http://www.mycorgi.com/forum/topics/anybodys-corgi-have-persistant
http://www.mycorgi.com/forum/topics/after-sleep-limping
http://www.mycorgi.com/forum/topics/1150197:Topic:41842
http://www.mycorgi.com/forum/topics/faking-a-limp
http://www.mycorgi.com/forum/topics/sudden-onset-of-limping
Anyway, there were lots more, I just grabbed the first couple. When Frosty started limping I was all freaked out... kept envisioning expensive surgery or torn ACL or any number of things. But I think this is just a common corgi growth thing. So I would say unless he seems to be in pain, if it is just some general limping, don't be too worried.
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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Markley on
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Can you feel his ribs when you run your hands down his side? If not, then he is over-weight. I had to work extremely hard to get Seanna down to her ideal weight- 23 pounds. The first time I felt her ribs while petting her, I thought it was a tumor. When she was at her heaviest, she weighed 29 pounds...and she tore her ACL and had to have surgery. There is also research that suggests that too little thyroid can also cause tendon/ligament problems, and can also cause weight gain. So that is always a possibility. There is a calorie calculator online that you can use to gauge how many kcal you should be feeding--but Seanna's result was way over what she needs. She gets 1/4 cup twice a day. She is on the littler side of corgi's, but is within breed standards. (10" at withers). You may want to ask your vet for more guidance.
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Permalink Reply by John Wolff on
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http://www.google.com/search?q=dog+weight+chart&hl=en&prmd=...
Can't go by absolute numbers, go by his body condition. Keep him slim; it's worth it. 31 sounds heavy unless he's a really big-boned corgi.
If you have smooth floors, provide nonskid throw-rugs at takeoff/landing zones. Discourage leaping down from high places. We've provided a step by the bed.
I had a scare once: Al suddenly developed a SEVERE limp on a backpacking trip -- he wasn't even putting his paw on the ground, or walking. The limp appeared at the end of Day 6 after we'd stopped while I made camp at 6000' in a quite remote wilderness area with many miles and hard going between us and the nearest road. I imagined carrying a 25 lb. dog for 12 miles. The limp disappeared as mysteriously as it appeared. A cramp or charley-horse?
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I think he had you hood-winked into carrying him...:-)
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