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 Judi, Dawn, Soffie & Griffyn on
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Good mommy Deanna!! : )
Absolutely we can't overlook exercise!! Soffie & Griffyn go for walks twice a day. And we have a fenced in backyard where Griffyn loves to chase a beat up old soccer ball. Soffie had pretty much always let him do his thing in the yard. She's more into laying in the grass and soaking up the sun!! And, in hind sight, we probably should have been keeping her move active. She's more into playing tug a war with the wubba! Another lesson learned.
We continue to take Griffyn for his daily walks, and he gets his romp in the yard too. When Soffie has been given the go ahead to increase activity, we'll be more diligent in that aspect too.
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Permalink Reply by Susan Stanton on
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We have an interesting physical therapy place nearby -- everyone LOVES the therapist. She does dog water therapy on one side of the building, and human physical therapy on the other. So you can go with your pet, if you're both needing it ;-) But the swimming therapy seems to really help injured dogs. I know a lot of dogs go post hip surgery, when they still can't bear a lot of weight, but need to keep the muscles working.
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Swimming therapy is something I know Soffie will LOVE, once we get to that point. I hope we can find a facility near us!
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Permalink Reply by Deanna on
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Hi, Judi, Dawn, Soffie & Griffin! I'm the worst person in the world for not following my own advice, so please don't feel guilty that this happened to Soffie -- it does to all of us. One day they're puppies, and we turn around a few years later (still envisioning puppies) and wonder what happened when the vet tells us something we weren't expecting to hear. The important thing is Soffie is still with you. It may be something that will slow her down a bit, but she's alive! When she gets the go ahead, let her go at her own pace and don't push her. I know, I know, I know, Corgis are always raring to go -- so you may even have to even "reign" her in a bit. Whichever, she will let you know when she's tired and ready to go back home for much needed rest. Take care of her. By the way, I don't think either of them look overweight either -- I agree with Boo Boucheit -- large-boned Tri, maybe, but neither appear over weight! Good looking group there!
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Permalink Reply by Edison on
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Soffie's lucky to have people who love her enough to help her lose weight. It's been done in far worse cases (see link below) and she'll be happier for it. :)
For those of you who haven't already found the story of Reba, the 70 lb corgi:
http://www.goldengatecorgis.org/articles/ss-feeding.htm
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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One thing I have learned with Jack is to not feed him the same amount every day. He was doing good with his weight, and then it got hot and his activity level dropped, and he put on a pound or two (or at least it looks that way; we don't have a dog scale) within just a few days.
I have started varying his food amount. He gets between 1/3 and 1/2 cup of kibble in the AM, and 1/3 or even down to about 1/4 cup in the PM, depending on his activity level.
The past few days it's 90 degrees. His walks have been short, and he hardly plays at all. If it's 5 or 10 degrees cooler out, he has longer walks and runs around the house playing all evening. I vary his food quantities accordingly.
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It's been almost 5 weeks since Soffie's appointment with the surgeon. (Her injury was on July 29th) We have an appointment this coming monday for a follow up. We've tried to be as careful with her as possible. Using the "conservative management" approach for her injury. And reducing her food intake. We had been feeding the EVO reduced fat, but recently switched to Wellness Core reduced fat. By looking at her and feeling her ribs I think she has lost some weight. She's not at optimum weight yet.... but I'm encouraged by her progress.
As far as keeping her on restricted/limited activity that's been a bit of a challenge. It's hard for me to resist those little brown eyes looking at me through the pen. Or up at me from the end of the leash. And don't you know, as soon as I give her an inch she takes a mile!!! And then, of course, she pulls up limping. But when we stay diligent I can see she is making progress healing too. Let's hope the surgeon thinks so too!
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Thank you Bev! WE appreciate all your well wishes!!
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Permalink Reply by Connie Uliasz on
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This is a really good reminder for all of us. I must say, whenever I see corgis walking around town they're usually quite a bit overweight. One of my neighborhood corgis is so heavy that the poor little thing seems exhausted just from walking with his owner. I have tried really hard to keep my Pixel from gaining too much. He's just 2 years old, so it's not been too bad, and I have a friend and fellow corgi owner who is a vet tech. One of her jobs is to tell me if Pixel is gaining too much weight, and then I cut down on his food for a while and he slims back down. Naturally, with me spending every day with him, he just always looks "normal" and it takes her outside eye (she sees him, on average, every couple of weeks) to let me know if I'm slipping. Pixel is pretty small for a grown corgi and weighs 19 lbs. right now, which my vet and my friend both think is the right weight for him - he has a waist and you can feel his ribs. Now if only I could get My weight to where it needs to be... More walks! This picture is of Pixel snacking on some peas I gave him from the garden.
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Soffie & Griffyn love frozen green beans!! How lucky you are to have a garden!!
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I forgot to add my best wishes for Sophie's quick recovery. Please don't beat yourself up and blame yourself for her injury. While her weight may have played a role, my friend's corgi, Ziggy, just underwent knee surgery and he has never, ever been overweight. Once he got loose during a horse show and the announcer came on the speaker and said, "There is a skinny, red corgi here at the office. If you are missing your corgi, please come and pick him up." So weight is not the only thing that can cause injuries. Best wishes and I'm sure Sophie will be fine, given your good care.
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