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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Thanks Connie!
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Permalink Reply by Joanna Kimball on
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Keeping a dog's weight low is probably the best thing you can possibly do for him or her - better than what food you feed, better than shampoo, better than beds or any of the luxuries. While you should ALSO think carefully about food and shampoo and so on, if there's one thing as a breeder I wish people could "get," it's what a healthy weight is.
Remember that corgis were developed to run ALL DAY LONG over very demanding terrain and they were supposed to do it on scraps of food and very little else. They are not bred "hot" and (especially if they're spayed/neutered) they typically need very, very little food. It's OUR issues, as primates, that lead us to believe that dogs should have a full bowl, or that they need to feel full. If your dog needs 1/3 cup of kibble a day to stay lean, then even if it feels totally mean to only hand her twenty kibbles in a tiny bowl, that's what you have to do. And never be afraid to micromanage the feeding - sometimes their weight can go up and down even over 24 hours. You may add a little bit or remove a little bit every day, or you may fast them one or two days a week.
I think "feel the ribs" can be deceiving, because you can dig your fingers in and count each rib on just about any dog. What you want to be able to do is clearly feel the ribs WITH YOUR PALM and your flat fingers. You shouldn't have to press at all. Feel the ribs with your palm, but not be able to feel hollows between each rib (that's too thin). You should be able to feel the tips of the hip bones but not a hollow in between them. Feel the very tips of the spine but the spine should feel very solid and muscular, neither bony nor soft.
Cardis are a little easier than Pems because Cardis have the big butt and naturally show a waist from above. Pems tend to be more bullet-shaped from above. But Pems will give you other clues - if they stand with the front feet further apart than the shoulders, if the feet splay even a tiny bit, if you can see any part of the dog's torso behind the shoulders when the dog is sitting, if there are rolls ANYWHERE on the dog, if you've lost the tail into the flesh of the rear end, I'd evaluate weight really carefully.
Vets are sometimes your worst enemy on this, because they'll tell you weight is OK when the dog is 2-3 lb overweight; that's enough to do a lot of damage. Remember that very few vets are breeders and most know nothing more about pet ownership than you do; they see nothing but fat dogs so they start to think that fleshy is normal and they don't alert until the dog is genuinely obese. They're trained to diagnose disease, but they probably have one or two dogs at home and half the time those dogs are fat too. And even vets who really DO know what an in-shape dog is get so tired of fighting with owners that they'll let a few pounds go by.
If I can put in a little plug for the raw diet, I've found that that's the easiest way to keep weight correct. It encourages good muscle tone and it's very satisfying and takes a long time to eat, but because it's so full of water the dog isn't getting as many calories as an equal volume of kibble. When I am trying to get weight off a dog I'll often feed every other day or even every third day - the first day they get a big piece (like a lamb neck or pork) and feel full and happy, the second day they chew on the leftover bones, the third day they fast.
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Thank you for this very informative post!
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Permalink Reply by Lisa P from WV on
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I wish I could get my Mother-in-Law to realize this. Her corgi is overweight I just know it. She as been told by the vet when he went in for a back problem. She overfeeds him not just dog food but people food. If they go to McDonald's...Andy gets a McDouble. I have talked to her until I am blue in the face. It is a thorn in our relationship that I cannot say another word. I can only hope now that she will come to her senses and treat him like a dog not a person. He begs and he gets. My corgi only gets dog food and every once in a while some cheese for good behavior.
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Well, hopefully she'll read all these posts and follow the link to the 70lb corgi story. We're lucky that Soffie is just a few pounds overweight, and that's not even from feeding her "junk" food 'cause we abosolutely never have done that! But, we were probably letting her have a few too many treats and feeding her more than necessary at meal times. We've cut way back on treats (almost non existant) and she gets just a 1/4 cup of kibble in the morning and 1/4 cup of kibble in the evening. And when I say 1/4 cup I mean I use a measuring cup and the kiibble just fills to the top.....NOT overflowing. It's hard to resists those big brown eyes.... but it's what we have to do!
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Permalink Reply by Garrett, Katie, & Conan on
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My boss and her sister are the exact same way. They don't get just table scraps, they get full meals just like your mother-in-law's dog. Burgers, tacos, whatever. They take their dogs through the drive-thrus too! I even printed them out a list of foods that are bad for dogs, and my boss just kind of shrugged it off like, "when does he eat garlic or tomatoes?" And I just bit my tongue. I worry for their pups. I know they are very much loved, but love doesn't create health and stability. Sigh, we do what we can I guess. Talking to some people about how they treat their dogs is just as bad as talking to someone about how they raise their kids.
Just know you're doing what you can for your Corgi and he will thank you for it with years of love and happiness. If her Corgi knew you were trying to save him, I'm sure he would thank you too.
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Soffie went to the surgeon/specialist today for her re-eval. She's lost 2lbs!!!! YAY!!! Which is very good considering her activity is being strictly confined. And the Dr. says to keep doing what we're doing. And in 4 more weeks we'll evaluate again. Today her knee still shows signs of some fluid but less than it was 5 weeks ago. She (the doc) says Soffie looks bright and happy and that we should be the judge in 4 weeks time. If we think she (Soffie) is showing more signs of improvement (ie: less limping) then we'll start planning out a rehab/therapy plan.
So...... we will continue to keep her activity restricted, 1/4 cup of Wellness Core Reduced Fat morning & evening feedings, with frozen green beans as a little bonus and treats!
Oh PS...... Griffyn is loving the green beans too and he is getting to be a lean, mean, Corgi machine!!!
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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Great news! Mine love green beans too. Thanks to this web site, I never would have thought of green beans.
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Permalink Reply by Kristen on
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Such good news about Soffie. We have had great success with the green bean diet and now have a house of lean Corgis. Lizzie is down to 27.5 lbs from her top weight of 39 lbs. Our freezer is always full of bags of green beans. I have to admit now I am not inclined to eat cut grean beans...Almost feel like I'm eating dog food!
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WOW!!! That's great!! We even stuff their kongs with the frozen green beans! I haven't hit the level where I can't eat them yet, but that day may come! LOL!!!
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It's so great to hear that Soffie is doing well! I bet she'll be better in no time without any surgery at all. Thanks to your post we are still working on Conan's weight, and he still needs to lose a little. I'm really glad that things are working out for the better for you. Keep up the great work! Soffie and Griffyn are lucky to have such a great family :)
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Thanks Garrett, Katie & Conan! We're happy to hear Conan is doing good losing weight too! We're especially happy to know that we've been able to get our message out there!! Keep up your good work, you're a great family too!!!
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