DOGS

[Budnicks]

Yesterday Gemma went for her monthly chemo follow-up. They dressed her up in an Easter outfit.

View attachment 1835757

Cute

I hope she's doing well too

 

[ckessel]

What does Toga weigh ?, looks a lil' on the thick side too

looks as though they do eat well, very well
happy dogs

Biscuits[ toga] is overweight. We've been having a time with her getting on the right track. Our vet had us use the Hills "vet special only" diet stuff for both of them. Over $100 per bag and we got 6. No weight lost on either of them, even after giving Toga only 1/2 cup 2x day, Zeke 1cup 2x day. Both itched like mad from that stuff. Had to get shots, which is by weight, to temporarily stop it, lasted maybe 3 days, over $100 each. Once that junk was used up, used a brand from the local shop at 1/2 the cost but still no go. So they've both been back on the Darwins raw only but only feed them 3% of their body weight. It's slow going but at least they're not starving with no weight loss on top of it. We had her tested for potential Thyroid issues. Good there. Once we get them used to the 3%, we'll drop it to 2%. Do it slowly. Along with the running around on out lot doing trash talking at the local Curr's, I have them out daily for close to a 2 mile walk, leash free on a 300+ acre open field where they can bush bash, play with other dogs being walked, chase stuff. Its all on soft sand too so there is a decent amount of effort expended by all 3 of us.

 

[65CopCar]

Cute

I hope she's doing well too

She is doing great right now. Thanks!

 

[Budnicks]

Biscuits[ toga] is overweight. We've been having a time with her getting on the right track. Our vet had us use the Hills "vet special only" diet stuff for both of them. Over $100 per bag and we got 6. No weight lost on either of them, even after giving Toga only 1/2 cup 2x day, Zeke 1cup 2x day. Both itched like mad from that stuff. Had to get shots, which is by weight, to temporarily stop it, lasted maybe 3 days, over $100 each. Once that junk was used up, used a brand from the local shop at 1/2 the cost but still no go. So they've both been back on the Darwins raw only but only feed them 3% of their body weight. It's slow going but at least they're not starving with no weight loss on top of it. We had her tested for potential Thyroid issues. Good there. Once we get them used to the 3%, we'll drop it to 2%. Do it slowly. Along with the running around on out lot doing trash talking at the local Curr's, I have them out daily for close to a 2 mile walk, leash free on a 300+ acre open field where they can bush bash, play with other dogs being walked, chase stuff. Its all on soft sand too so there is a decent amount of effort expended by all 3 of us.

Sounds like they get exercise,
I see all the photos of them running walking & swimming all the time



After going through my beloved Elvis not eating, liver cancer, died way too early
was detected way to late, no signs of it "supposedly",
when he was in to have a cist removed from between his toes, the prior year in June 2023
& you'd think if he had it, it would have showed in his blood work
he was 9 years almost 2 month old, died last July 30th 2024
It was hard to see him, not eat,
I did post some stuff on here when it was happening,
it was strange & baffling, labs are food & treat driven big time
& him loose so much weight, went from 110#s to 84#s so fast in like just less than 30 days
he was fine June 3rd 2024, started showing signs of not eating, (?) like last week of June,
I hand fed him for a while he didn't even want to take that
I tried everything I could think of, to get him to eat
(pretty much didn't/wouldn't eat) sad & see him suffer, breaks my heart...

I don't begrudge any dog for being overweight,
It usually means they have a good appetite, are fed well, loved & taken care of
& just eat a bit too much...

I know you're a great parent/master...

 

[junior340]

Swap meet Mia. Always happy to get her pictures taken.

 

[ckessel]

Zeke is big time food/snack driven. He thinks with his stomach many times. Toga is the opposite. We know the dogs, cats etc are supposed to have the ideal physique, but look at humans. Many of us don't have the ideal physique either. Genetics and body physiology play a big part too. But we hoping this works out to get some off of her slowly but surely without starving. Plus dad and mom are working at being losers, in the good way, too. 30 for me so far

 

[33 IMP]

Swap meet Mia. Always happy to get her pictures taken. View attachment 1835862View attachment 1835863

Mia looks great. The truck is cool beans too.

 

[33 IMP]

Zeke is big time food/snack driven. He thinks with his stomach many times. Toga is the opposite. We know the dogs, cats etc are supposed to have the ideal physique, but look at humans. Many of us don't have the ideal physique either. Genetics and body physiology play a big part too. But we hoping this works out to get some off of her slowly but surely without starving. Plus dad and mom are working at being losers, in the good way, too. 30 for me so far

Agreed. We have three black&red shepherds, from the same old friend/racing buddy/ breeder.
Two are over a hundred (but very athletic) one is skin-n-bones thin. (Magnum, 75 lbs) And the skinny one gets 150% of what the other two eat.
He's been checked a couple times for worms/parasites. Nuthin. Just naturally skinny I guess.

 

[Sahara]

When we got Cora I had never heard of Rhodesian Ridgebacks before, we just thought that we had this oddly smart, hyperactive dog that may be too much for us to handle. When the shelter that gave her to us suggested that she was at least part Ridgeback I investigated further. It was like having the sun come out from behind the clouds, and everything became clear. Among the tons of helpful advice were two tidbits that made it easier for us to deal with her. The first was that Ridgebacks will eat everything, all day long, without stop. And in Cora’s case that is certainly true. So she is on a strictly enforced diet of two cups by volume in the morning, and two cups in the evening. We give her a mix of quality but not crazy expensive dry food and wild game scraps and bits. No more than that. And easy access to all the fresh water that she wants. No junk food, never any human food or sweets. Wild game has very little fat, and the fat it does have is different then farmed pork or beef.
The second bit of advice was the most critical, and works in part with the diet: Ridgebacks MUST run, every day. Not walk on a leash, but stretched out running, full tilt. It doesn’t have to be much, but it has to happen every day. Also, she doesn’t like to crap in the yard so everyday after work she holds it until we get out of town. Within thirty seconds she will pee, and within two minutes she will take a dump. Sometimes after a bit of running she will dump a bit more. But we go for about two miles, usually. Me throwing the ball and her running. She finds absolute joy in running as fast as she can, stretched out, full tilt. From the time we leave the house until we return is just under an hour. In the summer when there’s no ice on the lake I take her there and she runs through the water and really burns up the calories.
Anyway, where I’m going with this is this: fat can’t grow out of thin air. It’s all about calories. Feed X amount of calories and burn that amount off and weight gain is impossible. Don’t burn off the calories and they store it as fat. Humans do that, too.
Her weight has never varied much either up or down from 82 pounds in a year and a half.

 

[Hey-O]

6 Signs Of A Happy Dog, According To Veterinarians