Rescued Sheltie questions

C

Cmentzell80

Forums Regular
Hello, I have a few questions concerning a sheltie I just ..re-rescued? The lady who originally rescued her said she'd taken the sheltie and several other dogs after the previous owners house was condemned, and 17 animals removed. They were so bad off, animal control was just going to have them put down. They had been abusive to some of the animals, beating a poodle so bad it can hardly walk.
When Lillith was taken in, her hair was completely matted, and full of maggots. They shaved her just enough to get most of the mats, and her skin had to be treated. I'm told she was underweight. Now her skin is almost completely healed up, just a few scabs here and there coming off now, and dry skin. She had been fed Nutri-Cal to "fatten her up" and is now very, very overweight. When I picked her up, her original rescuer was feeding her white castle hamburgers heh. She has so much fat around her butt/tail she can't even raise her tail. Had her completely shaved to help remove remaining mats, and so her skin could heal better and her hair could start growing in evenly.
Night we got her:
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r200/chriswar80/Lillith.jpg
All cleaned up:
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r200/chriswar80/Lillith001.jpg

My questions now are, about how often should I take her on little walks throughout the day to start getting her back in shape? She gets tired very quickly, and starts dragging behind after a very short walk through our small neighborhood. Also, any tips on getting her to warm up to her new food? It's not tablescraps or high fatty food, just kibble, and she's wanting nothing to do with it.
Thanks in advance for any advice <3
 
Welcome to you and Lilith! Wow the before and after pictures are such a contrast. She is so cute!

Do you have any idea how old she is? I recently had a foster dog who was very overweight and 8 years old. Very out of shape. We got 6 pounds off him in a month by giving him only high quality diet kibble (he took a few days to eat it but when he got hungry enough, he did).

We also worked him up to the 2 mile a day walk we take with the girls, but we did it gradually. As the weight came off he became more active.

I would probably try and walk her 2 - 3 times a day for a short time and let her build up to it. Good luck.

PS. My girls LOVE veggies for treats - see if she'll eat baby carrots for instance as a low-cal reward. My girls also love apples, pears, broccoli and red peppers. :smile2:

Sharon
Asta and Ally
 
Let her go hungry. Put the food down, if she doesn't eat in 10 minutes, take it up. Don't give in, don't tempt her with other foods. A dog that fat can go a few days without eating. I don't understand why people think dogs that fat are a good thing. Argh.
 
I was told she's about 2 yrs old. She keeps going for the cats food, so I'm going to have to find a new place for it she can't reach. I looked in her mouth a few minutes ago, because she always seems to have her mouth a little open, looks like she's "smiling". She appears to be missing a few teeth as well, so I'm wondering if she's just preferring the cat's food because it's tiny kibble. It could possibly just smell/taste more like what they were feeding her before as well. Either way, no more McDonald's or White Castle cheeseburgers for her. The lady said she was constantly on the go and getting fast food, and getting some specifically for the dogs or just sharing. We have a long road ahead of us ugh. She'll feel much better though after it's all said and done.
 
Welcome. Your dog is a real cutie. I like the little bow in her hair; it makes her look sassy.

Did you change her food suddenly from what she was eating? Often food changes work better if they are gradual. You might want to buy a small bag of whatever food she was eating. (I'd skip the hamburger, though):smile2:

Mix the new and the old foods together. I'd try starting with about 1/4 cup of the new to 3/4 cups of the old. Keep that up for about a week, then try mixing them 50/50. After another week, do about 3/4 cup of the new with 1/4 cup of the old. By the next week she should be able to eat the new food without a problem. I would suggest using a diet food for her; most brands have a formula labeled for overweight dogs. I have used the low calorie foods for both my dog and my cat, and they do work. Don't expect instant results. Just like for people, it is healthier for them to lose the weight gradually.

You might also check how much you are feeding her. Feed her the amount for the weight she should be, not the weight she is now. My vet told me that because shelties originated in the shetland islands where food is scarce and the dogs worked hard, they have a tendency to put on weight easily in modern conditions.

As for exercise, I'd suggest taking her out as often as your schedule allows; even as much as every hour if you can do it. Just keep the walks very short for now, maybe to the end of the block and back. As she gets more fit, you can increase the length of the walks and decrease the frequency.

It sounds like your sheltie has found a very good home. You seem like a great sheltie mom.
 
I think my reply post got eaten lol.

I was told she was 2 yrs old. She has no problem eating the cat's food, so I moved it somewhere out of reach. I checked her mouth earlier, it appears she's missing some teeth as well. So I'm wondering if she just preferred the tiny kibble, or the fact that it's not the diet food heh. She always looks like she's "smiling", her mouth is always slightly open. You can see it in the pictures. I wonder if it's because she's so fat she's having problems breathing? She also snorts a bit while switching laying positions etc.
 
You could try putting a little bit of water in her kibble to make it softer and more smelly.

Also, could you try supervised swimming to shed some of the weight off?

Good luck!
 
Welcome! How wonderful of you to rescue her. She is beautiful.

How is her personality? Is she timid because of her past abuse or did she settle right in with your family?

I would start off doing 3 or 4 very short walks a day to build up her stamina.

I agree with clantyre sheltie. I would give her 10 minutes to eat. if she doesn't eat, then pick up her bowl. She'll eat when she gets hungry. She won't strave herself. Although, I wouldn't let her go more than a day without food. Have you tried adding water to her kibble? My parents' dog is missing a few teeth. We ate water to her kibble to soften her food. Water makes it easier to chew.
 
She looks wonderful now. If she is not able to walk to far I've seen you can also just try teaching some simple tricks to get some movement. Doggie push-ups go from sitting to laying down and keep repeating. This should build strength in her leg muscles and you are getting her to move. Also doggie side bends teach her to spin in one direction and than back in the opposite direction.
This works her side muscles and again the movement is good,not too strenuous,and she is learning some new things all at the same time. I saw this on Animal Planet and am trying this with my Gypsy. She had a 6 month period she was not allowed to exercise and gained weight, plus she is on hormones for incontinence, we are also going to retest her thyroid because although her food intake is not much at all and she is exercising more she hasn't lost any weight.
 
She's not really timid at all, she has no problems going right up to people. I'm not sure if they ever beat on her or not like they did the other dogs, but she doesn't flinch when you reach for her at all. Here in a bit I'll try mixing a bit of water with her food and see if that makes a difference. Not really able to get out and walk as much right now, we've been having alot of heat advisories, it feels like it's 104 out right now. She starts panting wanting to just lay down very quickly. So for now it's just walks in the early morning/ around midnight and outside just to potty. That's probably still more exercise then she was getting.
 
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