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Showing posts with label weight gain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weight gain. Show all posts

When your Dog Needs to Gain Weight

We've just encountered a problem new to us...certainly not one I, myself, have ever dealt with. Ike is a dog who is too skinny. He's a smaller-size golden retriever to begin with-- when we adopted Ike he was 57lbs.


But recently, we'd been thinking Ike looked like he'd lost weight...he looked too skinny. We could feel his ribs and spine easily. So we took him to the vet's today.  And that's when we discovered that he's lost 4 lbs since we got him a month and a half ago.





















So we need to work to help him gain weight. He presently gets 4 cups of good quality food--up from the 2 cups/day we started out giving him. We are going to look into different food that may have more calories.

After blood tests, fecal tests, etc there were no parasites found or other factors known that might contribute to the weight loss, except for mild anemia.
One other thing, he has a slow heart rate, but we don't know enough about that yet and he'll be getting more testing.
Lots of hugs for Ike!




















Have you had to help a dog gain weight? What worked for you?
Has your dog every been diagnosed with a slow heart rate?
How do you handle the stress/worry when your dog has health issues?



Want more positive pet tips, good news, and special offers? Fetch my free newsletter, Pawsitively Pets. Kelly and Ike hope to see you there!
 
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Will Neutering Make Your Dog Fat?

This is part of Be the Change for Animals and World Spay Day blog hop.

 I had a yellow lab named Hudson. He was a sweet, friendly, beautiful dog. Was Hudson neutered? Let me tell you in a minute.

As part of Spay/Neuter Awareness Month, this February 26, organizations and bloggers worldwide recognize World Spay Day, a day promoting spay/neuter as a way to save lives. This blog hop is a way to help spread the message.

Most people understand that there are more cats and dogs in shelters than there are available homes. Unfortunately, the result is that millions of homeless animals are euthanized each year. Yet there are still many pets (those not being bred by responsible breeders and/or being shown in dog shows) who aren't spayed/neutered. Part of the reason is because of misinformation about the risks or disadvantages of spaying/neutering.

One common myth preventing some people from getting their pet spayed or neutered is: If I spay/neuter my pet, he will get fat.


Now what about our yellow lab, Hudson? We did get him neutered, and he did become overweight.
But one event didn't necessarily lead to the other.

Young Hudson. Happy and neutered.
1. Was I feeding him the proper amount for his size and activity level?
2. Did I refrain from giving him table scraps and extra treats?
3. Was he getting several walks and plenty of exercise daily?


The answer to all of these questions is no. Although I loved Hudson and wanted the best for him, at the time I didn't fully understand the importance of keeping him fit and giving him enough exercise. I'm quite sure that the reasons for him being overweight had much more to do with his lifestyle than his being neutered.


Our newly adopted Brooks was neutered just before we adopted him, at 11 years old, and he has not suddenly gained weight. He's fit and healthy, eats an appropriate amount of food, and gets plenty of exercise.


So in the experience with our pets, I would say that neutering does not cause weight gain as long as you are mindful of other lifestyle factors.
So cross that reason off your list! Get your pet spayed/neutered, and help spread the word!

*Join in! Write a blog post sharing the news about World Spay Day and Spay/Neuter Awareness Month and link up to BTC4animal’s World Spay Day blog hop. The link list will remain open through February 28.

Want more great pet news, fun content and special bonuses? Subscribe to my free newsletter. Brooks and Kelly hope to see you there!
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