Helping your dog lose weight


  • 41 lbs?!! Wow that's a record. How much and how often are you feeding? Is it free feeding? What brand of food? Is he getting table scraps that are high in fat?


  • I have a neighbor who has a little black daschhound - that little thing is so fat his stomach drags when he's walking sometimes. They think it's cute - to me it's a shame, the poor little guy - the only time he's outside is to do his business, then right back in, so he also gets no exercise that I can see. Not my business, but hard to watch.


  • I was walking Buddy in the park and ran into a guy that adopted a little black dog that looked like it was part Min Pin. Anyway the poor thing was way over weight which the guy said the dog went from 12lbs to 21 lbs because he was feeding it table scraps. He took the dog to the vet and now it's on a diet.


  • There was a person here on the Forum for a short time that posted a picture of her Basenji… she was as big around as tall, poor thing.... she was all put out that her Vet said the dog needed a diet... and thought she look just fine and was perfectly healthy.... didn't get the support to that from anyone on the Forum...


  • @tanza:

    There was a person here on the Forum for a short time that posted a picture of her Basenji… she was as big around as tall, poor thing.... she was all put out that her Vet said the dog needed a diet... and thought she look just fine and was perfectly healthy.... didn't get the support to that from anyone on the Forum...

    Some people have the abberated idea that a fat dog = a healthy dog. :eek:

  • Houston

    Look at what people are doing for their kids…plump baby = healthy baby..not necessarily, and we know fat children does not = healthy children..


  • Basenjimamma, true fat babies not healthy have you really ever looked at a can of formula and broke down the fats in it. Like feeding cattle just to fatten them up.

    As the old story goes we do it to our children when they first start out in life then same goes for our dogs we do good old table food Ha!

    Rita Jean

  • Houston

    We do need fats for development of our brain, as an infant, but their is no reason for babies, toddlers and children of any age to be rolley polleys..


  • You need a limited amount of fats for development. I my sister's daughter did a chart for a school project on the fats a baby needs and the fats in formula's, baby cereals, baby foods. Took chart did meals for a baby up to 12 months and the fats that a baby got were unreal.
    This what I say no different unless we learn, read what ever same as with our dogs good table food for them as baby foods for babies. I would have never ever know until I seen the chart.

    Rita Jean


  • I have a hands-free jogging harness. It's GREAT. The kids love it and think they're on a mission to lead the pack down the sidewalks where we go running. I will try to find a pic if anyone is interested!! :)


  • I would love to see it and if can tell me were you got it.

    Rita Jean


  • I got mine from FunStuffforDogs.com – however, I can't find it on their site anymore. I did manage to find it several other places. This one was the cheapest and most closely resembles the one I have. I like this one because it has a loop for your hand for extra control. It also has some bungee material so IF your dog decides to go in a different direction from you, it's not as harsh on him. I also like it's designed with a little waist compartment that will hold my keys, cell phone, and doggie poop bags. I have to admit though-- if we're just walking, my dogs will sniff and get tangled up. I connect my two dogs on a leash splitter so they're both harnessed into the same unit. And for us, it works best if we are jogging or running. They LOVE it. If I get that thing out, they go nuts because they know what's coming. :) Let me know if anyone else tries this!! :)

    http://www.petstreetmall.com/Hands-Free-Leash/4172/1589/


  • @Brenda:

    My Vet said that Marko is overweight. I've cut back on his treats and food. I also feed him veggie when he's still hungry. But he's still not losing any weight. He's 41 lbs. Is that to heavy a weight for a Basenji. We have a big fenced in back yard and he goes out and runs with Bella every day. Also my husband takes them both on walks daily. Is there anything else I can do? Or do you think he's OK? I've had the Vet check his Thyroid and he's OK, so the Vet says. Help:eek:

    Brenda, thanks for posting. As you can see by the responses, yes 41lbs is way too heavy unless you have a b-cross. Many here have wonderful advice when it comes to weight loss and most long time posters have more experience than me.

    I can only add that after reading here at the forums when I first joined, I got rid of all the dog snacks in my house, stopped the 'one for me, one for you' practice during evening hours and weekends with chips and cheetos from the husband, bought a small bag of a good off brand lite dog food to use as rewards, and cut back on the oz. size of daily feedings.

    My Kate went from 32lbs to 28 lbs in one year. May not seem a BIG loss to others, but it was a HUGE step for us. Gave us the fortitude to continue our best efforts. She continues to lose weight. She's still chubby compared to her big brother, but she's looking better every year.


  • Thank you for the information. I will let you know if we get one. Thank you.

    Rita Jean

Suggested Topics

  • Help!!

    Basenji Health Issues & Questions
    10
    2 Votes
    10 Posts
    2k Views
    DebraDownSouthD
    I have never had a vet not know what breed my dogs are, even though when I got my first one they did not have any others in the practice. My vet immediately began reading up. And when I gave her info, she listened. Foxtails can be very nasty and a vet that lives in an area with them should know you have to REMOVE IT before your dog will get better. So I join the others in begging you to get another vet.
  • Vision in dogs

    Basenji Health Issues & Questions
    4
    0 Votes
    4 Posts
    1k Views
    AJs HumanA
    Very cool….thank you for this. Makes me want to look for more information on it. Speaking of the chase, AJ almost got a groundhog yesterday... Fortunately, that groundhog was smarter than AJ and hid under a storage container. I would imagine that had AJ been off lead, I'd still be trying to get him out from under there. :D
  • Fleas! Help!

    Basenji Health Issues & Questions
    20
    0 Votes
    20 Posts
    5k Views
    AJs HumanA
    @khanis: I have NEVER heard of these legendary fleas or mosquitos…. and I am a Portland native... and have NEVER had a flea issue with my basenjis [Whippet, IG, RR, Newfs, or cats]. Our home ranges from 3-6 basenjis on average and still no problem, even with dogs that come/go for showing or boarding. The only time I have treated them [my dogs] was prior to traveling to the midwest or east coasts. During the time I lived in Portland, which is at the very northern end of the Valley and has more wind than the lower Valley, I noticed a lot fewer fleas and 'skeeters. I can understand why you haven't experienced them. Try camping on the shores of Fern Ridge sometime. Make sure you take lots of DEET. I grew up there and, man, the 'skeeters are horrible!:eek: I can remember our dogs and cats had a rough time of it, too. We were always picking fleas off them. But that's the difference between living in the city and living in the back woods. The conditions in the lower Valley are perfect for the growth of fleas and mosquitos: standing water everywhere and very few hard freezes. (Gramma lives in the "sticks" too and has lots of both in her area outside Salem.) But, again, back to the subject, she used Brewer's Yeast and had pretty good results with it.
  • Help with stitches

    Basenji Health Issues & Questions
    4
    0 Votes
    4 Posts
    2k Views
    zanybraveZ
    on friday we had to board her due to a death in the family while at the vet she had her incision restitched she will be boarded at the vet at least until monday I am considering to have her stay longer just to make sure the incision has a better chance to heal. i work days and my husband works nights so he sleeps during the day and keeping her still and watched closely in nearly impossible so i may just have her stay at the vet until thursday
  • Sleeping dogs!

    Basenji Health Issues & Questions
    12
    0 Votes
    12 Posts
    10k Views
    wizardW
    EL D (who will be 6 this December) sleeps (I think) most of the day while I'm at work. In the evenings when the weather was nice he would run around in the yard until it got too dark but now he generally just sits in his bed or on the couch if I'm involved in something, otherwise he's throwing his toys around or snooping in the basement.
  • I Need HELP

    Basenji Health Issues & Questions
    20
    0 Votes
    20 Posts
    8k Views
    MantisM
    how is your basenji now? do you see any improvement?