Corgi weight loss

[Fuzzle]

My baby girl has gotten rather rotund and to date everything I have tried has had little or no effect. I've spoken to the vet and have her on a food for joints and the vet said it will help to keep her from gaining more weight but not lose it but she thinks the joint supplement is more important and if I have to decide between the two then I agree. We live in an apartment but we also have a Corgi/Jack mix and they play plenty. She also goes to my parents and plays with our mix and 2 of their puppies 1 or 2 times a week as well as walks twice a week. She put this weight on after having her puppies and we've never been able to get rid of it since, that was about a year and a half ago. What else can I do to get this weight off of her?

Jono

[corgimom]

Hello and welcome,

Could you tell us a bit more such as how old is your Corgi?, and exactly what does she weigh?

What type of food are you feeding her?; and how much per day?

It sounds like she plays with the other dogs, but she is only walked twice a week? What are the problems with her joints?

[Chip's Mom]

Have you had her thyroid level checked. My corgi mix gained quite a bit of weight and I had him tested and he was hypothyroid. After he got on the medicine, he lost 5 - 7 lbs which was alot for him. He should have weighed about 16 lbs and was up to 25 lbs when he was diagnosed.

[Fuzzle]

The food is Perscription Diet Canine JD and she gets about 2 1/2 cups a day and usually 2 or 3 treats. Shelby is a little over 2 1/2 and weighs 41 pounds. And yes she's only walked twice a week. I have bad knees courtesy of the military and it's hard for me to walk alot which is why I try to get her over to play as much as I can. When she does go play it is for a full day and not just for an hour or so. As of now there are no joint issues, the supplemented food is just a preventative measure, but I'd like to get the weight off her before it does effect her back and joints. As to the thyroid, no, I hadn't thought of that but I'll get it checked asap.

Jono

[corgimom]

First of all, I would recommend you read the "Any Request for Any" thread on this forum - you will find it on the side and read the post by Brynlea. She is a Corgi breeder and made a good post on how much an adult Corgi should eat.

Secondly, I would have your Corgis Thyroid checked out(I am surprised that your vet would not have done this already), however, 2 1/2 cups of Food a day, plus treats is too much for an adult Corgi to eat; and I think that is why she has gotten to be 41 pounds. If you read Brynlea's post, she said that "rarely, should an adult Corgi eat more than 1 cup a day"

I would think once she would lose the weight, there would be no need for the "Joint food" that she is on. Am I correct in that she had puppies when she was about 1 year of age??

Your vet should have advised you to reduce the amount that you are feeding her, but I don't think all vets know that much about Corgis and their appetites and how easily they can become overweight.

If it were me, I would start reducing her intake by 1/2 cup a day - giving her just 2 cups(Split the 2 cups up into 3 meals a day) - do this for 2 weeks and then reduce it a bit more for another 2 weeks to where you can get it down to 1 - 1 1/2 cups a day with VERY LIMITED TREATS.

As she slims down, you can monitor more on what she eats based on her activity level for the day; a bit more for those days, and then cutting back on the days she is more just laying around.

Don't let her pleading eyes make you feel sorry for her by giving her more food; because it won't be helping her.

But remember to read the post that I mentioned in my first paragraph.

[Fuzzle]

Okie dokie, I'll go read that post now and start slowly cutting back her food and treats will go down to 1, maybe 2 if she's REALLY good, a day. I'll get her uver to play more too. Thanks!

Jono

[corgimom]

Just do it slowly - I wouldn't go from 2 1/2 cups a day to `1 cup starting tomorrow, but reduce by 1/2 cup a day to start and then work her into reducing the amount even more; and yes, read the thread.

And if it has been a long time since she has had any blood work done, including her Thyroid, I would have that checked beforehand.

Good luck to you.

[Chip's Mom]

Linda:

Would you give her small pieces of raw carrot, apple, banana, green beans for fillers?

[corgimom]

Not sure how to answer this one, as I am not an expert, but I would think if he started reducing her food to only 2 cups a day, then you would not want to add those extra calories in with the fillers

Maybe reduce it to 1 3/4 cup a day,for the first two weeks and add a "bit" of variety(1/4 cup) with the foods you mentioned. What do you think? The goal is to reduce the number of calories she is getting in a day; as she is getting some exercise, but is still overweight.

It would be great if Brynlea or GlenCorgi(Deb) could put their thoughts on this thread on how he should go about it.

Fuzzle...make sure to check out your "thread" later for others thoughts also.

[brynlea]

It sounds like your Corgi is getting some exercise playing with your other dog, you are just feeding her the wrong food and way too much of it. I am not sure why at age 2 your vet feels she should be on a joint diet, I suspect she has problems? If so, you can give her the same glucosamine/chondroitin supplements humans take. 250 mg per day each would be good; that diet you are feeding doesn't have anything more "magical" in it than that. I think once you get her down to a better weight, you will see vast improvement with her joints! You can check her thyroid but I'd bet a dollar to a doughnut she's gonna check out just fine.

Here's what I would do: Go get some Pedigree Step 1 Weight Loss (yes, I know I said I am a die hard Purina person, this is the exception to the rule!). Don't get Step 2, that's junk. Start her out with 1 and a half cups per day, divided into morning and evening feedings. With each feeding, give her also about a 1/4 cup canned green beans (no salt added) mixed in her food. This gives her bulk and will help her feel full but does not add calories. After a week, drop her down to 1 cup of kibble a day divided into 2 feedings, and up her green beans to 1/2 cup per meal. For snacks, you can give baby carrots, several per day, and one of two ( I repeat, ONE OR TWO) popped kernels of microwave reduced fat popcorn (NOT buttered!) 2 or 3 times a day. Pop some and keep it in an airtight container and it will stay somewhat fresh (dogs dont' care much if it is stale!). That's it - nothing more, not anything off the table, not any more treats, nada. Realize this: even if you fed your dog 6 cups of food a day I bet she would come to you looking for more. Corgis are never satisfied anyway so it's completely in her best interest to slim her down, once you get there, THEN every once in a while she can have a special treat. I bet if you do this diligently for 2 weeks, you will see/feel quite a difference. It's hard to say what her desired weight would be without seeing her actual size, so you will need to learn how to judge if you can feel her ribs AND she has a "waist" AND she doesn't have a hanging belly. Weigh her once a week, do you know how to do that?

[Chip's Mom]

Brenda:

That is an excellent post - I wish I had that when Digger was dieting.

[corgimom]

Yes, very informative post, thanks Brenda.

[tandemgal]

the Vet said Em at 28 lbs is 3 lbs overweight... I have been trying to get her down but with no activity for past 30 days and current 30 days she has only lost maybe a pound. I am going to try the Pedigree Step 1. Because she has a tendency towards constipation I give her a heaping teaspoon of pumpkin per meal (1/2 cup kibble twice a day) too which has worked wonders!