Lola's vet appointment

[Autumn & Lola]

This evening we took Lola to the vet for her annual check-up.  She only barked at two dogs (out of three), and quickly calmed down when firmly directed, which was an improvement. She was wonderful with the staff, which she always is. We gave her a 'B' for behavior.

The vet gave her good marks for everything...until she stepped onto the scale.    She is now slightly over 23lbs. Ideally, she should be about 21. This is the first time I've had to deal with an overweight dog. I am not trying to pass the buck, but I know what the problem is. The menfolk in this house would give her treats until she exploded if I were to drop dead tomorrow.   It is so frustrating. When I told the both of them to stop giving her so many, it was suggested to me (who gives her her two meals) to cut back on the amount of breakfast and dinner, so that they could continue giving her the same amount of treats.  Arrrgghhh!  I guess I'm going to have to hide the treats - not from Lola, but from the men!

 

[bradl]

Possibly my Y chromosome talking but, uh, seems like the proposal checks out. 

*stepping slowly back from the keyboard*  

[Kathryn]

Or you could suggest to those guys that -- if they persist in giving her too many treats - they will need to give her extra exercise to walk off the extra calories...long walks would probably do them all good!

(says the X chromosome...)

[Sam I Am]

Yes I have the same problem at home.Rosie isn't over weight but she is still young....a certain man in our household feels that a treat is in order when she goes potty... she has learned to go potty many many times in the day (of course it's only a pretend potty, and of course has managed to train her dad well) 

[_whits_]

Addie's grandfather the veterinarian recently told me Addie needed to lose 1-2 pounds, which is mostly my fault for continuing to coddle her like she's still in radiation, and not cutting back her food to match the decrease in exercise during her recovery and subsequent terrible weather here.

However, Addie's grandparents do request her company fairly regularly. They no longer have a dog in the house and like borrowing her for the company an afternoon or evening every week or so. And when she's there she gets all sorts of treats! Less than a week after her annual checkup with Dr Grandpa she came home telling me how awesome bacon is and why don't I learn to cook it. Grandma thinks the cut back in food is purposeful starvation. I even delivered healthy dog treats to their house and she still gets table scraps to deal with mean mom's mean diet. 

The only thing that has been relatively effective is letting them know I will be calling them during any middle of the night diarrhea emergencies. 

Thankfully Addie has already lost one pound and is dealing well with the diet at home, but ghee you'd think the veterinarian who told me she was overweight wouldn't be cooking her bacon and giving her parts of his sandwiches and hamburgers! He looks at that face and crumbles. 

I like Kathryn's suggestion. I say they deliver you a nice glass of wine on the sofa each night while they take Lola for long walks. 

[Sam I Am]

Addie, Rosie here....your mum is cruel...cruel...cruel!! What kind of mum tries to stop grandpa from giving you bacon...hamburger....and sandwiches!   I would go on strike and forget accepting those "healthy" treats!  If my mum ever tried that on me I would ask her to have a close look at herself in the mirror....hummmppp

Mum here Rosie,

you are getting awful personal...I might be a little rubenesque but that is all!!

Edited December 10, 2016 by Terrier lover

[hheldorfer]

43 minutes ago, Terrier lover said:

I might be a little rubenesque but that is all!!

"Rubenesque" is a perfect description for Buffy.

[utgaard]

I once told the vet that Zeus likes to flirt with women.  She gave me a look that clearly communicated she thought I was of questionable intelligence.  She looked a Zeus' chart and told me he needed to lose some weight.  Not five minutes later Zeus gave her that look I tried to warn her about and she said "What a handsome boy, have another treat."  He got three or four bonus treats that visit!

Loki's vet also suggested that we cut back on the treats.  I came home and told DH that I thought the easiest thing to do would be to stop the supposedly accidental treats they got while cooking and cut back a bit on their evening kibble.  The cooking treats actually increased.  When I asked why, I was told it was because I was starving them.

I kind of feel better knowing that this doesn't just happen to me.

[_whits_]

2 hours ago, utgaard said:

 The cooking treats actually increased.  When I asked why, I was told it was because I was starving them.

I kind of feel better knowing that this doesn't just happen to me.

Exactly what happens to me! Since Addie's been on a diet (as directed by veterinarian Grandpa), veterinarian Grandpa has been feeding her MORE, because, "mom's trying to starve you."

Tonight my parents came over for dinner and I felt a bit like I was the parent. "No, she can't have a meatball, dad." "Mom, she's allergic to chicken and she shouldn't have an entire breaded chicken breast anyway." And then of course Addie plopped down dramatically in her bed after 40 minutes of begging, shooting me a dirty look for her terrible dining experience.

[remltr]

How come the vet chews me out because Sassy needs to lose a couple pounds, but my doc doesn't chew Sassy out when I need to lose a few pounds? Something seems so wrong about that.

[josie&holly]

Well, Christmas is almost here so the treats are going to have to be watched! Ivy has never bothered much with treat but suddenly she is asking for things or looking for things because I brought some extra and put them away but think she can smell them!  having to watch her weight [and mine!]

[Autumn & Lola]

 

18 hours ago, Terrier lover said:

Yes I have the same problem at home.Rosie isn't over weight but she is still young....a certain man in our household feels that a treat is in order when she goes potty... she has learned to go potty many many times in the day (of course it's only a pretend potty, and of course has managed to train her dad well) 

Well I am glad to read that this problem is not confined to my household - or to Lola. Lola has the above down pat. Because both of us work from home, and my step-son is doing most of his doctorate work from home, she has more people to trick! What's more, since the three of us are each in our own offices and go downstairs at different times for the mail/a drink/food/whatever, none of us seem to know what the other is doing in regards to treats.  She just waits by the back door looking for her next victim.   I have suggested to the men that to wean Lola (and themselves!), they give her just 1/2 a treat. They looked at me as if I suggested we don't feed her for a week!   In their (slight) defense, they were used to feeding greyhounds. Five years later, they haven't grasped the concept that Lola is *tiny* in comparison.

And yup, when the diarrhea starts they are both soooo mystified!  Could it be the big chunk of roast beef you gave her? Or all the turkey tidbits? or the Haagen Dazs?? (I'm looking at you, Nick!)

 

[utgaard]

On 12/10/2016 at 3:42 AM, remltr said:

How come the vet chews me out because Sassy needs to lose a couple pounds, but my doc doesn't chew Sassy out when I need to lose a few pounds? Something seems so wrong about that.

You attend Sassy's appointments, but does she attend yours?

 

On 12/9/2016 at 10:20 PM, _whits_ said:

Since Addie's been on a diet (as directed by veterinarian Grandpa), veterinarian Grandpa has been feeding her MORE, because, "mom's trying to starve you."

It is obvious that Grandpa doesn't let his professional life interfere with his personal life.  Maybe on your next visit you can ask vet Grandpa for tips on dealing with family members who keep slipping Addie treats behind your back.

[remltr]

6 hours ago, utgaard said:

You attend Sassy's appointments, but does she attend yours?

Sassy drives me to the doc and then drags me by the leash as I am kicking and screaming, "I don't want to go".

Edited December 11, 2016 by remltr

[Bridget]

Our vet told us Ruby needs to lose 1-2 pounds.  She is a regular chowhound (we give her 2 meals per day) and I hate the idea of her feeling hungry, so we supplement her proper amount of food with vegetables so she gets a bit more volume.  Usually it's green beans and canned pumpkin, but I will occasionally toss in a bit of apple and on Sunday morning she gets a scrambled egg.  We try to keep treats to a reasonable amount.  It's been better since the day a few weeks ago that I was watching my husband make her dinner and I had to tell him that she gets 1/2 cup of dry food for the whole day, not for each meal.  Ruby suggested in her cairnish way that I mind my own business!

[lindasue]

Well seems like many of us have "big boned" cairns.  When I got Pegi the breeder told me she would be on the large size (saw the mom and she was about 20 lbs) - think the exact words were "Pegi will never be carried in a picnic basket like Toto".  So true.  She usually weighs in at 21-22 lbs.  We have a few cairns in the neighborhood (males) and she is significantly longer and taller than they are, and they weigh in at about 15-16 lbs.  She eats 1/3 cup food twice a day, but it's the treats that husband/daughter/neighbors give her that are the killers.  I've trained most of them to just give her half a cookie, and now buy Liversnaps which easily break into pieces.  Hoping that helps.

But, sometimes that extra pound or so is good - as when she ate an Advil a few years ago. Under 20 lb. it can be fatal - extra pound or two helped.  Course it's special food and meds for her liver now, but a small price to pay.

[kieiras mom]

seems as if we all have to fight the men in the family about treats! Keira also gets 1/2 cup food per day, but when Dad comes home, its 2   or 3 treats  before bed, not to mention the scraps on his dinner plate, maybe we should just give up. But who wants a 30 lb cairn.Keira weighs in at 17 and am trying to keep her  there