Cayla and other doggie people

J

joeanne

Well-Known Member
Joined
25 May 2008
Messages
5,322
Location
Cornwall
Visit site
Neighbour has just taken on a chocolate lab. At 9 yrs old her old "owners" decided they simply didn't want her anymore, and handed her over without so much as a good bye pat (or a reference....).
Dally is a sweet girl, but a couple of things have given cause for concern.
The hair on her head is lighter in a couple of places. The skin under this fur is thickened, though not painful.
She has had a phantom pregnancy three seasons in a row, her weight is appauling, and she has a noticable limp in one of her front legs.
She is booked in tomorrow to see the vet, to see if she can be spayed, get her jabs, etc etc.
1st...whats the best food for an overweight lab?
2nd... given her limp, exercise is a bit of an issue, whats good (other than swimming....coz that wont be happeneing in winter!)
Whats likely to have caused that skin on her head?
Should an OAP lab be on anything suppliment wise?
Is there likely to be a horrid reason she has had 3 phantoms one after the other?
 
Try and find a hydrotherapy place where you can swim her because it will be the best thing for her.

I think any GOOD food is fine to feed her just feed less. Something like Skinners or JWB.

Yes take her to the vet. He may want you to wait until she has some weight off before he will spay.

The skin could be allergies, bad coat upkeep ect.

I would also put her on a joint supplement. Like a glucosamine type.

Good luck.
 
Joint suppliment as KLH said - glucosamine or similiar. Your vet will advise the best low fat food to put her on - there is specialised Labrador food as well as weight loss food. Hydrotherapy drops the weight off them - our Goldie goes for severe hip dysplasia and has dropped so much weight plus built up her muscles and is now able to walk further too.
For coat condition, try linseed oil.
Spaying will stop the phantom pregnancies - our GSD went through one and during it, she became very possessive, agressive and tense and it was very unpleasant :( after she was spayed, she did put weight on but the phantoms stopped - however the one toy she nursed STILL affects her so we have to keep it away from her.
Your vet will check her out and give you the advice you need, I'm so pleased she was given to someone who will love and care for her as much as you will!
K x
 
Just another note don't let the vet try and make you feed science diet, RC or the like. They are really nasty foods and the weightless can be easily done with foods that are much better for her.
 
Lighter patches of coat on a choccy lab can be dead coat needing plucking out;I would diet her one ONE or HALF a raw chook carcase per day...NO dry food or biccies .That`s how I diet my red ones anyway.
 
Swim away with her! My lab makes no differentiation between winter and summer, providing the water isn't iced (And even then she tries...).
It's the best weight, especially as she is likely enough to have arthritis (could be causing the limp-wait til you get vet clearance obv before exercising)
 
As for feeding I get a commercial brand of weight loss food, not generally the ones from the vets as they are much more expensive (and a bit more effective too). I wouldn't let the vet sell you any weight loss tablets as these have nasty side effects and a good diet and exercise plan should eliminate the weight.
 
Just wrote a mahoosive reply and then got a bloody error message!!:mad:

OK in short - again!!:rolleyes: - sisters lab is 10 and can get fat:rolleyes: - she is thief!!:eek::rolleyes: She loses weight and maintains it well on Skinners - seems to work better than other foods. As for excercise let her swim if she wants to - not even icebergs and polar bears puts our labs off!!:D Vets may not spey her until she has shifted some weight but definitely get her speyed asap. As for her limp again may get better when she has shifted some weight - also maybe a magnetic collar - all our oldies have them and they do seem to help.:)

Glad she has found a lovely home for her later years:) - original owners need bloody shooting!!:mad::mad::mad:
 
katielou_houston said:
Just another note don't let the vet try and make you feed science diet, RC or the like. They are really nasty foods and the weightless can be easily done with foods that are much better for her.
Click to expand...

Different foods work for different dogs - I worked with people who could ONLY feed RC food (eg, hypo for one dog) and they got very seriously ill if fed other things.
My dogs get dicky tummies from Pedigree and yet thrive on Chappie - I wouldn't say that Pedigree is a "really nasty food" just that my dogs don't take to it as well.
It all depends on your individual dog, OP :) just choose a low fat, complete meal whatever the brand - Skinners and JWB seemed very popular, a little more expensive was Arden Grange but like I said, Chappie works fine for my Goldie and GSD - you don't have to break the bank to find a good food!!
K x
 
KellysHeroes said:
Different foods work for different dogs - I worked with people who could ONLY feed RC food (eg, hypo for one dog) and they got very seriously ill if fed other things.
My dogs get dicky tummies from Pedigree and yet thrive on Chappie - I wouldn't say that Pedigree is a "really nasty food" just that my dogs don't take to it as well.
It all depends on your individual dog, OP :) just choose a low fat, complete meal whatever the brand - Skinners and JWB seemed very popular, a little more expensive was Arden Grange but like I said, Chappie works fine for my Goldie and GSD - you don't have to break the bank to find a good food!!
K x
Click to expand...
By nasty i mean the ingredients are awful. Corn and soy as the 2 main ingredients and meat is about 13th on the list. That to me is awful to feed to a dog!
 
katielou_houston said:
By nasty i mean the ingredients are awful. Corn and soy as the 2 main ingredients and meat is about 13th on the list. That to me is awful to feed to a dog!
Click to expand...

And yet, some dogs take to it exceptionally well and others can only survive on that food - when I worked at the vets, we had a dog which had gotten hold of another type of food (it was on RC)and became seriously ill - vets think down to the change of food and ingredients in it.
Like I said totally depends on the individual dog :) like humans. I have a friend who is gluten intolerant and so, can't eat pasta, bread etc (all classed as good things) and another friend who is coeliac.
Depends on what the dog can cope with - IMO down to bad irresponsible breeding and deviating away from the natural diet!
K x
 
The thickened skin could be an allergy: I'd be tempted to bath her in a very gentle specialist shampoo. It might also be scar tissue from an old injury-on her head? Might be scrapes from barbed wire/fencing she's scarpered under.

Defo get her spayed.

Exercise and diet is essential for labs cos they can be prone to weight gain: I reckon as long as she will eat it, commercial food is OK if she's never been fed raw before.
 
Yay to free unwanted dogs boo to their owners all I have to say is I'm sure you'll be amazed what a bit of tlc can do. Pip has been here a week and three days and she has changed so much. Really take my hat off too you taking on the challenge. Keep us updated.
 
Llewellyn I have 4 springers.....an OAP would struggle here! She is with the neighbours, lovely people that they are.
We are looking at a senior light type food, just to try and shift those extra lbs. The limp is terrible and the faster she tries to go, the more pronounced it is, poor girl.
Its the top of her head which really grabs you. From a distance she looks like she has a patchy copper beret on. When you stroke her head its clear the skin is very thickened, but the hair is very different to the rest of her....
But swimming is ok even in arctic conditions at her age?
She is an absolute sweetie. I shall go round tomorrow armed with camera!
 
Yup, mine is 9yrs old! Not quite an OAP and as she sheds the weight you will see the youth come back to her. I wouldn't exercise hard though until the vet agrees
 
Scalds can cause thickening of the skin and hair colour change, as can previous scar tissues from wounds/wart/cyst removal, where a hot spot has been or flea infestation, it could be a number of things. vets for leg, and a good quality dry food (small amount of it);):D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top