Oh dear, I feel embarrassed. Molly was due to be spayed today at a new vets but when we got there the vet checked her over, said she seemed in good health but that she was overweight and advised me against going ahead with the spay until she's slimmed down. The vet was lovely and said she was willing to operate but that the layers of fat made it a longer operation and added to the risk - so I decided to postpone it. If I can get Molly to lose 2.5kg in a month she can still be done, otherwise we'll have to wait till after her next season. I realised that Molly wasn't as lean as most Labradors pictured on this site but I honestly hadn't thought she was overweight, comparing her with Labs we see out and about. Actually, now I come to think about it, when Kate (Beanwood) posted pictures of Casper and said he needed to lose weight, I thought he looked about right as he was, so it shows my judgement is at fault. I felt respect for the vet as she didn't go by weight charts but by feeling her ribs. Molly was 36.4kg and the vet said she thought about 34kg would be the right weight for her (she is quite tall). She's advised me to feed her Chappie and to spread it over 2 or 3 meals a day. At least now I've posted on here it will help me to keep her to her diet! I changed vets mostly for financial reasons and seem to have gone from the most expensive in our area to the least. I had a long consultation, Molly was microchipped and then I was told there was no charge! Molly also walked in calmly whereas with the previous vet I had to drag her in.
Re: Spay postponed - fat dog! Good news regarding the new vets I know how you feel.....my vet told me Harley was overweight so she has been on a diet for 2 weeks now....she weighed 27.8kg and ideally should be around 26kg. I thought she was looking a tiny bit chubby, but didn't think she was that overweight - I was wrong too :-[
Re: Spay postponed - fat dog! My Tatze gained weight after her spay. I cut each meal by 1/3 and she's now back to her slim self We feed no human food whatever, so that helps a lot.
Re: Spay postponed - fat dog! You have a good vet! I do not trust my judgment when it comes to looking at how fat/thin Charlie is. I know people say "oh, I never weigh a dog, I just go by how they look". Like that's the clever thing to do. Maybe it is, in a way, for them. Obviously, by looks is fine for people who can judge it accurately. I don't think I can, so one walk a week we go passed the vet's and Charlie gets on the scales. It works, fantastically well. Plus, one of the nurses always asks "how much?" as I leave and writes it down. If he's gone up, they say "no heavier, please" (they say this even if he was too thin the last time though ;D ;D ;D ). Scales - every time, for me.
Re: Spay postponed - fat dog! I must say I haven't heard of this happening before, and have to probably agree, good on your vet! On the other hand, your new vet doesn't really know you, and another owner might be less responsible, and end up with a little of unwanted puppies. I would be interested to know if anyone else had has this experience. In the human world, an unwanted pregnancy be it terminated or go to full term, is going to have more risks than a planned sterilisation, and weight generally speaking doesn't come in to it. Not unless its "unnecessary" surgery like cosmetic surgery. If you work really really hard at the diet, your spay might even be cheaper as it goes on dog weight, doesn't it? ;D Sorry Molly
Re: Spay postponed - fat dog! Well at least you know now it's a good thing the vet can be honest. It can definitely be hard to tell until they've finished growing and you've got your eye in a bit. I'm facing all the same uncertainties I had the first time round with my second pup. I don't feel any more confident so I check with the vet and others with experience as and when I get a chance. Hope the diet doesn't have to last long and the spay gets done soon too
Re: Spay postponed - fat dog! Oh crikey Joy, what a pickle. I think you have a good vet as I am sure you will be careful regarding unwanted pregnancies until Molly is ready for surgery. It is tricky though to ever know how much to feed or what your dog should weigh as each food and dog is different. I feed Meg slightly under the recommendation but she gets extra for training. I think she looks quite lean but I am going to get the scales out now.....Good luck with Molly's weight loss plan
Re: Spay postponed - fat dog! I do think she seems a very caring vet and she's encouraged me to call in to get Molly weighed every so often. I was going by that rule of thumb where you look down from above and see if there's a waist, which she does have. OK no more excuses I'm just going to have to feed her less. (I'm doing a weight loss programme myself for health reasons and have managed a stone in 2 months, so if either of us get the munchies we'll have to have an extra walk!)
Re: Spay postponed - fat dog! My mums friend has a Labrador bitch who is overweight. She was due to be speyed at a year old but the vet said she was too fat and wouldn't do it, told the owners to put her on a diet but they never bothered. So she's still entire and fat just because they couldn't be bothered to be responsible. For that matter they never bothered training her either I feel so sorry for her.
Re: Spay postponed - fat dog! [quote author=Joy link=topic=8589.msg121294#msg121294 date=1415023462] (I'm doing a weight loss programme myself for health reasons and have managed a stone in 2 months, so if either of us get the munchies we'll have to have an extra walk!) [/quote] That is fabulous! Well done you 8) Sounds like a very good and virtuous plan
Re: Spay postponed - fat dog! What a lucky dog. A great responsible vet and a great responsible caring owner.
Re: Spay postponed - fat dog! [quote author=drjs@5 link=topic=8589.msg121359#msg121359 date=1415043010] [quote author=Joy link=topic=8589.msg121294#msg121294 date=1415023462] (I'm doing a weight loss programme myself for health reasons and have managed a stone in 2 months, so if either of us get the munchies we'll have to have an extra walk!) [/quote] That is fabulous! Well done you 8) Sounds like a very good and virtuous plan [/quote] Well done you! losing weight is hard, and what a perfect way to stave of the munchies for both of you! Your vet sounds very good, and obviously has a good rapport with Molly (and you already!) Going forward and thinking of post spay restrictions, possible risk of increase weight gain post op, getting Molly a bit fitter.. (not saying for a minute she needs it mind..) and a little trimmer can only help in her recovery. Casper lost nearly 2 kg in roughly 3 weeks. We just reduced his kibble (eden holistic) to 66% the recommended amounts, added healthy treats, fish based low calorie, and frozen low fat kongs to help keep him satisfied. He also had lots of exercise and we built him up to around 1.5 to 2 hours walking per day, 80% of his walks are off lead. Being recently neutered, older (neary six) and also a little stiff, losing a couple of kgs looked the most sensible option to keep him healthy and fit long term. With regard to weight, however one vet thought he looked perfectly fine, however they just looked up his weight on a chart, as he sat in the "average" group considered that was reasonable. Personally I thought he should be 2 kgs less..he is not a tall labrador, he is shorter than Benson but a different build entirely, and in my mind requiring a different dietary approach. Benson is lucky he gets fed a lot more! ;D Our own vet used his hands he was very thorough and experienced with gundogs (he has his own..). He was also weighed, and in conclusion thought Casper should lose a little bit more. He considered all the factors, age, general fitness, what background we could accurately ascertain regardng Casper in order to draw his conclusions and a plan going forward.
Re: Spay postponed - fat dog! It's encouraging how quickly you managed to reduce Casper's weight - I'd like to get Molly spayed before Christmas if possible so that means a fairly rapid loss. We already walk for a minimum of 2 hours a day, mostly off lead, so I think she's pretty fit. I've bought Chappie today as the vet suggested but I wonder really if it wouldn't be better just to continue with the kibble but feed less. I told my gundog trainer (as we can now go to classes after all) and he sent me a message saying he certainly didn't think she was over-weight and that he would have told me if he'd thought so! Still it's the vet's opinion that matters and I definitely don't want to put her at any additional risk under the anaesthetic so I'll try hard! As for me, I've got a partially torn tendon in my foot (had MRI scan), though strangely walking helps the pain, and I'm hoping slimming down will ease that too. I'm just eating less. Photo taken yesterday - just to show I've not let her become obese!
Re: Spay postponed - fat dog! Might be worth keeping to the kibble, but reducing the amounts as you suggest. To me, she doesn't look overweight - Harley looks very similar in build - I suppose loosing a kg wouldn't hurt ???
Not at my vets it isn't. Jorja was on a diet as she was ment to be spayed over a yr Nd half ago but they said she was fat. She weighed 33kg at the time of her surgery which was that day, she had a post op assessment the week before and they didn't say a thing untill the actual day of her surgery. In fact I was half way home when they called me back. Anyways we were told to get down to 27kg which we did and then they said no activity get down to 25kg... And then we booked her in and they are charging me (this Wednesday) the same amount it was when she was 33kg???
@Angela Beckett Gosh it is a long time ago that I posted this! I changed vets again (messed about in various ways by the ones who cancelled the spay last-minute), had Molly spayed with them and have been happily with them ever since. (Molly is now almost eight.) I have continued to struggle with Molly's weight but since starting home-cooked in January this year she has lost some weight again. I hope everything goes smoothly when you have Jorja spayed and that she recovers quickly. (Some dogs find recovery from general anaesthetic difficult but Molly has had three - spay, xrays and (earlier this year) lump removal - and she has got over the GA very easily each time.)
It is tricky though to ever know how much to feed or what your dog should weigh as each food and dog is different. I feed Meg slightly under the recommendation but she gets extra for training.
