# The vet wants my dog to lose weight BEFORE starting a raw diet?



## emirae1091 (Sep 16, 2013)

Hi everyone. I am still pretty new here, so please link me to other threads if this has already been covered. I tried searching but couldn't really find what I was looking for. 

I've been doing research for about a month on transitioning my dog to raw. I wanted to be sure I had enough resources before making the plunge. 

Yesterday I took my dog to a specialist (nutrition and holistic) because she has been limping and her coat looks patchy and dry. The regular vet couldn't help us. They did all kind of x rays and determined that it's her left elbow, which is what I suspected. 

They also said she needs to lose A LOT of weight, which I am a bit confused by. Maybe I am guilty like many let owners and my expectations are different? She weighed in at 53.2, and they said she should be between 47 and 50. She has always been 49 to 51 as long as I've had her, but I haven't been walking her since she is obviously uncomfortable with the limp. She does still play with other dogs quite happily, but I like that she can stop when she's tired. 

My real question is, my dog has been getting less than 650 calories / day in an effort to not let her gain too much with reduced activity. The vet wants her at 500 calories a day!! I was shocked by this. She wants me to find a very low calorie dry food, to get her weight down before switching to raw. I hate to ignore the advice I just spent a lot of money for, but it just doesn't sit right with me. I also suspect a grain sensitivity, because when she eats her dry food, she has eye goop, but doesn't have it when she eats the FreshPet I bought her recently. Obviously the FreshPet isn't ideal, but it's a step up from before.

In my research, I've found that a lot of dogs lose weight when switched to raw. Can someone give me advice on the whole situation? Her labs (including hypothyroidism) were normal, so I am not sure what to do. I don't want to starve her with crappy dog food!

They also gave me Arthroplex for her limp, and we will reevaluate if there is no improvement in two weeks. They suggested acupuncture or else that it could be a soft tissue injury, as the orthopedic specialist said it didn't look as bad on the radiographs and x rays compared to the way my dog is moving.


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

Just a personal account, I know Blaise slimmed down a lot after switching to a meat heavy diet. He didn't lose weight but he isn't "chunky" any more which is very noticable because of his breed (Italian Greyhound), so it's not just my opinoin. Can't argue with being able to see his ribs, vertebrate and hip tips again, instead of "smooth" sleekness with tiny "dimples" over his hips. So I'm not sure your pup will lose the weight but she might "tighten/firm up" though.


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## emirae1091 (Sep 16, 2013)

Good to know. To me, she's in the category of yes she should lose a little (like me and everyone else I know!), but 53 to 50 lbs didn't seem like THAT much weight. The way the vet was talking, it sounded like she was morbidly obese. She's not very tucked up in the tummy, but she never has been, and she has a definitely waistline from above. They said she was a 7 almost 8 out of 9 on the body condition scale??

I'll keep researching, but all the dog people I know, including ones that do agility, agree with me that she could lose a few pounds but nothing like what the vet was telling me.


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## Kassandra (Jun 6, 2012)

When you are 140lbs (ex me) 3 pounds is nothing. When you are 50lbs, 3 is actually quite a bit. Think about it that way. When you are 50 lbs, 3lbs is about 10% of your body weight (correct me if my math is wrong) which is A LOT to actually lose.

Keeping your dog slim is another way to help your dogs joints (in reference to your other post). Charlie has juvenile arthritis and I would MUCH rather her slightly underweight than slightly overweight because of that - it helps her get around better.

In reference to your actual question, though, in my own opinion, if you are aiming to lose weight you can do it on either raw or dry dog food and I think it is silly for your vet to say to lose it before switching. A lot of dogs lose weight when they first switch to raw anyways. Maybe your vet just thinks it will be less stress on his body if you do it like that?


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## emirae1091 (Sep 16, 2013)

I was looking at her paperwork, and I was there when they weighed her at 53, but the tech wrote down 59! I'm hoping that's part of the confusion. 9 lbs IS a lot percentage wise when the target weight is right below 50!

Yes I definitely agree she needs to lose it, and we will work on it for sure! I just disagree that using a (usually) high carb / low fat dry food is the best way to do it. I guess I'm already thinking like a raw feeder.  I'm hoping the new joint supplement will help, and we can both exercise more. It's one thing if she wants to play with other dogs, but I feel bad 'forcing' her to walk.


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## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

Chances are your dog is going to lose weight during the transition. 

Do have Topline and Sideline pictures of your dog? 

I prefer to see a dog on the slim side. And as someone else said 3lbs on a dog is much different than 3lbs on a person. Also if you have a dog with leg issues weight is a big factor.


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## emirae1091 (Sep 16, 2013)

I will try to take some. She's not very photogenic.  She always tucks her tail and hunches when I try to get a side shot. She has a waist from above like I said, but not very much tuck. I'd place her at a 5 almost 6 out of 9, but I must be mistaken since the vet said 7 almost 8! You can feel her ribs easily as well as her spine and hips. They did say she's 3/3 for muscle condition, so that's good at least.


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## emirae1091 (Sep 16, 2013)

Finally got some pictures! I had to wait until it was still daylight, AND she was sufficiently distracted to not notice I was trying to take pictures, and therefore hunch up and look like she's abused/dying. Silly dog.















In summary: YES I agree she could lose a little. BUT I disagree with the vet at rating her a 7 or 8 out of 9 on the BCS scale. I would rate her a (heavy) 5 or 6. She has a waist, and you can easily feel her ribs, spine, and hip bones. We will of course work on it, and I hope to get her slowly back down to 49 or 50 lbs (53 right now). The Arthroplex capsules are really helping: she's still limping, but she obviously feels a lot better. Much more active than before. I think they hear 'Collie mix' and expect her to be lean and tucked up, and don't think about the fact that the Rottweiler contributes a bigger rib cage and more muscular appearance. I need to get a picture of her next to my friend's full Border Collie for comparison.


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## Kassandra (Jun 6, 2012)

While yes she could probably lose a pound or two I wouldn't call her overweight. Her body type isn't deep chested and that's why she doesn't have a more defined tuck, IMO. 
She looks at a pretty healthy weight, just needs to tone up which is why I assume the vet feels like she's overweight.


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## emirae1091 (Sep 16, 2013)

I agree completely. We'll work on it. 

Just glad to know I'm not the crazy one.


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## Shamrockmommy (Sep 10, 2009)

I agree, she doesn't look that overweight. A couple pounds would make her nice and lean. 
My PWD looks awesome at 47lbs, and she only eats 1/2 cup dry plus 1 T of fresh meat added in for each meal (breakfast/dinner). Anymore than this and she tubs up  She DOES get treats for training and 2 old mother hubbard biscuits at lunch, so that factors in as well.


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## emirae1091 (Sep 16, 2013)

Mine doesn't get that many treats, but she does get 2 a day for when I leave for work in the morning and again at lunch. I found some healthier options (Sam's Yams) that she is less excited about but they last longer.

I'm also thinking about just baking some ground turkey into small patties or balls, because I know that wouldn't have additives and would be pretty lean.


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## Shamrockmommy (Sep 10, 2009)

I just throw a pound of ground meat into a crockpot with 1/3 pound veggies and let simmer several hours (because it's easy for me but you can do it quickly in a frypan). Then for the 1/2 cup kibble she gets a tablespoon of the meat mix stirred in with a dash of warm water. The dogs loooove this! I also have done it raw also and to balance the meat mix you can add 1/2 teaspoon ground eggshell (as per Monica segals Enhancing Commercial Dog Diets).


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## emirae1091 (Sep 16, 2013)

I thought I'd revive this instead of starting a new related one. 

Darcy had her annual vet appointment on Saturday, as well as chiro/acupuncture (same vet). She's 47 lbs now! I need to take some pictures, because she really does look great.

Thanks so much everyone here, because I don't think I would have had the courage to go 100% raw without a group where I could ask questions. She still gets Blue Ridge Beef natural mix with extra beef liver added (about 4 oz) in the morning with her supplements (garlic, multivitamin, turmeric, fish oil, ACV), and about a pound of raw at night, including bones. This way I can easily feed her before work without worrying about her making a mess, since it's ground.

We're still working on organs. She's NOT a fan, but the beef liver is better than the chicken liver. I guess because the natural mix already has some in it? We'll keep at it, and I'm sure she'll come around.

The chiropractor and acupuncturist we go to is Dr Neff, at Bridge Park Animal Hospital in Alphretta, GA if anyone is looking. She is great because she is a good middle of the road between 'normal' and 'holistic'. She does agility and feeds her dogs raw in the AM and high quality kibble at night. I know she also works out of another vet clinic on different days of the week.


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## Herzo (Feb 5, 2011)

Good for you. Happy to know it's all going well, thanks for the update.


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

I didn't see your post either. But very happy things have gone so well. Congratulations on getting that weight off too, I know how hard that is.
And, not liking organs? Well, I've had to force feed Mollie every piece of organ (except goat spleen for some reason) for the past 6 years. Every single night. It's just routine now, I don't think anything of it and she just gets a resigned look on her face knowing she's going to get some popped on the back of her tongue. You're lucky your pup will eat it minced up in a mixture, you can work with it from there actually. Just keep at it, it's worth the hassle!


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## emirae1091 (Sep 16, 2013)

Actually it was surprisingly easy. Once we got the limp fixed and she could exercise, and took out the carbs by switching to raw, the weight came off without issue ! It was a bit of a pain to weigh everything, but worth it. Now I just eyeball it, since I use the same tupperware for all her meals, and weigh her when we go to the chiro every 6 weeks or so. If she starts gaining then I'll go back to weighing. 

I've force fed her a couple things and she gets the resigned look as well. I'm very glad she at least eats to liver minced and mixed in. I've been leaving it in bigger and bigger pieces each time, and soon I hope to branch out since I know liver is important but she needs other ones too!


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