# Help me -- update!



## Makovach (Jan 24, 2012)

I made the journey to go pick up Nalah today! I'm so glad to have her, it makes me realize how much i miss her. 

She is FAT. They were feeding her kibbles and bits. seven-eight cups a day. With a packet of sausage gravy mixed on top. 

She is going on a diet and exercise regimine starting tmrw morning. She will be eating Earthborn Primitive Naturals. And will only be getting 2.5-3 cups a day, and will be adjusted as needed. At her healthy weight, she was about 65-70lbs. She is about 105lbs right now. 

I wanted to put her on raw, but since he will be feeding her half the time and spend half the money, I feel like we have to meet in the middle between raw and purina doom nuggets. So I felt Earthborn was a decent place to meet. 

I've been battling with myself over keeping her or finding her a new home and letting go again. Well I think i've found the solution. My boyfirends best friend wants her. He is also our neighbor. I think we are going to kinda do a co-own type thing. I offered to help with her food and vet bills. She will also be at my house from 3:30pm-3am because he will be at work. I'm going to take her with my dogs to the park and to run/swim. It helps him out, and i still get to have a part of her and a say for how she is cared for. I told him that if he doesn't take care of her properly, I will take her back. And if he doesn't want her, I get her. We are working on making up a contract. 

I will post pictures of the chunky monkey as soon as I get a few after work tmrw.


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## twoisplenty (Nov 12, 2008)

I am sooo glad you went and got her. You are a great person. I can't wait to see the chunky monkey


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## Makovach (Jan 24, 2012)

just saying, but the camera does no justice for how fat she is. I think its becasue she is reverse brindle and its kind of dark. She walks with a waddle, and her fat shifts from side to side. Its quite pathetic.

Front









Side









Top









Nalah (100lbs) /Tucker (60lbs) comparison (again, no justice.)









She is such a hunk. And she loves her chicken..... (i gave her a back....) Is there anyone who does half good kibble half raw? I don't want kibble in my house because of Annie and Tucker. Would I be able to feed her raw a night? and he could feed her kibble in the morning?


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

OMG, she is fat isn't she. I'm sorry for her, she's going to think her throats been cut once you put her on that diet.
I use to feed Mol kibble and raw. No problems with her guts at all, although I'd brought her up that way since she was 6 months old, but not sure if that has anything to do with it.
Good luck, you've got your work cut out, but it will be more than worth it to see the end result. Make sure you take progress pictures!


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

Oh wow, yes she sure is fat!!:frown:

She is beautiful though!!

Why not just feed her once a day? You can still split te cost...but in reality there is no reason for a grown dog to eat more then once a day!!:wink:

Then you can just feed her 2% of her Ideal weight, and go from there!!:thumb:


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## Makovach (Jan 24, 2012)

Scarlett_O' said:


> Oh wow, yes she sure is fat!!:frown:
> 
> She is beautiful though!!
> 
> ...


If I could get him to go for this, I so would be right there! I'm going to bother him about it and see if we cant work something out... The only thing is that its harder to decide how much is half of the food bill with raw than with kibble. I would be willing to pay 100% food costs if he would let me feed her raw. I know she will be getting it while she is here. Maybe she will decide she likes my food better than his and not eat at his house  lol

I would be happy if I could get her even on half raw for the time being. Which will happen at my house  If I could get him to go raw, I could give him the food for her for the days she wont be here (weekends).


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## lovemydogsalways (Mar 4, 2012)

She is a chunk. I wonder how long it will take for her to be at a good weight. Glad you went and got her.


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

Makovach said:


> If I could get him to go for this, I so would be right there! I'm going to bother him about it and see if we cant work something out... The only thing is that its harder to decide how much is half of the food bill with raw than with kibble. I would be willing to pay 100% food costs if he would let me feed her raw. I know she will be getting it while she is here. Maybe she will decide she likes my food better than his and not eat at his house  lol
> 
> I would be happy if I could get her even on half raw for the time being. Which will happen at my house  If I could get him to go raw, I could give him the food for her for the days she wont be here (weekends).


Actually it could be really easy if he just pays you at the end of the week/month/quarter/whatever. You write down what you spend per pound per protein and what she ate of what per day, keep a feeding journal of sorts....then at the end of the set period of time he pays you have of what you have put forth money/food wise!:wink: :thumb:
And yes, putting together 2 days worth of food would he easy....and if nothing else get her to really enjoy raw and not want any processed foods(or worst comes to worst tell him this is for her health and the only way that she will loose and keep off the weight is to eat this way!!:tongue


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## Makovach (Jan 24, 2012)

lovemydogsalways said:


> She is a chunk. I wonder how long it will take for her to be at a good weight. Glad you went and got her.


I don't want her to loose it drastically, but going from no exercise to 1-2 hours of running/swimming a day. And eating 7-8 cups of crap to a managed healthy diet, She should be in shape in a month or so I would think.


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## Makovach (Jan 24, 2012)

Scarlett_O' said:


> Actually it could be really easy if he just pays you at the end of the week/month/quarter/whatever. You write down what you spend per pound per protein and what she ate of what per day, keep a feeding journal of sorts....then at the end of the set period of time he pays you have of what you have put forth money/food wise!:wink: :thumb:
> And yes, putting together 2 days worth of food would he easy....and if nothing else get her to really enjoy raw and not want any processed foods(or worst comes to worst tell him this is for her health and the only way that she will loose and keep off the weight is to eat this way!!:tongue


Like your excuse! But I can one up you! She is epileptic. She has seizures do to food allergies. She cant have heart worm meds, or flea treatments or shots because she has allergies to those as well. Feeding raw is what she did her best on when I had her before. I'm liking where this is going. If only I could get him off the "Dogs shouldn't eat people food, and raw meat is meant for people" kick.


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## frogdog (Aug 10, 2011)

Ohmyheavens...7 to 8 cups a day...lawd, what were they trying to do to this dog...70lbs to 105, craziness. They must've been trying to maker her a heavyweight...mission accomplished. 

Thank goodness you went and got her.

Awesome news on your friend that is also your neighbor...hope it all works out for y'all and her.

She's a beauty!


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

My collie girl had a lot of weight to lose. Go slow with her and definitely wouldn't run though some fast walks and swimming would be great. Running would just be too much to start. Like Abi said she really doesn't need to eat multiple times and since she is going to be hungry anyway this would be a good time to adjust to once a day feeding. You could also maybe ask him to pay what he would for a bag of good kibble and you pay the difference that way. He needs to be responsible for part of her care too and is you do the packaging and such and pay the difference that is very fair. It would be easier for her to lose weight on raw especially stuck with lighter meats until she lost it all - like chicken, turkey, rabbit, fish, tripe, goat. JMHO


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

I think the photos show it pretty well. Poor thing. I'm so glad you got her. You are a good dog momma, especially with everything else going on.

i don't know why you couldn't give raw one meal a day, and let him feed dry one meal a day. Other people do it.


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

Makovach said:


> Like your excuse! But I can one up you! She is epileptic. She has seizures do to food allergies. She cant have heart worm meds, or flea treatments or shots because she has allergies to those as well. Feeding raw is what she did her best on when I had her before. I'm liking where this is going. If only I could get him off the "Dogs shouldn't eat people food, and raw meat is meant for people" kick.


Well there ya go!!:tongue:

And as far as the "meant for humans" thing....well tell him that your dogs are like your children thus they get what is best for them.....and no it isn't meant for humans, you buy it just for the dogs!!:tongue:


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## Makovach (Jan 24, 2012)

xellil said:


> I think the photos show it pretty well. Poor thing. I'm so glad you got her. You are a good dog momma, especially with everything else going on.
> 
> i don't know why you couldn't give raw one meal a day, and let him feed dry one meal a day. Other people do it.


there is defiantly a lot going on. Just moving out on our own, my own medical problems, I got a new job, Trying to finish school, starting raw. I try the best I can for my dogs. I try to do whats right. I think I'm going to start out raw one meal a day at my house. I will talk to him about just feeding all raw once a day at my house and sending him two days worth of food on the weekends.


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## Makovach (Jan 24, 2012)

Scarlett_O' said:


> Well there ya go!!:tongue:
> 
> And as far as the "meant for humans" thing....well tell him that your dogs are like your children thus they get what is best for them.....and no it isn't meant for humans, you buy it just for the dogs!!:tongue:


Hes not a major animal person. and he thinks he knows everything usually. He thinks because his grandpa had two **** dogs that lived to be 15 eating purina their whole life, that is the best food ever. 

I'm jumping up on the fence about giving her up. I want her all to myself :/ But Idk if my boyfriend would go for it. I could pay the land lord a 200$ deposit for her. uhoh....... 

I just worry that it wouldnt be fair to Annie and Tucker. Then again, she is going to be here 12-14 hours a day anyways....


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

she could eat one meal a day and be on raw if that's what you want.

that way you can feed her when you have her and all he has to do is kick in for food.

she's a chunky monkey, love that name, but not so much......

you're a good person...but you have to stop a second, let your brain catch up with you and breathe.

it'll work out....there's a lot of stress in your life.....you'll do what you need to do to make it work out..

and if kibble is the answer then so be it...if you can feed raw, that is good, too...


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## malluver1005 (Nov 15, 2009)

Makovach said:


> I don't want her to loose it drastically, but going from no exercise to 1-2 hours of running/swimming a day. And eating 7-8 cups of crap to a managed healthy diet, She should be in shape in a month or so I would think.


30 or more lbs. is a lot to lose in a month, IMO.


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

I don't know. I would lean towards keeping her if you are going to be paying for most of her upkeep anyways. Not fair to Annie and Tucker? Three dogs is too many? You just try telling that to Annie, Griffin, Mousse, Zailey, Timber, Kola, Braxton, Emmy, Shiloh, Pandora, Zuri, Bailey, Akasha, Leo, Dixie, Brody, Keeva, and Rhett! Hahaha. All come from households of 5, 6, and 7 dogs. 

Honestly, I think Buck would be ecstatic if we added a third dog. Dude would be the only one out of the four of us who would be upset about it! Hahaha

I do understand the dilemma with life being busy and with the curve balls it throws at us but it sounds like she is going to be there most of the time anyways.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Dude and Bucks Mamma said:


> I do understand the dilemma with life being busy and with the curve balls it throws at us but it sounds like she is going to be there most of the time anyways.


AND it kinda sounds like she is going to be responsible for the food. And the exercise. And probably the vet care. In the end, HE is the one babysitting!


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## twoisplenty (Nov 12, 2008)

Keep her :cheer2: Keep her :cheer2: Keep Her :cheer2:

Like others mentioned, she will be with you the majority of the day and you will be paying 1/2 of everything anyways.


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

I fully support multipul(3+) dog house holds.....and fully agree with you deserving her, and she you!!!:thumb:


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## Makovach (Jan 24, 2012)

After much crying and beating myself up and multiple panic attacks, Nalah is not going to be staying with us. She is going to be Jeff's dog. Fully. He will be responsible for all the cost of her food, vet and anything she needs. Can some one help me come up with a contract? I want to state that if she is not being properly cared for, I can take her back. And if he doesn't want her, I get her back. I will still be watching her for him while he is at work. 

The problem is, there is supposedly a one dog limit for our apartments. Emotional support animals can be only one. My Dr. wrote me a note saying that my dogs had to be living with me at all times due to my handicaps. More or less, kind of like a prescription. Well, Nalah isn't included in the "my dogs" because she wasn't here to start. And the land lord said because I already have two here, a $200 deposit for her will not change his mind, he doesn't want a third dog in the apartment. 

The second part of the problem is my boyfriend. He doesn't want to keep a third dog. He thinks we have our hands full with Annie and Tucker. He wasn't too please to see I spent over $50 in gas just to go pick her up. He doesn't want to add to more feeding costs or vet costs or anything because we are just starting out and are trying to do everything right. We have been saving money and working on building our credit. Pay all our bills on time ect. He needs a car. My car needs fixed. He says (which i kinda agree with, if only it wasn't Nalah we were talking about) that the money we would be spending to feed/vet/house a third dog needs to go towards building our future. Three boxers in a studio apartment is quite a big hassle. There is no room. We trip over them. But I love them to death....

It sucks. And it has put me in the very worse of moods. But I'm going to have to let him take responsibility for her. I just want to make sure I have a fool proof contract signed so I can take her back if she would be mistreated or not cared for properly or I could get her back if he wanted rid of her.


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