Loving my Oldies

We are making progress !!!! I had to go to vet to collect meds and Satiety kibble so took Mezza to weigh him. Down to 5.52kgs, ie another 200 grams . He really is a good little boy. I am so relieved as last weigh in was such a downer. Must be the new kitchen scales

Well, it has arrived. I tried a little bit with Mezza in bone broth. He licked a bit but seeing his dose is two scoops a day, I would have to feed him about 1000 litres of bone broth to get enough down . Bunter lapped it all up though but he is the one without leg issues .

Scary some of the “advise” new puppy owners are given. Well done for coming on DOL to get sense. As Boronia says: they are dogs not stuffed toys. Dogs will want to be everywhere you are whether indoors or outdoors. Dogs belong with the family and are very socially centred creatures.

Or my mashed banana and cream !! I’m looking forward to all of us RUNNING around the block instead of staggering and stopping every few steps.

Thanks for all the input. I hope I am in the band of those it helped. @Tassie, good to know abut the refund. I ordered mine directly from RHCV and they have been offering 1/2 price. When you say you have a friend who gives it to her dogs and takes it herself, do you mean the same product (teaspoon for Mezza, teaspoon for me ). I’m up for it as meds have stopped giving me relief from pain in my legs.

Oh goodness Doesn’t sound good.

I’ve seen rave reviews about Rose Hip Vital over the years and watching my old dogs, particularly Mezza, struggle to their feet, I’ve decided to give it a try. The order is on its way and I am hoping I will have the doggy version of spring lambs cavorting in the back yard any day now. Both Tamar and Mezza are on meds but poor little Mezza still limps badly. Tamar has nerve damage and her back legs have episodes of going all over the place. She doesn’t appear to be in any pain except for one spot that the vet can find, just that she is wobbly and sometimes if she turns around too quickly or gets to excited she can tumble over. Doesn’t worry her though and she still flies down the back steps like a puppy. Having had leg and back pain myself over the last few years, and having dreadful reaction to some meds (Tramal being oneI can sympathise more with their experience. Who has tried Rose Hip (any animal) and what have been your experiences? I follow a horse rescue group and I think it was on their FB page where I first saw it mentioned in glowing terms.

No many I imagine. It was my immediate thought, juice. They’ll do a huge fund raiser and little or nothing will go to the animals.

Pretty much the diet he is on, Boronia. I’ll just have to accept it will take time. Actually, 4 months isn’t all that long because if we can achieve that weekly loss, even in two months’ time, he should be a lot better. What makes me so mad is that it is all my fault. I’ve always had difficulty with dogs who love their food because my very first experience (and plenty after them) was with dogs for whom food was something they needed to stay alive, just no big deal

Thanks so much for that link . 1-2% of body weight per week is the suggested loss for dogs and half that for cats. Taking the middle ground of 1.5%, at 5.75kgs Mezza’s weight loss should be 0.086 grams per week!! At that rate, to get to his ideal weight of 4.25kgs, it will take 17 weeks.

Hope we hear back.

I am indeed experimenting with something Mezza enjoys but still keeping the calories down, @Papillon Kisses. I want both things for him: a happy enjoyable life and a well one. I am not rigid with regards to feeding. As I said: "It is absolutely imperative that he loses weight so not doing this for aesthetics !!"

He is used to being free and I doubt you can do anything about it.

Yes. Thanks for the tip about turkey. I’ll give it a try.

Progress has stalled - completely. We had another check up on Monday - three weeks since the last one - and despite all my best efforts, no loss. I was so disappointed, because I have been weighing his food and being very careful. All four dogs are shut in separate areas for meals (breakfast and dinner) and there is never any food left lying around. Once meal time is over, up come the bowls and they are washed. They haven’t been getting any treats and there is nothing until next meal. Mezza doesn’t like the Satiety which I mix with bone broth and about a teaspoon of mince (beef or chicken) but because the bulk of the meal (a whole 20grams !!!) is Satiety, he rarely eats even half. The vet wants to see them all next week, so obviously I will be consulting with her, but in the meantime . . . . . My strategy is that if he doesn’t eat what is perfectly good food and which Bunter loves, he can’t be actually starving. On the other hand, eating is one of life’s pleasures ......... However, should I just keep giving him his meal and if he doesn’t eat it, too bad, he will eventually? It is absolutely imperative that he loses weight so not doing this for aesthetics !!

Poor girl. Hope she gets better very quickly.

Ha ha ha - I think that is a problem that will take many centuries, if ever, for a solution to be found. That said, there are thingies that you can try, but I have found they generally don’t work, but rather the mats still keep getting rouched up and then, because the corners/ends have thingies under them, you can’t adjust with a drag of a toe, but have to bend down ..... and five minutes later you have to do it all again. If you google for help, you will realise that people the world over are dealing with this very serious and troubling problem. It is obviously something that needs a huge injection of funds from governments worldwide to come up with a solution.

HOW ON EARTH DID I MISS THIS !!! Oh my goodness. I nearly came through the screen for cuddles with Lilbit “Over the moon” - totally understandable.

To the vet - immediately. Poor dog is under a lot of stress and possibly something quite wrong inside, that can be easily treated. Good luck and keep us informed as we care about dogs and their families

Congratulations. Mochi is very beautiful and I hope you have a long and happy life with him.

Wishing you all the best and, as hard as it is, try not to get too stressed out. I agree with the other comments: spayed at the same time as tumour removed. Done regularly with pound dogs for whom we have no history. Your Elka is a strong breed and she has lived her life being loved and well cared for. She will probably sail through all this with barely a twitch. Thinking of you both.

Mezza is 14 nearly 15, @sandgrubber, but he is a Pomeranian. Since being with me he has put on a lot of weight and now on a diet. He also pants heavily and so dramatically (to use the vet’s word) that he wakes me at night. At first she put it down tohis being overweight and also having a full coat of hair which, judging from the state he was in when I released him from the pound, he hasn’t had for many a long year. However, after further tests and x-rays, he is now on a suite of medication (Gabapentin and Meloxicam for pains in his legs {he has been on these since he came here} and now Doxycycline and Aminyllin for the other issues) and seems to be doing well. He has always had a good appetite hence the o/weight. Good luck with Jarrah - so difficult not having a known vet you feel you can trust totally, but you are very experienced and, hopefully, they will recognise that and treat you and Jarrah with the respect you both deserve. As to how to interpret excessive panting: my vet found “crackling” in Mezza’s lungs and variations in the width of his Trachea. Since being on medications, the panting is not as often as before and the crackling in his lungs is still there, but has reduced - not enough for the vet to be happy though and his meds regime is continuing.

I used to think roast chicken was the absolute go to for the girls, but the last one was refused meal after meal and eventually thrown out

Touch wood, indeed, @BJ.. Hopefully this will continue. I don’t hold out many hopes for my peace of mind, though. Tonight or tomorrow, they will refuse to eat again.

Anyone with long memories and have read my “I’m tearing my hair out” posts about the eating difficulties and idiosyncrasies of my dogs may know that I have two dogs on diets to lose weight and another two on diets to increase weight. I’ve tried all sorts of things over the years with Jeune and Tamar to try to get them to eat: different places to feed them, different bowls, different foods and so on and so on. Jeune is by far the worst though why I should worry as she has now turned 18 I don’t know. And Tamar (15 in January) is on a very expensive medication to give her an appetite -- she was skin and bone, but bright and happy so no medical issues. (Naturally, they have had many visits to the vets over the years.) However, I just have to recount this morning’s episode. Bunter in the study, Mezza in the bedroom, Tamar and Jeune on the deck. Tamar and Jeune circling their bowls as though they are full of piranha or at least something that is going to do them a great deal of harm if they get within striking distance of the bowls. Eventually, I had to let Mezza and Bunter out of their rooms and picked up T’s and J’s bowls. I decided on another try with the girls and took them and bowls into the bedroom and put them all on the bed (with mattress protector) ..... yep, both of them guzzled down a good breakfast!! Crazy.