Guest Wombat101 Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 Hi All I have a 2.5 year old feamle staffy, and she is quite overweight. She weighs 19.4kg and she is very small (about the height of a JRT) She had had several litters, then had to have a c-section fot her last litter (thank god the vet fixed her)before I got her at 12 months old. I have tried dieting her, which didnt make any diference. I feed her fresh vegies and mince. Other than being so big she is completeley happy & healthy.I exersise her daily without any issues, and she is as active as any other dog. My vet has said it could be a thyroid problem, as her belly is always very cold as well as being overweight, I asked her what could be done, and she said she can have the thyroid test, but if it is her thyroid the treatment is expensive. Then she said as long as she is otherwise healthy the problem shouldnt bother her medically and we left it at that. I have done a bit of research on thyroid disease and Im still not sure wheather I should go ahead and have the test done or leave her be. Just afetr some opinions on what I should do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dog_Horse_Girl Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 To me, that seems a little hefty for a female staffy...they do enjoy their food and can be difficult to encourage into sufficient activity to keep them at a "good weight". Our staffy cross is one that easily piles the weight on but is slow to take it off. She and I have just begun another exercise program, and today we spent about 30 minutes on the footy field playing frisbee. She *loves* to retrieve! I would certainly want to know if any of my dogs had a medical condition that is treatable. Thyroid problems are relatively common and very treatable. I don't know about costs, but if this were my dog, I'd pay whatever was required to ensure she lived a long, healthy, happy and comfortable life. I hope this helps! ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KitKat Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 I'm still stuck on how she managed to have 'several' litters before you got her at 12months old... Anyway - cut down her food by a bit and see how she goes, feel free to bulk up her dinner with grated carrot - it will leave her feeling full without adding any weight to her. What are you currently feeding her? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 Agree several litters??? Personally thryoid treatment isnt that expensive but can answer many questions. At present she sounds obese which will be more harm long term & if it is thryoid no amount of quality dieting will work. Get the test done & see if she actually has a problem,she may also have some other health issue which doesnt affect her in many ways but weight is a side effect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Wombat101 Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 (edited) Thanks for the advice, I will take her to get the thyroid test done. I feed her mince with grated carot, zuccini and swede. When I got her she had just had a litter, and aparently, my vet tells me she has had more than one. The people I got her from said she was twelve months old. I have always thaught she could be a bit older, maybe that could explain the several litters??? Edited April 15, 2006 by Wombat101 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted April 15, 2006 Share Posted April 15, 2006 To me, that seems a little hefty for a female staffy...they do enjoy their food and can be difficult to encourage into sufficient activity to keep them at a "good weight". Our staffy cross is one that easily piles the weight on but is slow to take it off. She and I have just begun another exercise program, and today we spent about 30 minutes on the footy field playing frisbee. She *loves* to retrieve!I would certainly want to know if any of my dogs had a medical condition that is treatable. Thyroid problems are relatively common and very treatable. I don't know about costs, but if this were my dog, I'd pay whatever was required to ensure she lived a long, healthy, happy and comfortable life. I hope this helps! ;) My god!! I cant keep the weight on my Staffy!! She NEVER stops, and is the same as every other Staffy i have known! I would go get the test done - my last Staf had Thyroid problems and he just had a tablet a day, i dont think it cost us too much! My girl is about 16kgs at last weigh in, she is soooo skinny! (i woudlnt mind her figure!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogbesotted Posted April 15, 2006 Share Posted April 15, 2006 the cost for trestment for hypothyroidism ( ie thyroxine tabs twice a day) costs next to nothing. My maremma casper was on thyroxine for the last 4 years of his life. it cost less than $20.00 per month.( he weighed 49kgs) the T4 test should cost less than $200.00 however IF the thyroid problem is cushings then the treatment can get expensive. A young dog is unlikely to have cushing i would think. but if she has had several litters she is most likely older than what you were told. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Wombat101 Posted April 15, 2006 Share Posted April 15, 2006 Thank you for that info. When I got buffy, I didnt know that much about dogs, let alone staffy's. She was in a terrible condition when I picked her up, scared of everyone, she had been caged her whole life etc etc. It wouldnt surprise me if she is older than I was told, these people had no regard for her or her health what so ever. I will make an appointment for her as soon as I can with the vet, and will try to get this sorted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted April 15, 2006 Share Posted April 15, 2006 Keep us updated !! and do we get a photo of her? ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffy-Lover Posted April 15, 2006 Share Posted April 15, 2006 wombat - try replacing the veges with more green leafy veges as the ones you feed her are loaded with carbs. Also try a biscuit that is high in fibre try brocolli, spinache, cabbage (swede sometimes cause i know they love it). Be careful with hypothyroidism because untreated it can cause more problems then you care to imagine. Good luck i hope all goes well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Wombat101 Posted April 15, 2006 Share Posted April 15, 2006 I will be sure to keep u updated!!! Here is my little (well not so little) Girl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TigerJack Posted April 15, 2006 Share Posted April 15, 2006 a little beach ball with legs!! Very cute Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted April 15, 2006 Share Posted April 15, 2006 That is what i thought TJ lol Glad to see you are doing something to help her I would take her to the vet, get the tests done and work out a plan of attack after she is a cutie!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Wombat101 Posted April 15, 2006 Share Posted April 15, 2006 Thanks so much everyone. And she does look like a beach ball!!!! lol A lot of people have said she looks like a wombat, she makes funny snorting/grunting noises all the time as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoemonster Posted April 15, 2006 Share Posted April 15, 2006 lol, yep staffords always sound like little piglets!!! Great that she is going to the vet, are you happy with the vet you go to? You can always shop around and go somewhere else, Tam, Anne, the others and I all have different vets that we love and can give you details of ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Wombat101 Posted April 15, 2006 Share Posted April 15, 2006 lol, yep staffords always sound like little piglets!!!Great that she is going to the vet, are you happy with the vet you go to? You can always shop around and go somewhere else, Tam, Anne, the others and I all have different vets that we love and can give you details of I have a great vet who im realy happy with, she does a lot of natural therapies, like accupuncture and things, as well as the normal vet stuff. She is great. Axle (my big boy) had injured his leg, and it cost me about $500 in vet bills with my previous vet,and the problem kept comming back every few months . Then I found this lady and she fixed him with 2 sessions of accupuncture which were like $60 each, and he hasnt had a problem since. She is fantastic, freaks me out sometimes she tells me buffy can understand everything I say!!lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 lol, yep staffords always sound like little piglets!!! Great that she is going to the vet, are you happy with the vet you go to? You can always shop around and go somewhere else, Tam, Anne, the others and I all have different vets that we love and can give you details of I have a great vet who im realy happy with, she does a lot of natural therapies, like accupuncture and things, as well as the normal vet stuff. She is great. Axle (my big boy) had injured his leg, and it cost me about $500 in vet bills with my previous vet,and the problem kept comming back every few months . Then I found this lady and she fixed him with 2 sessions of accupuncture which were like $60 each, and he hasnt had a problem since. She is fantastic, freaks me out sometimes she tells me buffy can understand everything I say!!lol Staffys ARE people, of course they can understand everything you say!! Kaos talks to me, i ask her a question and she grunts or barks at me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 Good for you for recognising your dog is overweight! I work with many dogs, a reasonable percentage of which are overweight. Try telling this ("suggesting", to be diplomatic) to their owners! A comment that I've heard more than once is "no, he's just got a lot of muscle" . And yet these same people expect their dogs to sit, drop, heel etc. promptly and with energetic glee. They don't realise dogs are supposed to have a waste line and they don't recognise the affects of excess weight is having on their dog's joints and heart, until the obvious signs appear, by which stage, damage has already occured. So again, good for you for your honest observations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoemonster Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 (edited) Great to hear you have a good vet So many people continue to go to one's they aren't comfortable with Hope it all goes well with her tests Edited April 16, 2006 by shoemonster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 I have a stafford with a thyroid problem (the chemo ruined his thyroid gland) and now he is on medication for it... The T4 test was only about $120 and the meds cost about $15 per month and he is now losing weight... Perhaps show your vet exactly how much food you are giving her (take up a sample dinner), that way the vet can say for sure if you are feeding too much.... Carrot and zucchini are both very low in calories and really should not be a problem. Maybe there is too much mince. Mince is often high in fat contect, perhaps change to a leaner cut of meat... Good luck Jodie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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