How Much Is Too Much To Lose?

[duncan41]

I adopted an 8 year old about a month ago (Seniors Rock!) and according to her records from the kennel, at 76 lbs., she was 13 pounds over her racing weight. Now this is a pretty big girl - much bigger boned than my other two 4 year old sisters who weigh 61 and 64 pounds. She's not wide, still has a nice tuck and her ribs could be felt when running hands over her sides. She seemed to be a bit slow getting up and thinking that this additional weight might be a contributing factor, I cut back on her food a little bit. Well, she lost 3 pounds in about 10 days! We increased her food a little and the weight loss slowed down and may be up to a total of 5 or 6 pounds by now. I swear, if this girl raced at 63 pounds, she was a sack of bones! Do seniors lose weight differently? She seems to have lost it all in the rib cage! Her last rib is actually sticking out and there's a visible shadow of the next two ribs, too!

At this point, I don't care about the numbers (who cares if she weighs 63 or 70 pounds!), I'm only interested in easing any stress on her joints without causing some other problems by her rapid weight loss! She was just at the Vet for a "New Dog" check up and all the blood work was normal and the stool sample was negative.

Any ideas?

 

 

 

 

[iluvgreys]

Depending upon how active or sedentary she's been since retirement from racing, she may have lost a lot of muscle, so can look too thin when she's thinner. She's probably be just fine at 68 to 70#, especially if you can see the last 2 or 3 ribs. Although I don't consider 8 yrs. old to be particularly OLD, in my experience, seniors can lose weight quickly... sometimes frightfully so. You might want to try her out on supplements like glucosamine that help with joint stiffness.

[silverfish]

Seniors can lose weight fast, for sure! There's another thread about keeping weigh ON seniors here - but eight is not old.

 

It will help if you can make sure your dog gets plenty of exercise as well as adjusting the amount of food, that way, she won't lose muscle along with fat, and she'll end up a lot fitter, and maybe lose the weight slower. Slower is always the best way to lose weight.

 

The body shape differs quite a lot with greyhounds. My 9 yr old is, and always has been, a very slender girl. She's a healthy weight, but in sunlight when she's lying flat out, I can see ALL her ribs. You should usually be able to see the last two, anyway ... but some dogs have such a stocky build, that that isn't always right.

 

Here's my little Jack. The first was taken just after we got him, and he's definitely way underweight

 

 

And eight months later at a good weight. You can see he's well covered, and reasonably well muscled for his age (ten at the time this was taken), but you can also see those last two ribs -

 

 

 

 

Do you have a picture of your girl? Preferably standing?

 

 

 

[Guest KennelMom]

8 is young!!!!! I wouldn't be lumping your pup in with the senior crowd just yet. At 8, your dog should still have a pretty good metabolism and maintaining the muscle tone of a middle aged, altered dog. That would be less muscle and more fat than an unaltered, young race dog. Some racing kennels to run their dogs on the thin side, but I've also found than many people (including adoption groups and even vets) keep greyhounds heavier than they should be. Though builds differ between dogs, you should be able to see - not just feel - the ribs. The second pic above is a gorgeous example of a 10 year old.

 

You don't want dogs to lose weight too quickly, but greyhounds are notorious for dropping weight due to stress/change. If it's not due to that, the food may just not be agreeing with her and her body isn't absorbing it/using it like it should. Do you know if she's getting a lot more exercise at your house than she was before?

[duncan41]

Thanks for the input! Yes, I believe that she is getting more exercise now than before - she is walked a 3 or 4 times a day now as compared to being left alone all day and some nights in her previous home (the reason that she was re-homed). She's black, so it's almost impossible to get a photo that would be an adequate visual representation of her condition but right now she looks more like the "healthy" photo of Jack. (He's a cutie!)

I will just keep an eye on her and run her by the Vet to get a weight just to be sure that her weight loss is still on the gradual side.

I didn't give the stress of being re-homed enough merit in this whole mix. She's a really good girl, but I know that she's still not totally comfortable with us yet. It's getting better every day - at least she stopped crying when I go out in the attached garage to empty the garbage or throw a load of clothes in the wash!

[silverfish]

Oh gosh, left alone all day and sometimes all night? Poor sweetie! She'll do very well with you once she settles in.

 

Yes, stress is almost inevitable when they move home, and greyhounds are very sensitive dogs. The crying when you're out of sight is pretty common. My first dog followed me from room to room for years - actually till we got a second dog (who took over the job for a while until she settled in), but then he was a chronically anxious dog. Some are more 'velcro' than others. Neither of mine bother now, unless it looks as if I'm going out for a walk.

 

A DAP diffuser (Comfort Zone in the US, I think) can be a help in transition, but it sounds as if you're doing fine without it.

 

I think she will come to adore you, very quickly!

 

By the way, natural light is the biggest help in photographing black dogs. Try her outside, preferably early or late in the day, and with the light coming from behind you, but at an angle. Also, try your camera set on 'spot meter' and pointed somewhere on the dog herself. You may have to experiment a little, but it should show the detail a bit better.