Ask Me Help Desk - Cocker Spaniel Overweight and hungry

Ok my 3yr old Cocker Spaniel is slightly overweight and has a problem with her knee, it pops when she walks, I'm actually feeding her a joint supplement trying to fix it without surgery. When I took her to the vet to get it looked at the vet told me that she was too heavy and no vet would dare preform surgery on her if she needed it due to her weight. So I was instructed to feed her only a cup of food a day, science diet light she eats, well she has been on this diet for quite some time and has lost a lot of weight but my problem is that she is always hungry. Scratching at my other dog's kennels (even when there is no food in their bowls) Howling at me for food, barking for food, bringing me her food bowl and the hunger never ends, when it is feeding time (same time everyday) she gobbles it down in 5 seconds and she is content for maybe an hour. She isn't allowed any exercise because of her leg and I think the hunger is due to boredom but I don't know what to do for her and it breaks my heart that she is so hungry and I can't feed her. Help me help my baby. Someone told me to feed her green beans to supplement her hunger but I don't know if that is even OK for her. :(

Jewels, I know it is hard to listen to them whine and complain but if she is severely overweight and cannot move around too much, you have to know in your heart you are doing the best thing you can for her overall health. How much weight has she lost and how quickly has the weight loss occurred? I really think you need to work very closely with your vet on this. Please don't supplement her diet with something someone suggests. The vet told you why she needed to lose weight and gave you a specific diet to follow. She needs to be checked by the vet to make sure she isn't losing weight too quickly. The vet may suggest that the amount of chow be upped by a quarter of a cup now. If you feed her in the morning, you might be able to give it to her in the early evening. But, considering her condition has created a such a major medical problem for her, it is very important that you closely follow whatever advice the vet has to give. A follow up call to the vet won't cost anything.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RubyPitbull

jewels, I know it is hard to listen to them whine and complain but if she is severly overweight and cannot move around too much, you have to know in your heart you are doing the best thing you can for her overall health. How much weight has she lost and how quickly has the weight loss occured? I really think you need to work very closely with your vet on this. Please don't supplement her diet with something someone suggests. The vet told you why she needed to lose weight and gave you a specific diet to follow. She needs to be checked by the vet to make sure she isn't losing weight too quickly. The vet may suggest that the amount of chow be upped by a quarter of a cup now. If you feed her in the morning, you might be able to give it to her in the early evening. But, considering her condition has created a such a major medical problem for her, it is very important that you closely follow whatever advice the vet has to give. A follow up call to the vet won't cost anything.

She isn't that overweight, she weighs about 40 pounds now and the wieght doesn't hinder her playing ability she is very active, even though she isn't supposed to be. You can't tell by looking at her that she has a hurt knee at all, she runs around on it like it doesn't even bother her. She hurt her knee by jumping off my moms bed while I was in Vegas, my moms bed is prob 4ft high with a foot stool at the foot of the bed that she uses to jump on. She has been on this diet for quite some time so I don't think she is losing weight too fast but she was 52 pounds when we started so I think that is a total of around10 to 12 pounds she has lost in 5 months or so.

It is a problem. The canned green beans are a common thing, but Iam not sue it does much more than make the owner feel better. Canned pumpkin may be a better thing.

This is a picture of my Zeke an hour or 2 before diner time.

http://www.photolocker.net/images/La...theproplan.jpg

My only problem with giving her ANYTHING other than the food she is on is due to what you wrote about what the vet told you at the beginning. It appears he/she wants your dog to lose weight so surgery can be performed. Is the surgery necessary or is this just a matter of her losing weight and maintaining her ideal weight to give the knee a chance to heal on it's own? Since she has been on this diet for 5 months, has she been back with the vet for a follow-up? If so, what has the vet said about all this? If not, I think it is time for another follow up so the vet can see how she is doing, assess her situation, and tell you how he/she would like to see you handle this. As I said earlier, a follow up call to the vet won't cost you anything. Your vet is the only person I would turn to for advice on what is allowable to supplement her food with.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RubyPitbull

My only problem with giving her ANYTHING other than the food she is on is due to what you wrote about what the vet told you at the beginning. It appears he/she wants your dog to lose weight so surgery can be performed. Is the surgery necessary or is this just a matter of her losing weight and maintaining her ideal weight to give the knee a chance to heal on it's own? Since she has been on this diet for 5 months, has she been back with the vet for a followup? If so, what has the vet said about all this? If not, I think it is time for another follow up so the vet can see how she is doing, assess her situation, and tell you how he/she would like to see you handle this. As I said earlier, a follow up call to the vet won't cost you anything. Your vet is the only person I would turn to for advice on what is allowable to supplement her food with.

The surgery is not necessary, it has not been determined that surgery is her only option. Surgery is only to be performed if the problem does not fix itself. I last went to the vet in July or beginning of August, your right about that I do need to make another appointment with her vet. Again I was never looking for a food supplement I just had said that someone had suggested it, I was looking for any advice to keep her attention away from eating, because that seems like all she wants is food.

Well OK my dog is like weighting 55 pounds cocker spaniel but what makes him loose weight because yes he was a bit bigger.. is hard food and green peas... no snacks or anything... so now he is down too 50 pounds really quick..

I have a cocker spaniel and he would be 100 pounds if I let him. I had to cut back and substitute the food with a walk, which he really enjoys. I wish someone would cut off my caloric intake when I have reached a healthy limit. He has lost some weight and is much more active and happy.