# Overweight senior with arthritis?



## GoldieMommie (Feb 18, 2013)

Hey everyone, I'm new to the site and I'm not certain if this is the right place to post... but!

I am bringing home our sweet girl tomorrow. She was an orphan and we adopted her. She's 10 years old and has arthritis in her hips. The vet at the rescue organization (Adopt-A-Golden Birmingham) said she needs to lose 10-15 pounds. So basically I was wondering if Blue Buffalo Chicken & Brown Rice Healthy Weight formula would be better than the senior formula for her? She has arthritic hips and is a little stiff when she stands up and first starts walking around.  

She's currently on blue chicken & rice at her foster home, so I didn't want to completely change foods since that would likely upset her belly. 

You can kind of see her tummy in this picture. When you rub her belly it's obvious she has some weight to lose. :uhoh:


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## GoldieMommie (Feb 18, 2013)

So I said she has arthritis three times... It's almost bed time... lol


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## Millie'sMom (Sep 7, 2012)

I am not a BB feeder, so I can't comment on that. However, my first golden never ate senior food and in the last year of her life she needed the extra calories in puppy food.

For the arthritis I would recommend Sasha's Blend. My girl started on it when she was 15, and it helped her until the end. She never needed anything else for her hips and she was almost 17 when she died.

Swimming is also great for her hips and to help her she'd a few pounds.

Congratulations on your new dog.


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## dogloverforlife (Feb 17, 2013)

Hi!
I have never read anything good about senior or weight foods mainly because allot of them have lower protein and fat which means more carbs and that is. Of what you want to help with weight.
What if you keep her on the food she is on but cut back a little bit and up her exercise if you can. Also you can add un salted green beans to make her feel fuller when you cut back the food.
Thanks for rescuing a senior! She is beautiful.


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## GoldieMommie (Feb 18, 2013)

See I was nervous about the senior food because I was under the misconception that like puppy food, it would be higher in calories since a lot of seniors lose weight. But the guy at PetCo said it's actually the opposite! Either way, I ended up going with the healthy weight because it had the same amount of glucosamine that the senior variety had but had more fiber, less fat, and about the same protein. 

Thank you for your input, and I will definitely look into Sasha's Blend. 

I also plan to see how Mollie does in the water once it warms up just a little bit. She was chained up in a back yard for NINE YEARS. Then she was brought to the rescue and now she's coming home with me. So basically, I just don't know if she's ever been in the water. I DO know she will voluntarily hop right into the bathtub and turn the water on. lol. I have high hopes for her to be a swimmer. I know it's great for the hips and great exercise. She has no interest in fetch... she just watches the ball then looks back at me like, "you gonna go get that? cause I'm happy when I'm closer to you." lol. Some retriever she is. :doh:


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## GoldieMommie (Feb 18, 2013)

dogloverforlife said:


> Hi!
> I have never read anything good about senior or weight foods mainly because allot of them have lower protein and fat which means more carbs and that is. Of what you want to help with weight.
> What if you keep her on the food she is on but cut back a little bit and up her exercise if you can. Also you can add un salted green beans to make her feel fuller when you cut back the food.
> Thanks for rescuing a senior! She is beautiful.


I will definitely talk to the vet and see what he thinks about the healthy weight food. Thanks for letting me know! Also, I had never even thought about adding a little raw food to her diet for a low-cal, filler-upper. Such a good idea. Veggies are good for all of us! 

My heart went out to this beautiful dog while I was her handler at an adoption event, and I knew by the end of the event that she would be coming home with me.  I said a few prayers, went through the adoption process, and sweet girl is coming home for good tomorrow! We are a bunch of happy campers around here right now. Even my yorkie has missed her. (We fostered her the night of the adoption event). My yorkie crawls on top of her and gives her kisses.. and well. it's just the sweetest thing I've ever seen!


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## dogloverforlife (Feb 17, 2013)

GoldieMommie said:


> I will definitely talk to the vet and see what he thinks about the healthy weight food. Thanks for letting me know! Also, I had never even thought about adding a little raw food to her diet for a low-cal, filler-upper. Such a good idea. Veggies are good for all of us!
> 
> My heart went out to this beautiful dog while I was her handler at an adoption event, and I knew by the end of the event that she would be coming home with me.  I said a few prayers, went through the adoption process, and sweet girl is coming home for good tomorrow! We are a bunch of happy campers around here right now. Even my yorkie has missed her. (We fostered her the night of the adoption event). My yorkie crawls on top of her and gives her kisses.. and well. it's just the sweetest thing I've ever seen!


She is a very lucky girl for you to have found her. I would love to see more pics of her and your Yorkie as well!
I will warn you not many vets know much about nutrition. I graduated from Vet Assistant school and we had one class on nutrition. Not much to learn from that especially when the dogs and cats we housed at school ate the dreaded Science Diet.
I had actually adopted a dog from school and they had me believing that the Iams Premium Protection was good stuff for my new boy because he seemed to have a sensitive stomach. :yuck:
After I graduated I started researching nutrition and such and am actually on my way to feeding my dogs raw, but that is a whole nother story. 
Right now my 3 big dogs eat Nutrisource Performance and my little girl is eating Blue Buffalo Wilderness Salmon.
So anyways sorry to get off track. I just take what most vets say with a grain of salt.


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## GoldieMommie (Feb 18, 2013)

Well that's disheartening. If I can't trust my vet, the "expert," how do I know who to listen to?  

Raw probably is the way to go.


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## dogloverforlife (Feb 17, 2013)

GoldieMommie said:


> Well that's disheartening. If I can't trust my vet, the "expert," how do I know who to listen to?
> 
> Raw probably is the way to go.


I'm sorry I didn't mean to give you the wrong impression of vets. They still usually know what they are doing for all the medical stuff. and holistic vets encourage better diets because they have studied more on nutrition.
I am not saying raw is the only way to go. BB is a good kibble IMO. So is Fromm, Earthborn Holistics, Nutrisource, and Native. 
I just do my own research.


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## GoldieMommie (Feb 18, 2013)

lol I wasn't completely discouraged about vets with everything. I just believe nutrition is something they should all have a good grip on since it can drastically affect the health of an animal. I live in Birmingham, so I think I can probably find a holistic vet who knows a little something about nutrition. 

Thanks so much for the information!  I had never even heard of a holistic vet. :doh:


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## dogloverforlife (Feb 17, 2013)

GoldieMommie said:


> lol I wasn't completely discouraged about vets with everything. I just believe nutrition is something they should all have a good grip on since it can drastically affect the health of an animal. I live in Birmingham, so I think I can probably find a holistic vet who knows a little something about nutrition.
> 
> Thanks so much for the information!  I had never even heard of a holistic vet. :doh:


Your very welcome. I agree vets should know more about nutrition.


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## MyBentley (May 5, 2009)

Congratulations on your new family member. She will be very lucky to be in her new home with you.

I would strongly suggest to continue feeding the Blue Buffalo Chicken & Brown Rice Adult that she is currently eating at the foster home. It has 22% protein and 12% fat which is already in the lower ranges for many kibbles.

Current literature seems to agree that senior dogs need just as much protein as younger dogs (as long as it is quality protein) to maintain muscle tone and mass. Dogs also utilize fat better than humans and that is one thing that helps their skin and coat condition.

Both of the Blue Buffalo formulas you are considering, the senior and the healthy weight, have very minimal protein levels of 18-20% and fat of 6-7.5%. That means the carbohydrate levels are very high; and in many people's experience, that actually promotes weight gain in dogs.

My Bentley, who will be 12 yrs. old in another month and has some arthritis, has maintained his weight at 64-66 lbs. through the years eating kibble that is no less than 26% protein and 16% fat. More often he is eating kibble that is 30% protein and 17% fat. His activity level is moderate.

Why don't you find out how much food the foster family has been feeding on a daily basis and how much exercise the dog has been getting. Perhaps the dog is eating too much and exercising too little.


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## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

I let the weight creep up on my boys without noticing. I went for an annual check up and realized they needed to loose over 10# each. I hate to say a dog should weigh a certain amount because every dog is different. My vet thought to start at 10# then re-assess and see if they needed more. 

So here's what I did, I reduced their food by 25%. I replaced that with 1/2 can of unsalted green beans. The loved the green beans and a few months later the 10# were gone. Wouldn't that be great if we could do that for ourselves!

I did re-assess and lowered their weight again by another 5# each. They are both doing so much better. When they need a snack I give them carrots or apples, all are low calorie foods.

Have fun with your new dog! It's amazing how quickly they become a big part of our lives.


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## Finn's Fan (Dec 22, 2007)

Congratulations on adopting that darling sugar-faced girl. Along with taking some weight off, you might want to start her on a good supplement for joints. Glycoflex III is a good one and often shows improved mobility fairly quickly after starting it. I'm not a fan of weight loss food, especially for seniors, so I second or third the notion of feeding a good kibble and adding some veggies. For my angel Cody, who died at 14+ years old, I steamed cauliflower, carrots and broccoli daily, chopped it up and mixed it with his kibble. I think steamed veggies are easier on a senior's system than raw ones.


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## dogloverforlife (Feb 17, 2013)

I forgot to add for the arthritis you can try Hylasport. I have read many good reviews about it. I tried it with my BC, but she didn't like the taste of it and stopped eating after two weeks of it being mixed with her food. She is picky though which may not be the case for your golden.


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## GoldieMommie (Feb 18, 2013)

MyBentley said:


> Congratulations on your new family member. She will be very lucky to be in her new home with you.
> 
> I would strongly suggest to continue feeding the Blue Buffalo Chicken & Brown Rice Adult that she is currently eating at the foster home. It has 22% protein and 12% fat which is already in the lower ranges for many kibbles.
> 
> ...


Wow! Thank you for all of that information!  

I am definitely going to do a little research. Right now we are still using the food her foster mom gave her because her foster mom was nice enough to give me some.  I also knew that she was being fed 4 cups of the food per day. I have cut that down to 2 cups per day since Mollie doesn't move too terribly much. She's a sleepy gal but enjoys one good, long walk each day. She needs to lose 10-15 pounds though! She has also gotten some of my yorkie's food (about another half cup) yesterday and today because she got to the food before I noticed. I'm probably going to have to feed them at different times because Mollie finishes her food very quickly and Krissy takes a few minutes. Krissy is used to being able to graze all day because she's a healthy weight while doing that. She's a very good intuitive eater! Mollie... not so much! LOL. Mollie just eats, eats, eats! Krissy is also trained not to touch people-food unless given permission or handed the food, and Mollie just grabs things. I'm not used to this yet so she got hold of a "crackerful" today. (cracker & PB). She really just cracks me up. She's such a puppy at heart.  

PHEW - that was a lot


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## GoldieMommie (Feb 18, 2013)

Alaska7133 said:


> I let the weight creep up on my boys without noticing. I went for an annual check up and realized they needed to loose over 10# each. I hate to say a dog should weigh a certain amount because every dog is different. My vet thought to start at 10# then re-assess and see if they needed more.
> 
> So here's what I did, I reduced their food by 25%. I replaced that with 1/2 can of unsalted green beans. The loved the green beans and a few months later the 10# were gone. Wouldn't that be great if we could do that for ourselves!
> 
> ...


I reduced food by 50%, but I don't know if her foster mom was over-feeding her, you know? She was just feeding her the same amount as their 4-year-old golden. I just dunno if Mollie was being overfed. All that said, I need to do the green bean thing. It keeps getting mentioned! Also, my girl LOVES ice cubes. Which are calorie-free! lol. She'll "bob" for the ice! It's the darndest thing. I'll see if sweet Mollie likes carrots. I keep those on hand for myself!


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## GoldieMommie (Feb 18, 2013)

Finn's Fan said:


> Congratulations on adopting that darling sugar-faced girl. Along with taking some weight off, you might want to start her on a good supplement for joints. Glycoflex III is a good one and often shows improved mobility fairly quickly after starting it. I'm not a fan of weight loss food, especially for seniors, so I second or third the notion of feeding a good kibble and adding some veggies. For my angel Cody, who died at 14+ years old, I steamed cauliflower, carrots and broccoli daily, chopped it up and mixed it with his kibble. I think steamed veggies are easier on a senior's system than raw ones.


Well then I will definitely have to try this veggie thing. Joining this forum might be the best thing I ever did for Mollie. Besides adopting her, of course.  

Thank you!


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## MikaTallulah (Jul 19, 2006)

I would skip the Senior Dog Food and just give her less of what she is eating. Has she lost weight since coming into the rescue? If so she already being feed the right amount. If she has not than decrease the amount by 1/4-1/2 cup daily and get her a little more active. If she moves a little more and eats a little less the weight will come off.

Instead of 2 15 minute walks for example make it 3 15 minute walks til she starts to lighten up a little. I would never push an older dog in losing weight. I would and do force my porky yorkies to walk at least 1 mile daily which they hate but it is for their own good since they have my parents and brother wrapped around there hands and they pretend they have never eaten before.

Once it gets warmer she would greatly benefit from swimming- Low Impact on her joints and burns calories rapidly!!

Does the vet recommend meds for her arthritis? So take she will be more comfortable so that more activity will not make her feel worse.

She is a very pretty girl.


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## MikaTallulah (Jul 19, 2006)

4 cups is a lot of food! My active 4 year old golden only gets 2 cups of kibble daily but he does get extras. He consumes 900-1000 calories daily on average some days he eat 1500- Like if he was running round the dog park like a wild man for 2-4 hours.

BB Adult Chicken and Rice is 442cal/cup so she was eating- At least 1768 calories/day and is pretty sedentary. Even is you leave her on this formula she will be eating 884 calories. I believe that the rule of thumb is 10 calories for every pound the dog should weight. So is he should weight 70 pounds than she should consume 700 calories.


I just your yorkie will must have to learn to eat quicker . Yorkies learned eat now and if you walk away Buddy would get it. My previous golden used to stand over them and drool on them til they walked away! Then he would wait to be told he could have it. Buddy will wait til they move 1 foot from the bowl and then he is on it!


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## GoldieMommie (Feb 18, 2013)

I have reduced intake from 4 cups to 2 cups per day. We also hiked 6 miles today without realizing we'd gone so far! She handled it beautifully. And I found out that she LOVES water today! It was really just so much fun. So I think I'm going to keep her at 2 cups per day, but increase activity now that I know she can handle it.


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Goldie Mommie*

GoldieMommie

I'd be a little careful with the ice cubes. There's a thought that too many ice cubes can possibly cause bloat. Bloat is when a dogs stomach twists and they must see the vet immediately or die. Don't want to scare you just want you to be aware.
http://www.globalspan.net/bloat.htm

Has Mollie been tested for Heartworm and I would ask the vet how much food to feed her. MikaTallulah on here also knows alot.


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## GoldieMommie (Feb 18, 2013)

Karen519 said:


> GoldieMommie
> 
> I'd be a little careful with the ice cubes. There's a thought that too many ice cubes can possibly cause bloat. Bloat is when a dogs stomach twists and they must see the vet immediately or die. Don't want to scare you just want you to be aware.
> Bloat in Dogs
> ...


I only give her one or two at a time, but unfortunately, I know all about bloat and how awful it is. 

Mollie was tested for Heartworms in January when she was taken into the rescue. (Adopt-A-Golden.) 

Thanks for making sure I know the little details!


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## GoldieMommie (Feb 18, 2013)

Karen519 said:


> GoldieMommie
> 
> I'd be a little careful with the ice cubes. There's a thought that too many ice cubes can possibly cause bloat. Bloat is when a dogs stomach twists and they must see the vet immediately or die. Don't want to scare you just want you to be aware.
> Bloat in Dogs
> ...


I didn't see anything about the ice cubes on the bloat page, by the way. I was more concerned about the ice cubes because of her teeth. lol. But everything I've read and heard says they're fine.


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## Aunt Betty's Dog (Apr 5, 2011)

How's Mollie doing?


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