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Recent 'Just Chat'
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Training Moderator:
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Rat-Terrier.com
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LoriRode
Rattie
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| 06/03/2008 4:22 PM |
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My darling little CocoBean is underweight! She looks so skinny. I'm sure if you come to see her, that y'all would think that I don't feed her, but I DO, I DO! I can see her ribs and her spine. And her waist looks like she's worn a corset.
The resident dog (a rat-terrier-maybe mix) who should weigh 22-25 lbs, is overweight, with good padding on her bones. Snickers gets about 3/4 C of kibble (Merrick or another quality brand) daily.
Coco should weigh about 10 lbs, but is probably under 9 right now. We started her at 1/3 cup of the same food, and have gone up to 1/2 cup of the same food.
I try to add in treats, with more for Beanie, less for Snickers. I've just bought a tube of NutraCal, and have started treating her with that.
Since she went through rescue, I know she was wormed in the autumn, at least once, and maybe twice.
I do plan on going back to vet. I'm hoping they will test for worms, or perhaps just reworm.
Any other ideas? I'm sure she's getting less exercise than is ideal, btw. |
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PamWh
Rattitude Problem
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| 06/03/2008 4:27 PM |
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| Maybe she just has a fast metabolism? The best thing to do is to have the vet check her for any health problems. She's not the only skinny rattie...Nora has trouble keeping enough weight on her Bailey because his metabolism is so fast. |
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PamWh
aka Bob's Mom
If your rattie ain't happy, ain't nobody happy! |
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Emg
Terrier Terror
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| 06/03/2008 4:31 PM |
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| I agree with Pam, it could be that he has a fast metabolism. Have you tried giving her more food at a time? Best to get the vet to check her out, just in case it's some kind of medical reason. |
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Sara, Sam's mommy |
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tiggarat
Bratty Ratty
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| 06/03/2008 4:37 PM |
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| A check-up at the vet's is a good idea, to rule out any health problems. But some of these guys just can't seem to keep weight on...fast metabolism. |
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Lisabeth
furbabies: Lucy and Molly (1 1/2 yr old decker ratties), and Rosie (3 yr old dobie)
Buddy - gone but never forgotten.
"I don't think he has any idea he's a dog, really. Of course, he thinks he has a rather odd figure for a man" - Dodie Smith |
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Rowdy's Mom
Rat-A-Tat-Tat
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| 06/04/2008 12:30 AM |
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Rowdy has issues with weight- if I don't feed him the highest amount reccommended, he si really skinny looking. Like, ribs and backbone all readily visible. Currently he is a good healthy weight- and you can still see ribs easliy and his backbone sometimes- depending on how he's standing. I've had the vet check him for worms and he's fine. Just a high metabolism. If only it would rub off on me.... 
And just if you're wondering about feeding... Rowdy's 25lbs now and gets almost a cup and a half a day of Orijen. If I decrease it, he starts loosing weight. |
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~Chrys~ Mom to Rowdy, Schatzi (shephard mix), and Sam (lab mix)
http://www.myspace.com/rowdyluvsschatzi
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Rowdy's Mom
Rat-A-Tat-Tat
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| 06/04/2008 12:48 AM |
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Oh! And I was going to ask... You're in P-Town, aren't you, Lori? I'm in West Linn and work in Beaverton and always looking for rattie playdates for Rowdy. Just wondering if you were interested. There's lots of good dog parks around.
And we could compare rattie metabolism notes...  |
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~Chrys~ Mom to Rowdy, Schatzi (shephard mix), and Sam (lab mix)
http://www.myspace.com/rowdyluvsschatzi
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gwacie
Rat-A-Tat-Tat
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| 06/04/2008 6:53 AM |
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| Has she had her spay yet? Sometimes the thin ones can't gain weight until their spay/neuter and the hormones settle down. Best thing is to give her extra groceries (even an extra meal) but be careful as it only takes 1-2lbs to make the difference. |
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gwacie (Bethany)
My Doggies: http://www.myadams.net/dogs/
Rescue: http://www.newrattitude.org |
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winnihoohoo
Bratty Ratty
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| 06/04/2008 7:00 AM |
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My Reni has been on the skinny side since I got her. She eats well. It is just her builld, from what I was told about her mom, from her breeder. |
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rattytatty
Training Moderator
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| 06/04/2008 7:15 AM |
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| I too have a 9-lb rattie who needs to be at least 10 lbs. But I know he's getting plenty of good quality food and training treats. His activity level is such that I simply cannot keep weight on him. He's skinny... and people always ask "don't you feed him?". But he is healthy and active and happy... so I quit worrying about it as I once did. Different dogs just have different metobolisms. |
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~Nora~
Mom to Hoss, Lil'Bit, Buster & Bailey, CGC, OA, OAJ |
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amletpumpkin
Terrier Terror
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| 06/04/2008 7:18 AM |
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| is he neutered? i'm not sure if its the same with males, but before my pumpkin was spayed she was terribly skinny. spaying her leveled her out. i free feed her actually because she doens't have weight problems. i know you can't do that though because of your other dogs weight issues. i would definately ask your vet, but it seems like what you're doing now will be beneficial. |
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amletpumpkin
Terrier Terror
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| 06/04/2008 7:21 AM |
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ooops, now sure why i thought she was a boy, lol! anyway, same idea, is she spayed? i know unspayed dogs tend to be thinner.
by the way, she's so cute! |
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LoriRode
Rattie
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| 06/04/2008 6:17 PM |
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We went to the vet this morning. Coco didn't want to be on the scale, so the weight they saw was 7.8 lbs, but she had her front paws on my legs, so it is a little underweight, I'm sure.
Vet is NOT concerned about her weight. Vet agreed that she was underweight, but expressed that she would rather see underweight dogs than overweight dogs.
And then, I imagined that she gave a significant stare at my own waistline! (OK, Joking, really)
I can see her ribs, her knobby spine, her hip bones. Vet said that she could gain about 4 ounces, maybe. We may end up feeding both dogs, both the 25 lb one and the 10 lb one only 1/2 C of kibble per day!
I guess, since she came through rescue, that I have a fear that the scarey RatBones ladies (I've never met them, but I'm sure *some* of them could be scary, if required) will show up and take her away from me. That would be bad!
I'm sure it is the speedy metabolism thing. Again, if only I could have such a problem. I'm a person with diabetes, type 2, so weight is a big issue for me!
If we end up giving both the medium sized dog and the tiny dog about 1/2 C kibble per day, the big dog is going to give us the stink-eye for sure. |
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LoriRode
Rattie
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| 06/04/2008 6:19 PM |
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BTW-I believe she is spayed, and has been for the whole time she's been with me. 2 months, hooray!
CocoBean is about 3 years old, we think. |
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tiggarat
Bratty Ratty
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| 06/04/2008 6:40 PM |
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Posted By LoriRode on 06/04/2008 6:19 PM
BTW-I believe she is spayed, and has been for the whole time she's been with me. 2 months, hooray!
CocoBean is about 3 years old, we think.
If you got her through Ratbones, she's been spayed...they are pretty good about making sure all ratties get spayed/neutered before heading off to their new homes. 
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Lisabeth
furbabies: Lucy and Molly (1 1/2 yr old decker ratties), and Rosie (3 yr old dobie)
Buddy - gone but never forgotten.
"I don't think he has any idea he's a dog, really. Of course, he thinks he has a rather odd figure for a man" - Dodie Smith |
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gwacie
Rat-A-Tat-Tat
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| 06/04/2008 7:38 PM |
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If it makes you feel any better here is how feeding and weight work here:
I have
Eddie 4 years - 21+lbs and constantly a little thick around the shoulders
Zippi 11.5 years - 14.5lbs and perfect weight but can go to thin very easily
Peanut 1 year - 9lbs perfect weight
All three of these boys get darned near the same amount of food. Peanut gets a little less but he is the most active. Zip will self regulate if he gets too much he simply doesn't eat it. Eddie had starvation issues when he was a pup so he is HUNGRY all the time, no matter how much he gets. Just ask him, he'll tell you...he's hungry.
Anyway Eddie gets about the same as Zip and is more active than Zip but Eddie tends towards chubby.
My point (yes, I actually have one)? Feed the dog how much the dog needs and don't worry about size and age so much! |
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gwacie (Bethany)
My Doggies: http://www.myadams.net/dogs/
Rescue: http://www.newrattitude.org |
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