PamWh
Rattitude Problem
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| 09/07/2008 3:45 PM |
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I had no idea he'd gotten that large! Hubby bet me today that he was over 30 pounds, so I weighed him. He's only getting 1/2 cup of food in the morning and another 1/2 cup of food in the evening. We feed him Nature's Recipe. He doesn't get too many treats...one in the morning for going into his crate without being told and another one in the evening.
I think his problem (and mine) is lack of exercise. With the weather being in the cool lower 90s now, I guess we'll have to start walking. The only other exercise he gets is chasing his small Cuz ball down the hallway a billion times an evening and sniffing around the yard everyday. |
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PamWh
aka Bob's Mom
If your rattie ain't happy, ain't nobody happy! |
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rattytatty
Training Moderator
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| 09/07/2008 3:51 PM |
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| What kind of food is he on, Pam? |
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~Nora~
Mom to Hoss, Lil'Bit, Buster & Bailey, CGC, OA, OAJ |
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PamWh
Rattitude Problem
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| 09/07/2008 3:54 PM |
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Posted By rattytatty on 09/07/2008 3:51 PM
What kind of food is he on, Pam?
Nature's Recipe dry kibble.
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PamWh
aka Bob's Mom
If your rattie ain't happy, ain't nobody happy! |
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rattytatty
Training Moderator
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| 09/07/2008 3:59 PM |
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| I would think one cup a day is too much. Bob is bigger than my dogs, but my dogs get 1/2 cup once a day (translates into 1/3 of a raw pattie each day). Bailey gets 3/4 of a pattie once a day because his activity level is so much higher than the others. |
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~Nora~
Mom to Hoss, Lil'Bit, Buster & Bailey, CGC, OA, OAJ |
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treble02
Alpha Feist
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| 09/07/2008 4:01 PM |
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| last time i was at the vet, Toa weighed about 17 lbs and I was feeding him 1/2 cup twice a day and the vet said 1/4 twice a day will be plenty! Thats what I have been feeding him ever since and hes not even losing weight like crazy..... |
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~ Mary, Trixi and Toa's Mommy,
Ratbone Rescues Database Manager
and Applications Coordinator
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PamWh
Rattitude Problem
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| 09/07/2008 4:05 PM |
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| Bob already acts like I'm starving him to death by getting only 1/2 cup at a time. |
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PamWh
aka Bob's Mom
If your rattie ain't happy, ain't nobody happy! |
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michelle
Firehouse Big Dog
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| 09/07/2008 4:33 PM |
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When we were at the vet yesterday, they said to cut Sonic down to 1/2 cup twice a day. He is at 31 pounds. And to add a few green beans and carrots to his diet. Sydney is still at 14.8 pounds, she goes up and down from 14.3 to 14.12 but looks great. She gets 1/4 cup twice a day. they are on Solid Gold Hund and Flocken. |
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michelle, mom to Sydney (JRT), Sonic (Rattie), Buddy(Jack-Rat) and Proud mom to Army son, Jordan
http://www.dogster.com/dogs/893222 Sydney
http://www.dogster.com/dogs/893220 Sonic
http://www.dogster.com/dogs/901405 Buddy
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swatson6
Attention Starved
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| 09/08/2008 7:49 AM |
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| Ummm, maybe he is just a decker rat?? heehee. I'd agree 1 cup is too much. How much is he "supposed" to weigh? Jeter(14ish lbs)ngets 1/3 cup a day of Natures Variety and Jack(16lbs) gets 1/4 cup day of Wellness Core. My boys also don;t get a lot of treats either. I would definately cut back and maybe fill in with green beans and such if he misses the extra food. |
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Sarah
Mom to Jack, Jeter and foster mom to Teagan
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Mitzy's Mom
PAWesome
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| 09/08/2008 8:05 AM |
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Um, Pam, he's going to act like he's starving no matter how much you feed him...it's a "dog thing"!
Mayfly and Skipper have lost weight but I still have a chubby Mitzy....why? Because she acts like she's starving and I "give in" and feed her a little more than I should. |
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Mary Beth, mom to the Lollipop Kids
Georgia Foster Mom, New Rattitude
Check out our ratties at www.newrattitude.org |
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rattytatty
Training Moderator
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| 09/08/2008 8:24 AM |
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| I agree with Mary Beth.... dogs always act starved to death regardless of how much you feed them. I would think 1/2 cup a day would be plenty, but check with your vet. |
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~Nora~
Mom to Hoss, Lil'Bit, Buster & Bailey, CGC, OA, OAJ |
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doecart
Terrier Terror
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| 09/08/2008 8:27 AM |
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Vinnie gets 1/2 cup dry food once a day too. He gained 1lb. when we went to the vet so I cut back a little bit and gave him a scant 1/2 cup once a day. Also I asked Wendell and Kyle to PLEASE not feed him people food. He does get treats but I cut his pupcorn treats into 4ths and he only gets 1/4 of a treat now instead of a whole big piece. He lost that lb PLUS another 1/2 lb. He is right around 14 lbs. The vet says he is one of the very few small dogs that aren't over weight. He, too, acts like he is starving ALL the time. |
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swatson6
Attention Starved
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| 09/08/2008 8:31 AM |
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| I also think Bob needs a friend so he can get sufficient exercise.............heehee |
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Sarah
Mom to Jack, Jeter and foster mom to Teagan
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rattytatty
Training Moderator
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| 09/08/2008 8:35 AM |
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haha, Sarah! I agree!
All of my dogs are on the thin side... but Bailey is actually skinny although you can't tell from the pictures. His ribs stick out. He gets twice as much food as the other dogs and STILL looks terribly thin. I struggle to keep him at 10 lbs and he has hit 10 lbs a few times, but then drops back to 9 or 9.5. A few weeks ago he weighed in at the vet's office at 9.5 lbs. Even my vet says he's too thin. :=(
I swear I think he's got the highest metabolism of any dog I've ever had! People think I don't feed him, and it sometimes is embarrassing. |
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~Nora~
Mom to Hoss, Lil'Bit, Buster & Bailey, CGC, OA, OAJ |
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swatson6
Attention Starved
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| 09/08/2008 8:37 AM |
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| Nora, you sound like those "skinny" people who want you to feel bad when they say they eat and eat and eat and just can't put on weight! LOL Can I have some of Bailey's metabolism? |
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Sarah
Mom to Jack, Jeter and foster mom to Teagan
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Mitzy's Mom
PAWesome
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| 09/08/2008 8:48 AM |
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| Bob totally needs a friend to exercise with!! |
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Mary Beth, mom to the Lollipop Kids
Georgia Foster Mom, New Rattitude
Check out our ratties at www.newrattitude.org |
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rattytatty
Training Moderator
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| 09/08/2008 9:18 AM |
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Sarah -- TRUST me! This does NOT apply to me! LOL
All I have to do is LOOK at food and I gain weight! I wish I had Bailey's metobolism! |
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~Nora~
Mom to Hoss, Lil'Bit, Buster & Bailey, CGC, OA, OAJ |
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PamWh
Rattitude Problem
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| 09/08/2008 9:23 AM |
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| Bob has a mama to exercise with, if only she would get up off her butt and do it. I'll starting cutting down his serving sizes a little at a time. |
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PamWh
aka Bob's Mom
If your rattie ain't happy, ain't nobody happy! |
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Ski
Ratastic
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| 09/08/2008 3:16 PM |
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Posted By PamWh on 09/07/2008 3:54 PM
Posted By rattytatty on 09/07/2008 3:51 PM
What kind of food is he on, Pam?
Nature's Recipe dry kibble.
Is it the adult, Lamb and Rice formula? If so, it's only 20% protein and 12% fat, far too low in my opinion. One cup may not be enough for him. I went through this when trying to get Lucky to drop a few pounds. I would suggest a higher protein/fat food and feeding less. |
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SuzieRedhead
Rat-A-Tat-Tat
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| 09/08/2008 3:26 PM |
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Pam,
When my foster, Prince came to me, he was a very obese 20 pounds and on a horrible food filled with garbage. I switched him to a no grain, high protein food and cut his portion down (about 3/4 of a cup to 1 cup a day) and honestly, within a month, he had lost about 2 pounds. That didn't even include any additional exercise. That's just switching food and cutting the portion down somewhat.
Here's his before and after pix:
http://rat-terrier.com/Home/tabid/37/forumid/10/postid/335228/view/topic/Default.aspx
I'd say he lost 5 pounds in a matter of 2 months or so... all of a sudden, I looked at him and I was like... ooooooooooooh my Princey baby you're lookin goooooooooooooood!! 
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Sue Carello, Scotia, NY (near Albany)
Ratbone Rescues Fostermom, etc...
www.ratbonerescues.com
Fostermom to Oh Mickey and Prince Ratbone
Who do YOU GoodSearch/GoodShop for? Go to www.goodsearch.com and type in Ratbone Rescues! |
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maggiew607
Terrier Terror
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| 09/08/2008 3:57 PM |
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See I have one of both extremes. I feed Angus 2/3 of a cup of food per day, sometimes even more of the Wellness Lamb and Rice formula, and the poor baby can't even break 9 lbs. His ribs stick out, and I've started giving him chicken as well, because he looks like he's too thin. CoCo on the other hand is built stocky since she is shorter, so even an extra treat or two, and you can tell. I give her about 1/2 cup everyday and the occasional treat. I also give Angus fattier treats than CoCo just to put a little weight on him. The Vet says he's in perfect health but he's astounded that I feed him wsy more than CoCo and he's still so skinny.
Poor BoB though, he's still a handsome fellow. Just more to love. |
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**Maggie, Mom to CoCo and Angus**
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T.bala
Rattie
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| 09/08/2008 5:32 PM |
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Now I'm just curious. My Danny weighs 25.1 Ibs but is a larger Rattie than most or so I suppose. Does anyone have a larger Rattie? I feed him about 1 and a half cups of Pedigree for puppies a day. I know it's not the greatest food, but we're working on improving it soon here. Probably going to move to Natural Balance or Nutro Small Bites:Lamb and Rice. I'm looking at a partially raw diet as well to make up for the lack of nutrients in the dry. I just need to find a pet store near by that sells it.
But, really. Does anyone have a larger build/weight Rattie? |
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Taylor~
Mom to Danny. |
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Caesar & Julia's mom
Alpha Feist
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| 09/08/2008 5:43 PM |
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I feed both Julia and Caesar 1/3c. twice a day. At first they acted like they were starved!!! I feed Natural Balance, and 1/3c. 2 times a day works out just fine for them.  |
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Diane~ loved by Caesar and Julia
"Don't count the days, make the days count..."
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Amy
Bratty Ratty
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| 09/08/2008 7:02 PM |
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Now see here is what I don't get. Yaz gets the same amount as Bob but only weighs 12 lbs. Like Bailey, Yaz's ribs stick out. What gives? Yaz only goes on 2 brief walks daily. Just long enough for the business ya know? So how come Bob weighs so much more? |
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thecunninghams5.shutterfly.com
myspace.com/mrscunningham |
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PamWh
Rattitude Problem
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| 09/08/2008 10:16 PM |
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Bob sleeps about 23.5 hours a day.  |
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PamWh
aka Bob's Mom
If your rattie ain't happy, ain't nobody happy! |
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Erinj09
Ratastic
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| 09/09/2008 12:45 AM |
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| has anyone heard of adding water to the food? or does anyone do it? whats the benefit of that? |
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Proud owner of a rat terrier resides here.
Kahlua is my new puppy,Olive is my kitty-kat, Oh and 3 fish (Bonnie, Indiana Jones, and Rafiki) lol I love my animals hehe
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take...but by the moments that take our breath away" |
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Mitzy's Mom
PAWesome
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| 09/09/2008 6:57 AM |
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Posted By Amy on 09/08/2008 7:02 PM
Now see here is what I don't get. Yaz gets the same amount as Bob but only weighs 12 lbs. Like Bailey, Yaz's ribs stick out. What gives? Yaz only goes on 2 brief walks daily. Just long enough for the business ya know? So how come Bob weighs so much more?
Metabolism. Dogs have different metabolisms from each other just like people do. Where one person can eat tons of fattening foods and not gain weight another person can just LOOK at a soda and gain a pound....same with dogs. Same with horses, too.
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Mary Beth, mom to the Lollipop Kids
Georgia Foster Mom, New Rattitude
Check out our ratties at www.newrattitude.org |
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rattytatty
Training Moderator
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| 09/09/2008 7:40 AM |
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| Amy -- if your dog weighs 12 lbs... 1 cup of food a day is too much. Just sayin..... *S* |
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~Nora~
Mom to Hoss, Lil'Bit, Buster & Bailey, CGC, OA, OAJ |
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PamWh
Rattitude Problem
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| 09/09/2008 9:30 AM |
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| Ski, what food should I switch Bob to? I know it's been discussed in other threads, but I'm too lazy to search for it right now. |
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PamWh
aka Bob's Mom
If your rattie ain't happy, ain't nobody happy! |
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Amy
Bratty Ratty
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| 09/09/2008 9:38 AM |
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Posted By rattytatty on 09/09/2008 7:40 AM
Amy -- if your dog weighs 12 lbs... 1 cup of food a day is too much. Just sayin..... *S*
We can see her ribs and spine but I'm feeding her too much?
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thecunninghams5.shutterfly.com
myspace.com/mrscunningham |
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swatson6
Attention Starved
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| 09/09/2008 9:51 AM |
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I'm not Ski, Pam, but here is my 2 cents. Middle of the road foods like Merrick have a higher protein/fat content....their Wilderness blend being 24/14 percent. Natures Variety, which is also a great food but costs a little more is even higher 24/15 percent (Jeter is doing amazing on this). The higher protein and fat will help him feel fuller while feeding less. Jack is on Wellness Core Ocean Blend (which was no more $ than Nature's Variety prarie blend) with a ratio of 34 percent protein and 14 percent fat. Jack went from eating 1/3c 2xday of NV to eating 1/2c day of Core. He weighs an ideal 16lbs.
So cost really didn't change too much, which was a huge help!
Amy, what kind of food is Yaz eating? Could be part of the reason she needs to eat so much? |
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Sarah
Mom to Jack, Jeter and foster mom to Teagan
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