Big Deer’s Weight Loss Diary: If You Have This Willpower, You Would Have Been Skinny Already
My Golden Retriever Beta is now a one-year-old puppy. About 8 months old, his hip joint problems were severely exposed. When going out for a walk, he would hurt when walking, and he would lie down and not like to move. Seeing a doctor, the doctor said it was a hereditary hip joint problem, although many large dogs have it, German Shepherds are particularly serious, and there are not many good ways, just intervene early. Because the city is relatively small, there is no large pet hospital that can take radiographs of the dog, so I listened to the doctor's advice and returned home for conservative treatment. Because the dog is still young, even if the radiographs are taken, most are conservative treatment, and there are no particularly effective ways. I want to do conservative treatment, which not only requires medication, but also a key content is weight loss.
Beta is a very hungry Golden Retriever
Golden Retrievers belong to large dogs, and without postnatal intervention, most Golden Retrievers eat like a wind sweeps away things, and they finish a bowl of food in seconds. As they age, Golden Retrievers eat more and more, as if they are always hungry.
This is a big foodie Golden Retriever, which was asked by the doctor to lose weight, which is obviously difficult. Although I was unwilling to give in, but compared to satisfying the desire for food, the dog's health is more important. For large dogs, the damage caused by hip joint problems is very large, and if not intervened, as they get older, the problem will become more and more serious, and eventually they may be paralyzed, and surgery will be needed to treat them. How much pain the dog would have when it was paralyzed, it's hard to imagine, so it's difficult.
How to lose weight for the dog
Weight loss is the key for Golden Retrievers, eat 60% of the usual amount per day, while also combining appropriate exercise. Golden Retrievers with hip joint problems, when exercising, cannot do strenuous exercise, but cannot be still, and this amount must be grasped.
Summer is a good season for dogs to lose weight, the weather is relatively hot, and Golden Retrievers need to supplement water at any time. Once it's autumn, the weather is cool, and they don't need to drink so much water, and their stomachs are less full, and they don't drink much water, so they feel hungry at any time. Whenever someone is about to eat, they are very excited and completely unable to control their desire to eat.
The first month was particularly difficult, especially on cool days, and I could clearly feel that every time I gave the dog food, he would finish it in two bites. Although the weight loss process is painful, the result is pleasing, and in one month, Beta grew a little and got a little taller, but his weight decreased by two pounds. For a growing Golden Retriever, it's not gaining weight, but losing weight.
In the second month of weight loss, I didn't increase the dog food, but during the usual meals, I increased some fruits and vegetables, and fortunately, he wasn't a meat-eating dog, so he ate white cabbage and apples, and the appropriate increase in vegetables and fruits improved his satiety, and I could feel that his satiety had improved. However, vegetables and fruits cannot be eaten too much, otherwise it will be bad for the digestive system.
In two months, Beta's weight remained unchanged, and it seemed to have grown a bit. Some people said it was too thin, but you don't know that being thin is healthy. Losing weight for dogs is not only about the dog's persistence, but also the owner's persistence. You may be unwilling to give in, but you must not give up, because health is priceless.
Weight loss success, Beta is healthy
After persisting for about three months, the weight loss had obvious effects, the rear legs were no longer powerless, and it had little impact on life. When going out to play, even if it was played outside for a long time, it wouldn't hurt its legs when it returned home. Seeing the dog's health, I knew that all my efforts were not in vain.
