Is your sheltie overweight??

Message 123 of 400

Several of the posts lately have been about arthritis in our shelties.

Packing extra weight can be a real problem for an arthritic dog - just like it can for us.

The easiest way to tell whether or not your dog is overweight is to check his ribs. If you cannot feel ribs at all - your sheltie is seriously overweight!!

I know - they can make us feel really guilty for not sharing treats. One trick is to give small pieces of carrots. Green beans added to their food adds bulk without adding a lot of calories - and my crew loves green beans.

You might want to consider switching your sheltie to a lower calorie dog food - and there are a lot of weight reduction foods available.

If you are free feeding your sheltie, and your sheltie is overweight - you need to start measuring out their daily ration. Most dog foods tell you to feed a lot more than the dog really needs. My shelties get 1 cup of food per day - and my guys average from 23 to 26 lbs.

Do any of you have any good hints on how to keep our shelties healthy??

posted by caradocs

I measure too. Mine got a bit heavy when my American Eskimo needed to free feed due to losing weight with old age. Now he gets 2/3 cup a day and a few bites here and there of treats. He went from 39 pounds down to about 34 and has a waist again. He is an oversize sheltie, so not too heavy for his size now.

posted by alaskagirl76
over 2 years ago

Sadie was overweight when I adopted her, and she has lost about 5 lbs, which helped her activity level and her arthritis. She weighs about 25 lbs. now. I don't free feed either of my dogs, and I try not to give them too many treats! I wish my dogs would like carrots, but they refuse to eat any! Maybe I should try green beans! I think someone told me I could use Cheerios as little treats for training. I think I will try that also.

posted by Gardenblue
over 2 years ago

Also, I just remembered seeing a Sheltie up for adoption with our rescue group who weighed 40 lbs. when she was rescued! Now she is a tiny thing, and I can't even believe that she could have ever been that overweight! I'm not sure what she weighs now, but she is definitely a smaller sized Sheltie, with a small frame.

posted by Gardenblue
over 2 years ago

I'm not surprised - I work with Austin Sheltie Rescue, and Pom Rescue - and its not unusual to get a grossly overweight pom or sheltie in rescue. When their weight is down to a normal range, the pups are so much more active.

Mine love green beans, and carrots. If you used green beans, try to get the low sodium beans. Its a lot better for them.

posted by caradocs
over 2 years ago

Mine was very large even as a 5 week pup.......seriously, he looked like a baked potato. He kept packing on weight no matter what I would do and then I found out he had a thyroid problem. I also found out that at least one other dog from the litter had the same thing. I think that breeder knew they would have a problem because I remember looking at the mother and thinking she had a weight problem. Even at that, he has managed to live 12 years but fear this winter, it will be too difficult for him to manage. He seems to be ok after he gets up but it is gettingup that is difficult for him.

posted by Lanielove
over 2 years ago

Yep - my Prissybottom has low thyroid - and she is on thyroid meds. She gets the same amount of food as my other two shelties and she is the only one overweight. I just cut her food back in hopes of getting some weight off - just wish someone could do that for me!

Here's a picture of Pris and one of my pom puppies