Weight loss help needed for a special needs guy

As I mentioned in my introduction post, Winston has some severe neurological problems, the least being hydrocephalus. He has 2 others, COMS, caudal occipital malformation syndrome and syringomyelia. Here are some links to help understand those conditions:Clare Rusbridge - Chiari Malformation and Syringomyelia Frequently Asked Quest,Syringomyelia (SM) and the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. In Winston's case, his coordination has been affected. He drags his feet, and has very poor balance. Since June he's been on prednisone and as a result, he's gained almost 6 pounds, which is a huge gain for him. Since walking is out of the question, how can I manage to get him to lose weight, which his vet is asking me to do. Right now he's being fed 1/4 cup of Taste of The Wild Waterfowl kibble, pumped up with a spoonful of pumpkin and salt free canned greenbeans and 1/2 a tin of Ceaser (I know, but he likes it) twice a day. Other than cutting back on his food, which I think is pretty meager, what would anyone recommend?

Cathy,
Is there anywhere that he could go swimming in a life jacket? We have a physiotherapist here that has a hydrotherapy pool and I take Tank there pretty regularly in the winter. It's low impact and might help with the weight.

I'd probably lose the Cesar's as it is probably calories he doesn't need.

have you thought about getting him a cart? it would give him some exercise, and also help his sense of independence. If you're interested in more info on them, let me know. Here is an example, some of our spinal injured pugs use the carts just for balance, kind of like training wheels.


Pug hugs Joan

PUGSMUM wrote:

Pug hugs Joan

Joan, I never tire of seeing pictures of your special crew.

PUGSMUM wrote:have you thought about getting him a cart? it would give him some exercise, and also help his sense of independence. If you're interested in more info on them, let me know. Here is an example, some of our spinal injured pugs use the carts just for balance, kind of like training wheels.


Pug hugs Joan

Joan, the cart is the next thing I'll be looking at. There is a cart maker about 9 miles away from me, who knew! Winston's only drawback is that all 4 legs are affected so I'd need a cart that will support his whole weight, and frankly, I don't know if he'd even be able to make it go. Are the cart straps anywhere near the neck area? The syringomyelia affects his neck and is quite painful, on top of being on prednisone, he's also on Prevacox for the pain.

Which cart mfg is near you? The ones I use are from doggon carts, and the harness does not go near the neck. you can get extensions for the 4-legged carts, and I think they just paddle a bit. At the very least you could pull him a bit to help with a lead. Most cart makers will work with you on developing a harness and cart that fits your needs.

Joan

northernwitch wrote:Cathy,
Is there anywhere that he could go swimming in a life jacket? We have a physiotherapist here that has a hydrotherapy pool and I take Tank there pretty regularly in the winter. It's low impact and might help with the weight.

I'd probably lose the Cesar's as it is probably calories he doesn't need.

Blanche, I just looked up and there is a hydrotherapy pool about 45 minutes to an hour away. It may be doable, although Winston is one of THOSE pugs who thinks he's made of sugar and his feet will melt away if he gets them wet. In any case, I'll make a phone call tomorrow.

PUGSMUM wrote:Which cart mfg is near you? The ones I use are from doggon carts, and the harness does not go near the neck. you can get extensions for the 4-legged carts, and I think they just paddle a bit. At the very least you could pull him a bit to help with a lead. Most cart makers will work with you on developing a harness and cart that fits your needs.

Joan

The cart mfg is K-9 Cart Company East, based in Oxford, MD. I think I'm going to be on the phone a bit tomorrow between finding out about the pool and a cart.

Penny can act like she's allergic to water, too, but when we were doing hydrotherapy for her arthritis, she loved it. Warm water and a life jacket, and she paddled around like a little merpug. For what it is worth, Penny is on Taste of the Wild, and she gets 1/8 cup twice a day with 1 tsp of pumpkin and 1 tsp of fat free Greek yogurt and a squirt of salmon oil. She is at her ideal weight now, and her blood work and everything else is fantastically normal. Fingers and toes and paws crossed that the cart and hydrotherapy help Winston.

k9 has a very good reputation. Here is a link to their 4-legged suport cart. i don't think the harness looks as if it would harm the neck area. the one strap goes around the chest, and the other over the shoulders just like the ones I use.

http://www.k9-carts.com/K9-Carts-Products/Four-Wheel-Cart.php

I have nothing to add CAthy, other than to give you love and support in finding a solution for your little guy.

That's what I love about the Pug people I know through forums - the extraordinary lengths they can and do go to, to help the little guys.

Cathy:
For what it's worth, Tank acts like getting his feet wet is the equivalent of amputation without anaesthesia, but he happily motors around in a life jacket. He's not ever going to be a dock diving dog, but once he knows that he WILL have to swim, he plows around like a big barge.....

Of course, he's often following my hand which has a miniscule chicken bit in it, but it's still swimming!

PUGSMUM wrote:have you thought about getting him a cart? it would give him some exercise, and also help his sense of independence. If you're interested in more info on them, let me know. Here is an example, some of our spinal injured pugs use the carts just for balance, kind of like training wheels.


Pug hugs Joan

It is like an advertisement for handi-capable pugs!

Can you change out the Caesar for something else? Another taste good food? More questions: do you think that Winston needs something permanently or just to get the weight off? If it is short term, you might could go to the water therapy a couple of times and then follow up at home with a bath tub version. If it is going to be long term because of all of this conditions, maybe it would be beneficial to go ahead and get a cart. I know someone (not on this board) that has a pug with degenerative disk disease. She used a cart for her pug to be able to get her outside in the fresh air and to excercise her front legs. The pug is not using it to go outside to potty because she can't squat in the cart. But the cart also acts as therapy to straight out the spinal and relieve some of the pressure on her back. Otherwise the pug would be sitting in a pug slump all day and just making her back worse. I am sure that Joan can give you much more insight into carts and the benefits. I will be interested to read about how Winston progresses. Our pug, Baby Girl, had compressed disks and has had trouble walking this past year. I don't know if a cart is in her future or not, but I want to have as much information as possible if we get to that point.

papaspugs wrote:

PUGSMUM wrote:have you thought about getting him a cart? it would give him some exercise, and also help his sense of independence. If you're interested in more info on them, let me know. Here is an example, some of our spinal injured pugs use the carts just for balance, kind of like training wheels.


Pug hugs Joan

It is like an advertisement for handi-capable pugs!

Can you change out the Caesar for something else? Another taste good food? More questions: do you think that Winston needs something permanently or just to get the weight off? If it is short term, you might could go to the water therapy a couple of times and then follow up at home with a bath tub version. If it is going to be long term because of all of this conditions, maybe it would be beneficial to go ahead and get a cart. I know someone (not on this board) that has a pug with degenerative disk disease. She used a cart for her pug to be able to get her outside in the fresh air and to excercise her front legs. The pug is not using it to go outside to potty because she can't squat in the cart. But the cart also acts as therapy to straight out the spinal and relieve some of the pressure on her back. Otherwise the pug would be sitting in a pug slump all day and just making her back worse. I am sure that Joan can give you much more insight into carts and the benefits. I will be interested to read about how Winston progresses. Our pug, Baby Girl, had compressed disks and has had trouble walking this past year. I don't know if a cart is in her future or not, but I want to have as much information as possible if we get to that point.

Eventually the cart will be permanent. There are so many varibles with these diseases. Right now he can walk, it's just he slips and when he circles he can lose his balance and almost falls over. He has to stay on the carpet otherwise his feet slip out sideways and he slides. (Needless to say, we have throw rugs just about everywhere.) He's had months of acupuncture and it's losing it's effectiveness. I can't walk him outside with his harness and leash since he drags his feet and has developed a lesion on his left front foot from the constant scrapping of his foot on the concrete. He also scrapes the pigment off of his front nails. He can't go up the stairs anymore, he has to be carried up. He can come down, but with difficultity and I watch him like a hawk since he's top heavy. I need to get the weight off of him, at least a pound or two, just so his neck has some relief. He's got severe syringomyelia (which is where the neck comes in), moderate hydrocephalus and the caudal occipital malformation means his skull is too small for his brain. If anyone has seen that BBC special, he's got what those poor Cavalier King Charles Spaniels have. He scratches at his neck to try to balance his spinal fluid, and when it's really bad, he head butts the arm of the couch to do the same. It's heartbreaking to watch really. I realize that I'm fighting a losing battle here and the diseases are going to win, but I'm going to fight for him as long as possible, hence the massive doses of prednisone (which is making him bald under his front and back legs and his belly) and all the acupuncture and now looking at the cart and the swimming. I just don't want him to be really hungry during all this, that's the last remaining thing he really enjoys, eating, and I don't want to take that away from him since he's lost so much the last 6 months. It's just a big horrible circle he's in.

I love the time and care and attention you are giving this boy - bless you!

Try to find a vegetable that he really likes and replace all but a teaspoon of the canned stuff (you can put the teaspoon of the canned food into the water your are steaming the veges in, it will flavour them). Veges he will enjoy but not really digest so they won't contribute to his weight. Mine LOVE green beans and carrots!

Oh how heart breaking. If he loves food that much, just give him whatever he wants, but maybe figure out a way to increase his exercise in a moderate way to start working the lbs off.

Baby Girl can walk on rugs. I went to Wal-Mart and got these cheap, low pile rugs with rubber backs. They stay in place on the linoleum floors and if she has an accident, we just hose them off. It was getting to the point where she was constantly falling on the floors and just imagine if you or I had a back injury and then kept falling? I know it wasn't doing her any good. She also gets bloody spots on her back toes from the concrete so I usually carry her to the end of the patio.

Hugs!!!!!!

Joan, you're the Queen of the Western Wheelies!! The most common cart here in Ontario is Eddie's Wheels.

Cathy, you're between a rock and a hard place, for sure. If he can tolerate it, the salmon oil and the yogourt are good additions as they are healthy and pretty low fat. And the pred doesn't help the situation as it does make them ravenous.

I have nothing to add for ideas, but for all you are doing for him - kudos to you!!! I am glad he found you.

Cathy, all I have to add is a big THANK YOU for all you are doing to keep Winston happy and comfortable. I know how difficult this must be. You are an angel for caring for him the way you do.

I belong to a forum for handicapped pets, for obvious reasons. they have some great products, including booties to stop the scraping.

http://handicappedpets.com/www/index.php/pet-products-summary.html

Thanks to everyone who's given me suggestions, you've been quite helpful and I'm so glad I found you all again.

The pool idea is not going to work out, he needs to be vaccinated against kennel cough, and I don't vaccinate against that, besides, my vet is being very cautious in his vaccines since we don't want anymore neurological damage than he already has.

I've tried different boots, and even the so called non removable ones, he's been able to remove and he slipped even worse than he had before.

I'll get in touch with the cart maker, hopefully before the end of the week and see what can happen on that front.

In the meantime, he's going to be filling up on greenbeans and pumpkin with a couple of carrots thrown in! Thanks again!

Cathy and Winston wrote:Thanks to everyone who's given me suggestions, you've been quite helpful and I'm so glad I found you all again.

The pool idea is not going to work out, he needs to be vaccinated against kennel cough, and I don't vaccinate against that, besides, my vet is being very cautious in his vaccines since we don't want anymore neurological damage than he already has.

I've tried different boots, and even the so called non removable ones, he's been able to remove and he slipped even worse than he had before.

I'll get in touch with the cart maker, hopefully before the end of the week and see what can happen on that front.

In the meantime, he's going to be filling up on greenbeans and pumpkin with a couple of carrots thrown in! Thanks again!

Well, crap. My physiotherapist is pretty anti vaccine so doesn't insist on that. Might be worth asking if they'll let you sign a waiver. Some boarding facilities that insist on kennel cough vaccines will let you sign a waiver--might be worth asking.

northernwitch wrote:

Cathy and Winston wrote:Thanks to everyone who's given me suggestions, you've been quite helpful and I'm so glad I found you all again.

The pool idea is not going to work out, he needs to be vaccinated against kennel cough, and I don't vaccinate against that, besides, my vet is being very cautious in his vaccines since we don't want anymore neurological damage than he already has.

I've tried different boots, and even the so called non removable ones, he's been able to remove and he slipped even worse than he had before.

I'll get in touch with the cart maker, hopefully before the end of the week and see what can happen on that front.

In the meantime, he's going to be filling up on greenbeans and pumpkin with a couple of carrots thrown in! Thanks again!

Well, crap. My physiotherapist is pretty anti vaccine so doesn't insist on that. Might be worth asking if they'll let you sign a waiver. Some boarding facilities that insist on kennel cough vaccines will let you sign a waiver--might be worth asking.

I agree. Penny's physical therapist let me do a waiver, too. I am quite anti-vaccine, and have found that I can use Penny's age and arthritis to get vaccines waived everywhere I've tried. Even for a dog license! So I'd ask.