# 70lb Dachshund?!?



## Gharrissc (May 19, 2012)

I'm glad this dog is finally going to get the help he needs. Hopefully it's not too late. Apparently his owners were elderly and they just could 'deny' their little darling all the food he could stand to eat.

70-lb. Dachshund put on Biggest Loser-style program | Pets - Yahoo! Shine


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## qbchottu (Jul 10, 2011)

What is this...I can't even.....:headbang:


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## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

My grandparents had a mini dachshund that was really unhealthy, so overweight he lost the hair on his belly because it dragged on the ground. They fed him table scraps and his teeth were so rotten at 8 our vet thought he was 14! Ended up getting diabetes and other joint issues

But he was their baby and no matter what we said they wouldn't listen


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

Oh, man. That is sickening--it boggles my mind how people can let their pet get THAT obese. I see it all the time, but I never can understand. Especially when people don't believe their pet is fat, which is about half the time.

I once groomed a Bichon that weighed about 50 lb. and I thought THAT was bad--he literally could not stand up, and we had to roll him around like a barrel on the table to get to all sides of him. His penis had become so lost in folds of fat that the vet had to make him a new pee-hole, farther back on his belly, so that he could eliminate. 

As a bonus, the dog was nasty like a snapping turtle and had to be muzzled, but his neck was so fat relative to his head that the muzzle would constantly slip off. What a nightmare. I wish I'd gotten pictures of him--this was something you'd have to see to believe.

Honestly, I think owners who let their dogs get this obese should be charged with abuse.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

We had a Miniature Dachshund here that weighed 25lbs. She was a victim of "free feeding", that is, pouring gobs of food in a bowl daily so the dogs can eat any time they feel like it.
The hounds we've had here do not know when to stop so it was easy to see why she weighed what she did.
A healthy weight for her would have been 10-11 lbs. and we got her slimmed down to 15lbs. before she got a new home.



> Honestly, I think owners who let their dogs get this obese should be charged with abuse.


I do, too! This one we had lived w/a Brittany spaniel that was huge and overweight too!
If you want to feed your own face McDonald's, go for it, but at least make reasonable and good choices for your pets!


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## wyominggrandma (Jan 2, 2011)

We have a 75lb beagle at the clinic. Doesn't matter what we say to her, she will not put him on a diet... When we explained he needed to lose weight, her idea was to have her son take him on a 5 mile marathon................. Then she wondered why the dog was so sore and had to come to the vet after they forced him to run.
Some people are too stupid to live....


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## PupperLove (Apr 10, 2010)

If the dog can't walk or live a normal life due to human negligence, that is animal abuse/neglect. Poor dog


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## blackshep (Aug 3, 2012)

That is sickening! Poor dog!


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## Gharrissc (May 19, 2012)

I can't even see how a 75lb beagle would be able to keep up on a 5 mile run!





wyominggrandma said:


> We have a 75lb beagle at the clinic. Doesn't matter what we say to her, she will not put him on a diet... When we explained he needed to lose weight, her idea was to have her son take him on a 5 mile marathon................. Then she wondered why the dog was so sore and had to come to the vet after they forced him to run.
> Some people are too stupid to live....


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## Vaks (Dec 30, 2011)

when I worked at the veterinary clinical, I saw a Bouvier des Flandres 160 pounds. He could'n walk.



Hélène


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## PatchonGSD (Jun 27, 2012)

This should be a crime.....poor dog.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

Poor dog, that's so nasty and unfair. Not sure about charging the owners though, since I'm on the fence about CPS removing obese children from their parents....


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

Liesje said:


> I'm on the fence about CPS removing obese children from their parents....


The difference here is that the owner is 100% responsible for an obese dog. The dog has no understanding that eating = weight gain, and that obesity = health issues. They will just eat whatever is put in front of them and they have no consicous way of knowing what that does to them. All obese dogs are fed by somebody, and that somebody has to take responsibility for how much the dog is eating if the dog is becoming overweight. It's the easiest thing in the world to simply feed a dog less food, and it saves money too, but people seem to ignore these facts... which continues to baffle me.

I often hear people say "...But she hardly eats anything, she's very picky, she only gets x cups of kibble per day and she barely nibbles at it."

There seems to be some kind of disconnect with basic physics here. If a dog is overweight, that dog is, by definition, getting too much food. Even if that amount of food seems small to the owner, it's still too much, or the dog wouldn't be overweight.

It's different with children. While a dog owner can be expected to have control over what their dog eats, A parent can feed their child very healthy meals, but the child still can (depending on the age) get their own food if they really want to. How can parents be expected to stop a child from eating? Lock down the frig and the cabinets? Keep them home from school? Never let them play with other kids? There's an element of free will here that parents cannot reasonably control, and that is why I don't think parents should be punished if their children become obese. Obviously the family needs help and support, and I don't see how breaking up a family is going to help.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

Freestep said:


> The difference here is that the owner is 100% responsible for an obese dog. The dog has no understanding that eating = weight gain, and that obesity = health issues. They will just eat whatever is put in front of them and they have no consicous way of knowing what that does to them. All obese dogs are fed by somebody, and that somebody has to take responsibility for how much the dog is eating if the dog is becoming overweight.


I don't disagree with regard to dogs but the same is true for little kids. Toddlers don't understand nutrition and cannot protest what their parents give them. I once saw a baby under the age of 2 at the dentist and all of her teeth so far had cavities because they were putting her to bed with a bottle of juice (read: sugar) and of course the baby was always sucking on it.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

Liesje said:


> I don't disagree with regard to dogs but the same is true for little kids. Toddlers don't understand nutrition and cannot protest what their parents give them. I once saw a baby under the age of 2 at the dentist and all of her teeth so far had cavities because they were putting her to bed with a bottle of juice (read: sugar) and of course the baby was always sucking on it.


For very young children, that is true. If you have an obese 3 year old, it's definitely no one's fault but the parents'. I can see an argument for removing the child, but there are so many other factors at play that would complicate the issue--glandular/metabolic disorders, family dynamics, etc. I would certainly hope it is only an issue of ignorance on the part of the parents and that they could be educated--I can't imagine that parents would deliberately and maliciously make their child fat. If they are, that's a situation of abuse and the child should be removed IMO.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

Freestep said:


> For very young children, that is true. If you have an obese 3 year old, it's definitely no one's fault but the parents'. I can see an argument for removing the child, but there are so many other factors at play that would complicate the issue--glandular/metabolic disorders, family dynamics, etc. I would certainly hope it is only an issue of ignorance on the part of the parents and that they could be educated--I can't imagine that parents would deliberately and maliciously make their child fat. If they are, that's a situation of abuse and the child should be removed IMO.


That is how I feel about dogs as well. A little education can go a long way. I see so many fat dogs at the vet I can only hope the vet is calling it like it is. I know when I bring Nikon to the vet he always praises me for Nikon's weight and condition (and according to my mom, who doesn't have any pets, my dogs are skeletal).


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## wyominggrandma (Jan 2, 2011)

They pulled the dog along......... We were all so mad at them... She still won't help the dog lose weight.
People have no idea how much a real cup of food is. They use the giant drink cups to measure, "my dog gets two of these a day"... Um, when we show them the actual amount of 1 cup, they then say" oh but poor poopsie will starve". Meanwhile the dogs legs/pasterns/feet all are broken down from the weight.
I think people actually feel "bigger is better". They feed these dogs up thinking their dog is so great cause it weighs 200 lbs, when it should be 80 or 90.
We have labs that come in and weigh 150 lbs, normal height, just fat fat fat. When we try to explain the issues healthwise with obese pets, they just dont get it or don't want to.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Wow some of you meet the Jerry Springer version of dog owners all the time. Poor dog. I think it should be considered neglect, but I don't know how you go about charging people for letting a dog get seriously overweight and not charge parents for letting their kids be seriously overweight. What does that say about what society thinks of dogs as opposed to kids? But then, who wants the government coming in and weighing your kids or your dogs to ensure they are not too fat or too thin?


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## Gharrissc (May 19, 2012)

What's their information?I'll pay them a visit...JK..kinda. I wonder if the vet there could tell them that he/she won't see them? I have heard people doctors refusing to see or at least referring the patient to somewhere else if they follow directions. Don't know how this would work for a vet. I'm not talking about refusing to treat if the animal is deathly ill,but maybe a phone call or something suggesting going somewhere else if they aren't willing to listen about the weight? IDK,it may be a lot more difficult than that. 




wyominggrandma said:


> They pulled the dog along......... We were all so mad at them...


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## Gharrissc (May 19, 2012)

Speaking of Mcdonald's,my Cattle Dog got up to 52lbs at the shelter because she was a favorite of the staff members and got 5 quarter pounders EVERY DAY! On top of that,one of the receptionist would take Saba to KFC in evenings for her own 8 piece chicken box sometimes. 

I was pretty surprised because they *should* know better,but the reasoning behind the overfeeding was because she came in emaciated before and they wanted to make up for it. 

Now she is a healthy 34lbs,and some of the staff still says that she is 'too skinny' when they see her.




msvette2u said:


> If you want to feed your own face McDonald's, go for it, but at least make reasonable and good choices for your pets!


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## lorihd (Nov 30, 2011)

omg!!!!!!!! what was grandma and grandpa thinking?????? I had a mini doxie same coat and she got pudgie at the end (almost 17), but that is distrubing


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

That is just wrong. Probably has fatty liver disease, too.


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## harmony (May 30, 2002)

Gharrissc said:


> I'm glad this dog is finally going to get the help he needs. Hopefully it's not too late. Apparently his owners were elderly and they just could 'deny' their little darling all the food he could stand to eat.
> 
> 70-lb. Dachshund put on Biggest Loser-style program | Pets - Yahoo! Shine


 
My goodness, and mine is 17 to 21 lbs and he is a chub!


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## Kaity (Nov 18, 2009)

We have a severely overweight GSD at work. I'm talking 140+ here.. Yes, he has a nice size structure and would maybe look his best at 85lbs. He's a nice looking boy. It's a shame his poor excuse of owners, leave him in the backyard to be a 'guard dog' then bring him in for training because people can't go near him. He was fine with me, until I asked if he had ever bitten anybody or was aggressive. They said no, so I took two steps towards the dog and he flips out. I stood there, took steps back until I could reach the gate and get out of the carport. The 120lb man owner couldn't even hold the dog. Severely fear aggressive, and barking like he's going to attack the **** out of everybody has worked for him for too long. He's only two years old. Needless to say, we told the owners flat out he was FAT and that they can keep their food, we'll feed him how much we see fit at work.


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## harmony (May 30, 2002)

Kaity said:


> We have a severely overweight GSD at work. I'm talking 140+ here.. Yes, he has a nice size structure and would maybe look his best at 85lbs. He's a nice looking boy. It's a shame his poor excuse of owners, leave him in the backyard to be a 'guard dog' then bring him in for training because people can't go near him. He was fine with me, until I asked if he had ever bitten anybody or was aggressive. They said no, so I took two steps towards the dog and he flips out. I stood there, took steps back until I could reach the gate and get out of the carport. The 120lb man owner couldn't even hold the dog. Severely fear aggressive, and barking like he's going to attack the **** out of everybody has worked for him for too long. He's only two years old. Needless to say, we told the owners flat out he was FAT and that they can keep their food, we'll feed him how much we see fit at work.


green beans, peas at two, this might be a bigger problem.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

selzer said:


> What does that say about what society thinks of dogs as opposed to kids?


Yeah...and I mean no offense by this but I've seen some really, really unhealthy (IMO borderline neglect/abuse) dogs owned by elderly people that seem to be losing their grip on a lot of things and it's sad that people will step in because of their outrage over the dog but not notice the other ways that the people are declining (like not taking care of *themselves* either). I in these cases we have to look at the entire context. Many times the owners/people need a lot of help too, not just be accused and have their pets taken otherwise they continue to decline and the cycle perpetuates (they get more pets).


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