The skinny and the fluffy
I was patting Treelo’s side yesterday when I noted, with some dismay, that he’d lost the thin layer of padding over his ribs again.
This is common in the summer when he’s running so much, but he’d put on some good weight this winter — partly thanks to the addition of shredded cheese to his meals. (Which Kenzie is thankful for, being as how we can’t give Treelo a treat and leave out our chubby canine foodie on the largesse.)
But, here I was, feeling each and every rib through Treelo’ shaggy coat.
Why, my friend? Why don’t you want to eat your meals?
Kenzie certainly doesn’t understand it. After her half-year of starvation and living on the streets, there’s nothing that can keep Kenzie from regular feeding times. In fact, she comes up to the office to nudge my arm if I’m so much as 5 minutes late on giving them their dinner snack at 5PM. You should see her when daylight savings time happens — she’d like to have a word with whomever suggested THAT policy!
But then again, she did starve… probably with a litter of puppies, according to the best guesses of our veterinarians.
Just LOOK at how skinny she was the day we brought her home:
Even the way she looked after a month of good food…
…is nothing to how she looked just a few weeks ago:
Not that I’m one to talk, but do you see the breadth of that furry belly? The absolute mass of her now?!
And even though she’s actually the fastest dog in our yard, she tends to spend her time outside in a single spot — the perfect place to watch all that goes on in our neighborhood, and where she can bark at passers-by.
Treelo, on the other hand, is constantly in motion when out of doors.
He will bring anything and everything to you if you’re outside — and his recent obsession is a plastic trash can lid he discovered behind my garden shed. He thinks it’s a wonderful toy and drags it all over the back yard these days. Unforunately, it’s still a functioning trash can lid and I keep taking it back where it belongs, only to find that he’s pulled it back out a few hours later.
Life with a border collie is wonderful, but they do have their own agenda and will stop at nothing to have their way. I just wish he’d refuel a little better…
The Hubster and I were joking about his skinniness and I said it was like playing the “xylabone” when I rubbed him. Then Kenzie came into the room and the The Hubter gave her sides a pat.
“And Kenzie is like a pillow-topped mattress. You know the springs are in there, you just can’t feel them through the padding.”
Are his teeth ok? Is a worried that the other dog is going to fight him for his food? Does he have any digestive issues? I have a wonderful jack russell/beagle mix that often needs to be coaxed to eat his food. The only way we’ve found to get him to eat on a regular basis is to sit with him as he eats. I think he’s afraid that Larry, our Basett is going to rip his face off to get to his dish and our presence serves as a deterrent. He’s the first dog I’ve ever had that likes to take an “intermission” during meal time. Half way through his meal, he sits down and takes a little breather, then, after about 30 seconds or so, he will return to his meal. For a while, when Rico was really picky, we would sprinkle grated parmesan cheese on his food to get him to eat it, but now, all he needs is a human dining companion. In any case, good luck and I hope your fuzzy friend “chubs up”!
His teeth aren’t the best, Joanne — but mosty due to age — and he sometimes has digestive problems (he’s always been a “puker”), but he’s not afraid of Kenzie stealing his food. I think it has more to do with the fact that he’d like us to sit and eat while he eats, which we really can’t do with our busy weekday schedules. On weekends, I do sit with him to give encouragement and he does better. I just think he has a total disinterest in food. He’d rather be outside with his trash can lid.
I’m afraid I’ve no advice that can help here. I have an overweight bulldog who was just loved nearly to death by her previous owner’s daughter. (Overfed her til she looked like Jabba the Hut. :p) Nugga weighed 1/10th of a pound shy of 70 lbs. when we got her to a vet a few days after we brought her home – so she may have actually weighed more the day we got her.
Now, Spawn, on the other hand, is still the 7 year old boy who eats 5 meals a day and can’t gain an ounce.
Thank goodness his pediatrician is a practical man, father, and doctor! He told us to take the kid off of the Ensure and get him real milkshakes. Did you know that Burger King and McDonald’s use lowfat milk in their milkshakes?! So now we go to Petey’s Eateys for black and whites. =D (Oh, and their mascot is a bulldog! =D http://www.peteyseateys.com/ ) I wouldn’t try giving a dog a black and white, but maybe a little scoop vanilla ice cream would interest Treelo in his food a bit more. 
Wow, Chrissi, that’s a big bulldog! We had a lovely bulldog girl, Maude, who also had a difficult time maintaining her girlish figure. I think it just comes with the breed. I miss that dog!! And I have TWO kids that miss the weight chart at the pediatrician’s. Our doctor just told me to let them eat what they want and not to worry about weight unless they become listless.
Hope Treelo is eating better soon. Another idea: a friend told me that when she drains a can of tuna, she puts the liquid on her dog’s kibble and he goes wild for it. Sounds kind of yucky to me, but if it works it might be worth it.
Eileen, our border collie (Nala) is almost always on the good too. She tends not to eat when we aren’t there with her or if she is in a strange place (vets or other caregivers). She and Bob eat breakfast together (I’m not a morning nor breakfast kind of person) and we usually are home in the evenings to share dinnertime with her. I think it’s just a quirk that some border collies seem to have. Love seeing their pictures!