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Post by Boothros on Jul 11, 2011 4:28:34 GMT 1
Well Charlie came to me for fostering on Friday and the first thing that people ni=otice about Charlie is that he is fat. Very fat. He hasn't had too much excercise in the last two years and I realised it was high time he got some. I've got Charlie for about 2 weeks before he can be rehomed as by then his vaccinations will be complete and though I know this won't be long enough to get him down to his fighting weight I'm going to try and give him as much help as possible to look and feel as good as he can for his new owners. I thought you might like to share his experiences at Boothros bootcamp, so I'll put on regular updates of his progress. Please wish him well, poor soul, I think he just wants to be a normal whippet again
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Post by spooksnscout on Jul 11, 2011 7:48:19 GMT 1
Oh dear Charlie - brace yourself lad - you'll soon be trim, slim and even more handsome
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Post by cobden28 on Jul 12, 2011 14:41:59 GMT 1
How come he was allowed to get so fat?
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Post by rachelhayball on Jul 13, 2011 7:41:14 GMT 1
Well some owners love their dogs to death.. poor diet, not enough exercise.
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Post by Boothros on Jul 13, 2011 9:33:59 GMT 1
Well what can I say?! Charlie had his first check up with the vet yesterday along with a vaccination and of course this included him getting weighed. Charlie weighs 22.4 kilos. In English money thats 49.3 lb! He got quite distressed in the waiting room which meant a lot of jumping up and trying to crawl about all over me. Today I am bruised black and blue. Charlie is continuing to really enjoy the diet I have currently him on which is 230g of fresh minced meat and bones, He is by no means a greedy dog, he eats slowly and doesn't beg for food. Even though he is on a very limited intake, he seems by no means hungry, so he must be living off all those fat cells Hes really loving a daily hours walk and does attempt to run (although its not pretty!)
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Post by cobden28 on Jul 13, 2011 19:11:20 GMT 1
How much should he weigh?
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Post by Boothros on Jul 14, 2011 9:32:40 GMT 1
Well I don't really know to be honest, my other whippet is slightly taller and he's 38lb so I'd say Charlie's got at least ten pounds to lose. I'd like to see him around the 28-30lb mark really.
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Post by cobden28 on Jul 16, 2011 16:13:56 GMT 1
He's a little podgy porker, isn't he?
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Post by Boothros on Jul 24, 2011 3:06:36 GMT 1
Great news for Charlie! I walked him to the vets (nothing wrong with him I just wanted to use their scales) and low & behold, hes lost two pounds! (Thats in a week.) I must try and get another side on picture to see if anyone else can actually see a difference but I'm sure he's looking less bloated and he actually attempts a little run now and again. I ordered a batch of worming tablets and they came yesterday. Fin, Ace & Star all got done quickly as they're all too dim to run away. Skye was nowhere to be seen until I later found her hiding in a cupboard in the bedroom, and then there was Charlie. Having wormed horses for many years I rather prided myself on my dog worming abilities believing I could worm any dog with enviable skill and that all my friends & relatives were secretly jealous of how clever I obviously was. All these illusions of grandeur came crashing down around me however when it came to worming Charlie. Now I dont know what he was intending for my arm, whether to bite it off or break it in several places but Charlie when confronted with having a pilll shoved down his gullet suddenly took on all the mannerisms of a thrashing crocodile. It quicly became apparent that this was not going to be the walk in the park I had hoped for or expected. Slightly dismayed that I would possibly have to admit to my Dearly Beloved that I had not wormed Charlie because it was 'too hard' I stood dispondent for a minute with the slobbery tablet in my hand. Needless to say what happened next surprised me. Charlie came up, gently nudged my hand, took the tablet from my fingers, crunched it up and swallowed it. What happened next surprised me even more. The tablet intended for the hastliy exited Skye was sitting on the edge of the table in readiness for her. Charlie counter-surfed the table, grabbed Skyes tablet and proceeded to crunch and swallow that too. Now call me easily pleased but this was something of a result for me. A dog of Charlies stature can easily cope with two tablets, probably needed them in fact and just thirty seconds before, the likelihood of getting him to take one was doubtful. Therefore, I have now got all the dogs wormed, I can recommend to Charlies new owners the best way to worm him and best of all was able to tell my other half that for an expert like me, worming five dogs was a simple task all in a days work. Now who wouldnt be pleased with a result like that!
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Post by cobden28 on Jul 24, 2011 19:33:22 GMT 1
My last dog (a Peke) was a little so-and-so to give tablets to and the worming tablets he had from the vet seemed ENORMOUS! However, Teddy would sell his soul for a piece of Cheddar so I used to give him his worming tablets inside a piece of Cheddar. It worked every time!
Have you thought of giving Charlie his tablets inside of something he regards as a 'treat'?
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Post by Boothros on Jul 24, 2011 23:20:02 GMT 1
I didnt need to. Once he actually realised what he was getting, to Charlie, the tablet was the treat, he couldnt get enough of it! Good job I hadnt got all five lined up on the table, he would have had everybodies!
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Post by cobden28 on Jul 25, 2011 16:12:15 GMT 1
That's good - struggling to give a tablet to a dog who just won't take tablets is no joke!
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Post by Boothros on Jul 29, 2011 16:51:11 GMT 1
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Post by urchin on Jul 29, 2011 17:39:33 GMT 1
He's starting to look a little more whippet-like Boo!
I found with Bloggs, was that the best way of getting him to take a tablet was to drop it on the floor 'accidentally'. He'd snaffle it up super quick and look very pleased with his thievery! With Digit I have to do the cheese trick - he'd sell MY soul for a piece of cheese, and throw his own in for free!
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Post by houndhead on Jul 29, 2011 17:50:14 GMT 1
Well done on the weight loss - he's got a waist! He looks like a lovely boy and I'm sure he's much happier already, having lost a bit of weight. His face is very similar to my Charlie whippet, who's 12 years old now.
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