harleys back from the vets

Well one of harley hips is so bad the vet wants it opperated on immediately, trouble is harley is overweight and he doesnt think the surgeon will operate until he loses weight, he was 14 lbs, he is now 13lb 6oz anyone else had to put their dogs on a diet. ?

He is very tired and stiff and is currently sleeping it off in front of the fire. di

Keep at it.The dog will be totally diff.

So sorry to hear about Harley's hips - I had a dog in the past with hip dysplasia. Sadly she also had awful patellas. We operated on the worst knee, with the intention of doing the other knee and then the hips, but her MVD worsened and we were not able to operate.

The vet was planning to remove the ball but not replace it - the muscles of small dogs usually develop enough to form a new joint without needing a replacement.

I'm sure you already know, but make sure your vet specialises in orthopaedic surgery - if not, be prepared to travel to one who does - you need a vet with experience of this kind of operation.

She was eventually PTS aged 7 as she developed bad arthritis in the affected joints, which became unmanageable.

Telling you this not to upset you, but to stress the importance of getting treatment early - which you are already doing.


Not sure what you are feeding Harley, I've found Burns chicken and rice dried food very good for getting weight off {my entire dogs don't hold enough weight on this and I have to add to it}. You can also add vegetables, such as raw carrots, swede, frozen sweetcorn etc - not onions, not too many green beans - a few frozen ones are quite filling though. Also rice cakes are filling - max one a day.

Obviously Harley is not going to be able to exercise very much - maybe a few short walks, just to try to keep his muscle tone and help with the weight loss.

Avoid shop bought treats and biscuits - too high in calories.

Hope this helps and please keep us posted - will be thinking of you.

Hi Di

Poppy my Tri has been on a diet for at least 18 months and shes only 30 months old she weighs in at a steady 13.5 kilo and goes up a bit and down a bit ,we must have fattening broccoli ,green beans and carrots up here ,why do Cavs have those horrble lovely big brown eyes that melt your heart.

Mindy is on a diet - I have reduced her quantity and I do feed her low call food. I realize that it has filler but she gets so little food anyway I can't imagine reducing it anymore. She can't eat too many extra veggies or her tummy gets upset. She's gained a few ounces over the winter when we haven't been walking as much hopefully she will lose the last pound she needs to lose now that the weather is warming up.

14 lbs. doesn't seem very heavy even for a small Cavalier - I can't imagine Harley is carrying so much extra weight that the vet doesn't want to operate. What weight would he like to see?

Could you also try hydrotherapy with Harley? It would help build muscle both pre and post op which would help with the stability of the joints. Also, as it is a non-weight bearing exercise it shouldn't cause too much pain, and would help shift some of the weight.

I know 14lbs sounds light, but having a small girl myself who weighs 14lbs 5oz top weight - and until we started agility and she built up muscle she only weighed 10lb 8oz - I know it can be a little overweight. If Maddie didn't have the muscle development around her shoulders and hips 14lbs would be overweight for her.

See what your vet says, and good luck. I notice you're in Essex, is your vet planning on doing the op hi/herself, or are you being referred on?

I find taking a little of the kibble out and topping up with veg helps with weight gain.

Hope all goes well for Harley.

MadPip said:

Could you also try hydrotherapy with Harley? It would help build muscle both pre and post op which would help with the stability of the joints. Also, as it is a non-weight bearing exercise it shouldn't cause too much pain, and would help shift some of the weight.

I know 14lbs sounds light, but having a small girl myself who weighs 14lbs 5oz top weight - and until we started agility and she built up muscle she only weighed 10lb 8oz - I know it can be a little overweight. If Maddie didn't have the muscle development around her shoulders and hips 14lbs would be overweight for her.

See what your vet says, and good luck. I notice you're in Essex, is your vet planning on doing the op hi/herself, or are you being referred on?

Click to expand...

No he wont do it, there is a specialist in Kent, cant remember his name but you lot might know him apparently he is a pioneer and well known in his field, and one of the best in the country.

Thanks for all your advice, he eats so little anyway, i was weighing his food the other day as i know weight would be an issue, and he had 50g twice a day and doesnt always eat that, it very little, they recommend 65g for a toy dog. He is spoilt and get titbits which ive cut out completely so hopefully the weight will drop off.

forgot about the hydrotherepy they say thats very good at the vets, i need to ring the insurance company and see if he would be covered esp after his op. apparently its very good anyway and even better for rehibilitation. di

Forget about what the dog food bag recommends...they are WAY over (probably to sell more food!)

To get him to lose weight quickly, I would take the amount you're feeding him now and feed about 30% less a day. Top with a handful of frozen green beans. They will help fill him up, and being frozen it will take him longer to eat them.

He will probably pout for a week or two, but you have to do this for his health. Good luck! I'm sorry your baby is going to have to have surgery.

Forgot to add, definitely watch the treats. If he gets a chewy or multiple treats in one day, compensate for that by feeding even less food.

Hi Di

Poppy just gets 25 gramme twice a day of Burns High Oats with a lot of veg and a few Barker and Barker little liver treats and shes still not losing weight ,so its got to be more exercise but midweek I run Luke all over the place mainly for his Shotokan lessons as hopefully he will be taking his black belt again late April so my problem is time ,but I must have 30 + tennis balls in the back garden for frenzied 10 minute bouts of ball play.

Ive remembers the name of the surgeon its Gary Clayton-Jones, here is some info about him

http://www.bayswaterveterinaryrefer...d+DVR+DSAO+MRCVS&Category=Veterinary+Surgeons

mindy the vet said at least down to under 13lb, and i think its the issue of rehibilation when he gets the new hip, the more he weighs the harder and more painfull it will be for him to walk again, and im sure we've all got friends and relatives with hip and or knee replacements and you have to walk quite a lot after surgery. im gonna ring the insurance to see about hydrotherepy after the op, not sure if im covered. di

That makes sense - I was thinking overweight as in too obese for the anesthetic and it seemed he couldn't possibly be that big.

good luck with Harley

When Kosmo had his patella surgery I wasn't covered for rehabilitation, but the vet told me to fill up the bath tub and put a life jacket on kosmo so that he floated to the top, and just hold the handle as he paddled. I also have a friend who adapted her hot tub so that her dog with patella issues could swim in it.

Some insurance companies do cover for things like hydrotherapy and physiotherapy, as long as your vet referrs you. I would definitely check. :xfngr: The only problem is the limit on how much they're willing to pay out for it, the upper limit isn't always that great.

If you've cut out all treats you should find the weight starts to come off. Good luck with this.

Be careful with aqua therapy pools. I remember a place in new york, in which the pool was not properly cleaned and dogs and trainers got recurrent skin infections. Some of the trainers sued. Ask lots of questions about sanitary procedures before you choose.

Jen and Ilsa

Also, there are two types, a pool where they swim, and an aqua treadmill where the water supports some, but not all of their weight. Both have their pros and cons, but your vet will probably be the best person to advise.
Pool hygeine is a good question, if you go to the British Canine Hydrotherapy Association website, hopefully there will be some standards of hygeine given.

Good luck with everything and I hope Harley does well.:xfngr:

sorry guys he was 14 kilo not 14 lb that more than twice the size of some of yours, lol, he is a very large cavaliers ive met other on walks and yes he is twice as big as some of the tiny ones, i think the chart in the vets says they should be between 6 and 10 kg, I spoke to the breeder todays, who has not reported cases at all and his mum and dad whom she owns are over 5 and have no problems at all and they are very large, if we get him collars, car harness etc we have to get ones for medium size dogs, his bed is a large dog bed, and his create is for medium dogs so the diet and the walking is still going strong - on the up side because is a large dog they may consider surgery because usually cavaliers are too small to operate on. his is not far off the same height as a small cocker spaniel.

Anyway the breeeder who is 89 and just had her hip done also, says she is very sorry ive got all this trouble, and as i said there is no other reported cases im just so glad i didnt use him for breeding, just imagine it. :neutral:
Also she says she is giving up breeding them now because of all the bbc and cruft business.