Lady’s Tripawd weight loss success story is proof that we have the power to help our cat or dog lose weight after amputation surgery. Today, Lady’s mom Erin explains how she helped her beloved three-legged senior Lab lose a whopping 12 pounds!
A Remarkable Tripawd Weight Loss Success Story
Whether you have a three-legged dog or three-legged cat, keeping your Tripawd slim is the best thing you can do to help them enjoy life. Tripawd weight loss is a big deal, because even one extra pound on the body can have negative consequences. Overweight Tripawds are more likely to suffer a remaining leg injury, arthritis, and chronic health issues like cancer and diabetes.
Lady’s mom Erin, aka @ladyliberty2008, understood how important it was to get her senior gal down to an ideal weight. Their vet wanted Lady to lose thirteen pounds after amputation surgery. Could she do it? Well, here’s what happened, as told by Erin:
Lady’s Age and weight at time of amputation:
12.5 years old & 98 pounds
Reason for Amputation:
Tumor in left arm (up by shoulder) had broken her arm. Suspected osteosarcoma
How much weight did the vet want her to lose?
Vet said a lab of her size & build should be around 85 pounds (She needed to lose about 13 pounds)
How much has she lost and in what amount of time? Is she at her target weight yet?
She had lost 12 pounds in 4 weeks (1 pound off that target weight). Since we have not weighed her here at home, she may be a little under now.
Drinking water! pic.twitter.com/fBsioeKPQI
— Erin (@ErinRSullivan) July 6, 2020
What kinds of things did you do to help her drop the pounds?
We stopped giving her table scraps or treats & limited her to 1.5 cups of dog food in the morning & 1 at night.
Vet said her caloric intake should be around 1300 calories, so there was some room for healthy snacks (apples, carrots, banana, sometimes with a bit of peanut butter). Usually we would give her these healthy snacks during dinner, when she would whine at the table for food. This helped her to not feel so left out, and it helped us to not feel so bad!
Once we found out she was at 86 pounds, we have increased to 2 full cups in the morning and 1 cup at night.
How did Lady react to your weight loss efforts?
At first, she was extremely whiny and desperate when any of us tried to eat or sat down for a meal. She wasn’t moving much, so she would lie in her bed and whine or bark for attention.
As she started to move around, the first few times she got up on her own were to come to the table and beg for food, so that is when we introduced the “healthy snacks” to her.
Because she is such a food motivated dog, it was tough to hold out on the table scraps. She no longer whines at the table (even if we don’t give her healthy snacks during meal time), so she’s definitely adjusted to her new routine of no table food.
Lady’s progress pic.twitter.com/z4xLkuAkmc
— Erin (@ErinRSullivan) July 6, 2020
What was the hardest part about helping her drop the weight?
The hardest part is definitely feeling guilty about not giving her any table food. Before surgery, we were extremely lenient about the amount of food she ate. She also was able to jump up and eat anything off the counter or table if we left it unattended for any period of time, so she was used to getting her way when it came to food.
Staying strong through her whining for the first week or two was worth it. She’s lost a significant amount of weight in such a short period.
What kinds of changes have you seen since she’s dropped the pounds?
She looks much thinner for one, and it seems easier for her to actually get up and move around.
I also never realized how much she likes fruits and veggies. I know that some dogs won’t even entertain fruits or veggies, but Lady likes most dog healthy kinds (except lettuce so far; she spits that out).
Any suggestions for others who need to help their Tripawd with weight loss?
It is much easier for a dog to lose weight than it is for a human. We made minimal adjustments to her diet, and for the first three weeks there was almost no activity, and she still was able to lose 13 pounds.
Granted, I am sure that some of the weight loss was due to losing a limb, she still has lost noticeable weight in a short period of time. I would recommend finding out first what the caloric intake should be for the size of your dog and then make sure not to exceed that. The pounds will start to fall off, especially if you were lax on the table food in the past.
Congratulations to Lady and Erin for the Tripawd weight loss success story of the year so far!
Did you help your three-legged dog or cat lose weight? We want to hear about it! Comment below to share your Tripawd weight loss success story.
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