This -n- That

Last fall when my hip dysplasia was discovered, the vet prescribed a specific prescription diet food, which Mom did not end up going with when deciding how to manage my condition. However, Mom noticed that the vet had included a serving size in her prescription - 2 and 1/2 cups. Mom has always fed me 2 cups per day, split into two mealtimes. I tend to put on extra weight easily, so Mom has always been extra careful about my feeding. With the exception of adding Leo to the family 5 years ago, when she didn't account for the extra energy I'd be expending wrestling with and chasing down that little sucker, and was shocked at the weight loss I endured before she finally realized how think I'd gotten. She fixed that easily enough, and when our activity tapered back off, so did my extra caloric needs and my portion returned to normal.

After seeing the vet's recommendations, Mom decided to try feeding me that extra 1/2 cup, just to see if maybe I needed more or not. She knew I couldn't afford to gain any weight, it would make my struggle with dysplastic hips and arthritis that much work. It didn't make a difference in the beginning, because Airlie arrived not long after my diagnosis and I was, once again, helping raise and entertain an active puppy. We had such a blast! But wrestling with and chasing her was hard on my hips- I just couldn't contain myself!- and I had to start taking the anti-inflammatory the vet had originally prescribed, which I hadn't yet needed. That helped a lot and I was able to keep up with the young whippersnapper- until she got bigger. Then she played harder and more roughly, which made playing with her not as much fun for me. Leo had to take over some. He's bigger and stronger than me, so he can wear her out real good when he wants to- he's still trying to figure out how to play with her, though. At least they both like to run. So do I, but I really can't do it, anymore. One good sprint across the yard really does me in for the rest of the day, then I have to take my meds and Mom makes me stay inside and rest.

It seems that only recently has that extra 1/2 cup of food finally made it's way to my frame. Mom spent a couple of weeks feeling my ribs and debating whether or not she was having to make more of an effort to do so than usual. I still had a nice, "tucked up" waist, so she knows I didn't gain too much. Still, she decided two weeks ago to reduce my portions back down to my usual 2 cups.

What a difference that cutback has made! Mom didn't weigh me before making the change, so we don't know what I was at, but she weighed me last night- 53.2 lbs! Mom says I usually stay between 50 and 52 lbs, with 48 being my lowest way back when Leo was little and running me ragged. She bets I was at least 55lbs. That's just too much for me. I've got to stay lean, maybe a little bit leaner than other dogs, because any extra weight is so much more strain on my body. It shows! I feel so much better! I'd spent the past month or so devoting more and more of my time to lying down, rather than playing with Airlie or playing outside. These past two weeks I have been running around, wrestling with abandon and having a blast (which means I've had to start taking my pain meds again at night). Mom worries, because my vertebrae are showing in places (including my lower back, though that is because of how I stand when my hips are hurting), but my hip bones, shoulders and ribs are still padded, and I'm definitely happier, so we have decided I am ok.