[Ryan B]

Hello. Its been a terrible week. Last week my neighbors dog got it’s face through the fence (their fence broke a piece off) and got a hold of my chihuahua’s leg and ripped it to pieces.

The veterinarian tried their hardest with the leg and we were positive was all looking good until yesterday… A infection started, leg got black and cold. So we had to go the next step and the leg will be getting amputated, absolutely devastated.

I am in the process of ordering her some new things since this will be a major change for us, a household of three dogs. We feed our dogs a small breed formula. But since my chi is 9 yrs and about 8 lbs, little chubby. I want to get her weight down and get better joint health since she will only have on front leg. Any recommendations?
I came across Hill’s Science Diet Healthy Mobility Adult Dog Food – Small Bites, Chicken Meal & Rice thoughts?

[anonymous]

I have a 9 pound small breed that just gets average exercise. Her weight has been stable on Nutrisca salmon and chickpea (1/4 cup twice a day) with a bite of chicken or something lean mixed in, and a little water added to her food. She’s 8 years old. Don’t free feed, measured amounts twice a day. Go easy on the snacks, maybe a bite here and there or 1/2 carrot to chew on.

[Ryan B]

Hello. We don’t free feed. The dogs get two bowls a day, one morning and the other in the evening. She is going to need something for joints and have to get her weight down a little.
I had her on blue buffalo basic once, her weight went down… Currently has been on Nutro Small Breed. Again need something for joints and weight management.

[pitlove]

Hi Ryan-

So sorry to hear about what happened to your dog. I hope the neighbor is footing the vet bill!

As for your question about the food. I like Hills however if you’re looking for a food with a therapeutic amount of glucosamine you will need to use one of their therapeutic diets. Otherwise I would recommend a good supplement like Dasaquin. I would however consider switching to a weight loss food like Hills Small & Toy Breed Perfect Weight. Perfect Weight was clinically trialed and 70% of the dogs lost the weight. Use her glucosamine supplements like treats instead of buying other treats. Or give cooked green beans.

Best of luck to you and your pup!

[Michael F]

Hi So Sorry to hear of your dogs, terrible accident. One of my dogs ripped her knee out at age ten and had to have a plate put in, however even before the operation we saw a holistic vet and put both our pups on Cosequin, now the new improved version is supposedly Dasaquin ( but I have not used that) and also Duralactin, even before the surgery the Duralactin immediately helped with joint pain and swelling, both dogs stayed on Cosequin and Duralactin for the rest of their lives and lived to be seventeen and eighteen years of age. Duralactin is an all natural milk protein tablet, it can be purchased through Dr. Fosters Smith and is relatively inexpensive, expecially for your dog’s size. I think the supplements with a quality low fat diet for her to loose weight make the most sense for you.

Good Luck I hope this helps!

[momofGSDs]

Please stay away from Hills. The food is actually not good at all. And I haven’t found anyone yet to prove it is. As for the weight loss, is she active even with the loss of the leg?

[HoundMusic]

Oh, geez, that’s horrible. Poor little pupper 🙁

As far as Science Diet goes, I used it for quite a few years and am on the fence – on the one hand, their targeted formulas are usually fantastic. My show dogs had the thickest, glossiest coats imaginable on it. On the other hand, I’ve had a few dogs have reactions that were no joke at all, so I tend to stay away unless we have a problem that would otherwise require a prescription diet.

Never fed the Weight Management formula, but I currently use the Sensitive Skin & Stomach for a dog with chronic diarrhea/weight loss issues from prostatitis that spread into a kidney infection. It has done wonders for him. Also just took a pup who initially had coat/growing problems off the SD puppy formula, and he’s the largest, most muscled pup in his entire litter. So, personally speaking, if I needed to control weight very strictly, I’d use an SD formula in a heartbeat.

[Susan]

Hi Ryan, sorry about your little dog losing a leg, lucky the other dog couldn’t get thru the fence all the way there may have been a different outcome….
Start looking for LOW CARB kibbles, high protein, low fat kibbles & wet tin foods….a lot of Hills, Royal Canine & Purina formulas are very high in carbs causing the dog to gain weight….
This is how you find out the carb % in a kibble, find & add the Protein% + fat% + fiber% + moisture% + ash%, if there’s no ash % just add 8% for ash, add all together now take away score from 100 & you have the carb% in that kibble, try & stay under 40% for carbs under 30% would be better…..dogs have short digestive tracts made to digest meat not high carb diets, over the years our dogs have become accustom to these higher carb diets but some dogs just don’t do to well…

Hills prescription vet diet has a new low carb-36%, weight loss & joint care kibble & wet tin food on the market, called “Hills Metabolic + Mobility Canine” for weight & joint care & in the Wet tin Metabolic + Mobility wet tin canine vegetables & Tuna stew.. http://www.hillspet.com.au/en-au/products/pd-canine-metabolic-plus-mobility-dry.html
If you want a grain free kibble & wet tin food look at the Salmon/Whitefish formulas the omega 3 will be higher so better for joints, heart, brain, skin & coat…

“Holistic Select” has a really good Senior Health kibble has everything for aging dogs, easy to digest the kibble size is nice & small & the fat & fiber % is lower then the Hills Metabolic + Mobility Care formula…you can rotate between the 2 formulas & see which gives better results.. http://www.holisticselect.com.au/recipes.aspx?pet=dog

[Acroyali]

There’s been great advice on this thread so all I can do is say I’m awfully sorry about your dog, but I’m very glad it was her leg that couldn’t be saved and not her life. So scary.
We have a very small dog (we think Chihuahua mix, or long haired Chi) who broke her leg and the leg was saved. It was in a cast and all that, but due to her tiny bone structure the leg healed improperly and it’s a constant worry that it will rebreak. It seems to move around a lot more than it should. The vets that worked on her after the break said it healed well, but her age (she’s 10-11 years old) we think made it more difficult for it to heal well.

Keeping her lean helps. This particular dog has (in the vets words), “Not the greatest kneecaps”, so that’s kind of a double slam on her. As tempting as it is to carry her everywhere, she walks on her own to (hopefully) keep the muscles and ligaments surrounding the joints strong. I’d make sure she gets a moderate amount of exercise so she retains good muscle mass. If you’re really ambitious, teach her how to back up. This is great for rear muscles and could hopefully help the breakdown of her rear end while she learns to go on 3 legs vs. 4.

Hope this helps and again–very sorry for the scare!

[Ryan B]

Hi just a update. She passed away yesterday after waking up from surgery. They believen the bacteria from the bite. Neighbor now doesn’t want to be liable for the bills, got a lawyer. Said how do we know it was their dogs fault. I feel like my kid was killed and nothing can be done. Warden said hard because both dogs where in their property.I’m heart broken she was my best friend.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 1 month ago by Ryan B.

[pitlove]

OMG! I’m so sorry Ryan. That is awful!

[Acroyali]

I’m horrified by this; I am so sorry for your loss!

[InkedMarie]

Oh my, I’m so very sorry for your loss.

[Susan]

Gee how sad, sometimes life sux, it’s not fair……

[Rosemary W]

Dear Ryan,
So sorry for you. I was looking for small bite weight management food and came across this thread. I cannot believe how insensitive the other owner is. I hope that that is going better than it was, and that with the passage of time your sorrow has lessened. It will take a long time to recover.
nessie

[Author]

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