[sillylilykitty]

My best friend has a dog that I think is too skinny. I dont have any pictures at the moment but I might be able to get some (Since my friend takes lots of pictures of him). But for you to get an idea, you can see the ribs and where the ribs end. I know she absolutely loves Turk (the dogs name). She likes to bring him on walks, gives him bathes, and shes in charge of feeding him. The dog is a coonhound type dog. Ive watched her feed the dog, she fills the bowl, overflowing, 2 times a day. Thats more than some of the dogs I worked with got fed. So she has assumed that the dog is just meant to be skinny.

She is my best friend and I can tell her anything, except about her dog. I dont know why. But I wanted to know if anyone could give me some good suggestions on how to talk about it with her. She does feed the dog a lot, its just not enough for the dog.

And just to let you know, back on Kauai (where my friend and Turk are) her dog is one of the better looking (and cared for) dogs in her neighborhood. There are a lot of dogs who are 2x as skinny and run around looking like strays.

[Captbob]

Originally Posted by sillylilykitty

My best friend has a dog that I think is too skinny. I dont have any pictures at the moment but I might be able to get some (Since my friend takes lots of pictures of him). But for you to get an idea, you can see the ribs and where the ribs end. I know she absolutely loves Turk (the dogs name). She likes to bring him on walks, gives him bathes, and shes in charge of feeding him. The dog is a coonhound type dog. Ive watched her feed the dog, she fills the bowl, overflowing, 2 times a day. Thats more than some of the dogs I worked with got fed. So she has assumed that the dog is just meant to be skinny.

She is my best friend and I can tell her anything, except about her dog. I dont know why. But I wanted to know if anyone could give me some good suggestions on how to talk about it with her. She does feed the dog a lot, its just not enough for the dog.

And just to let you know, back on Kauai (where my friend and Turk are) her dog is one of the better looking (and cared for) dogs in her neighborhood. There are a lot of dogs who are 2x as skinny and run around looking like strays.

What does her Vet think?

[sillylilykitty]

Turk doesnt go to the vet When I told her about Revolution for fleas (because they had a problem at the time), she thought it was a great idea but when I said you have to get it from the vet she looked disappointed. Her dad would have to pay for a check up too. The closest vet is 1 and a half hours away.

I would say about 50% of the pets on Kauai are not taken to the vet. Its sad but how can I put this.....its not a city, theres farms and....I dont know do you understand what im trying to say about the "type" of area she lives in?

[Orange County Ca]

I think you're trying to say that in that area dog's are considered what I call "farm dogs". Dogs that are maintained for a specific purpose, a pet in this case, but not considered worth spending any extra money on. If it gets sick put it down and get another.
That may not describe her and her dog, but does it describe the area?

Back to starvation diet.
Is the food nourishing? Some farm dogs are expected to catch at least some of their food but not all dogs can do that.
Even if a vet was a option it won't help if she won't/can't afford to go. The attitude of the area leads me to believe that they don't think anything is wrong.
Can you sneak the dog to the vet? However skinny is not necessarily unhealthy but I've seen dogs like that and don't consider them to be minimally cared for.

[sillylilykitty]

Originally Posted by Orange County Ca

I think you're trying to say that in that area dog's are considered what I call "farm dogs". Dogs that are maintained for a specific purpose, a pet in this case, but not considered worth spending any extra money on. If it gets sick put it down and get another.
That may not describe her and her dog, but does it describe the area?

Back to starvation diet.
Is the food nourishing? Some farm dogs are expected to catch at least some of their food but not all dogs can do that.
Even if a vet was a option it won't help if she won't/can't afford to go. The attitude of the area leads me to believe that they don't think anything is wrong.
Can you sneak the dog to the vet? However skinny is not necessarily unhealthy but I've seen dogs like that and don't consider them to be minimally cared for.

Thats what I was trying to say! The dogs are considered just pets and dont go to the vet. Thats how her family treats the dog but I think she would bring it to a vet if she had money.

Im sorry to say I cant sneak Turk to a vet. For one reason, and thats that I live in Colorado while she lives in Hawaii .

Now about the food. The best brand they sell on the whole island is Nutro (unless you pay a lot more to ship it from the mainland). But the Nutro along with the vet are 1 and a half hours away. So the only place they can get dog food is at a little grocery store called Big Save. The brand they feed is Pedigree, I found out when the recall happened and made sure her dog wasnt going to die.

In my opinion Turk is too skinny. Maybe he is alright the way he is. I should be getting pictures soon through e-mail, as soon as I get them I will post them.

[Captbob]

Originally Posted by sillylilykitty

Thats what I was trying to say! The dogs are considered just pets and dont go to the vet. Thats how her family treats the dog but I think she would bring it to a vet if she had money.

Im sorry to say I cant sneak Turk to a vet. For one reason, and thats that I live in Colorado while she lives in Hawaii .

Now about the food. The best brand they sell on the whole island is Nutro (unless you pay a lot more to ship it from the mainland). But the Nutro along with the vet are 1 and a half hours away. So the only place they can get dog food is at a little grocery store called Big Save. The brand they feed is Pedigree, I found out when the recall happened and made sure her dog wasnt going to die.

In my opinion Turk is too skinny. Maybe he is alright the way he is. I should be getting pictures soon through e-mail, as soon as I get them I will post them.

I bet when you finally get your dog, your dog will think that you are a great person to live with.........

[sillylilykitty]

Originally Posted by Captbob

I bet when you finally get your dog, your dog will think that you are a great person to live with.........

Thank you Captbob! I try my best to be a good pet parent.

[lovemachichis]

sounds to me that if the dog eats alot, and is still very skinny he might have an intestinal parasite, i had a friend with a boxer that was the same way, you could feed her all day long and she was so thin it made me sick to look at her, and i tried for a very long time to convince her that the dog needed to see a vet, and they insisted that there was nothing wrong with her.

eventually with enough convincing and a promise that i would pay her vet bill i got them to let me take her, and sure enough the poor baby had a tapeworm the length of my arm in her!

so i would tell you to do everything you can to get that dog to a vet, hes prolly not getting the nutrition his body needs and if this continues and theres something seriously wrong with him he might die!

[skelaki]

Yes, can you offer to take the dog to the vet and help her pay for it? It would be a good idea to have it checked for internal parasites since there was a recent flea problem. Or would it be possible to at least get urine and feces samples and take those in to the vet to be analyzed?

But, without photos it's really difficult to say whether or not the dog looks too skinny. A lot of your Coon Hounds do tend to look skinny.

[Stafford Lover]

Hi. 2 things stick in my mind.

1 the dog may be ill like suggested above and a underlying problem. My staffie has just been diagnosed with addisons and lost an awful lot of weight. ince being on his meds we are still having a weight issue with him, he is losing weight dramaticly and vets dont know whay, he is to under go more tests. To people who dont know he looks starved yet eats 2 times the amount a St bernard does in one day! My neighbour and friend just asked me out right "is Kye ok, he looks really thin" I didnt take offense and informed them. Obviously your friends dog may not have anything wrong.

2 Is the dog a working a dog? If so then a working dog is normaly left stripped to a good fit condition which will mean ribs showing, the dog is still healthy and fed well but wrking and excercise keeps them stripped of weight. I see many staffords like this, alot of people dont like the look, personaly I like to see it as long as the dog looks healthy and good muscle balance, fit and active.

[sillylilykitty]

Thanks for the replys! The dog is not working, Turk is a pet and stays in a little fenced in area so I highly doubt he is getting much exercise except for the occasional walk.

I think the parasite idea is a great one! I didnt even think of that! But I still wont be able to take him to the vet because I dont live near her.

I will be going home for Christmas so maybe I could take him then, but who knows what will happen to the dog by then....my friend will be gone at college by then.

[Orange County Ca]

Originally Posted by sillylilykitty

.

Out of your concern for a dog you were allowed in here but don't make a habit of it unless you change your name.

[sillylilykitty]

Originally Posted by Orange County Ca

Out of your concern for a dog you were allowed in here but don't make a habit of it unless you change your name.

Haha very funny! I dont think I could change my name Lily, my only pet would get mad at me! I worked with 11 dogs for 4 years doesnt that count for something?

[sillylilykitty]

So I finally got some pictures....And they werent what I wanted but I didnt want to tell her "I need a full body shot" or something like that.

Can you tell anything from these pictures?

[xoxluvablexox]

From the pics I can't see any bones sticking out or anything that would make me think it is really sick or starving. He's a cute dog though so I hope he's okay.

[sillylilykitty]

I dont think Turk is sick, just a little too skinny. But I guess being a little skinny never hurt anyone...I hope. He has food, water and shelter. In fact my friend tried her hardest to put up some chicken wire for a fence so Turk wouldnt have to be chained up. She wants the dog in the house but her parents wont allow it.

[xoxluvablexox]

That's sad. What's the point of owning a dog if all it does is sit out in the yard.
Hopefully she's planning on moving out of the parents house soon? Or maybe she's still too young. Atleast she tried her best, too bad her parents don't seem to understand.

[Jen D]

Originally Posted by sillylilykitty

I dont think Turk is sick, just a little too skinny. But I guess being a little skinny never hurt anyone...I hope. He has food, water and shelter. In fact my friend tried her hardest to put up some chicken wire for a fence so Turk wouldnt have to be chained up. She wants the dog in the house but her parents wont allow it.

Hyer parents should not of let her get a dog if it wasn't going to be allowed in the house! I don't know how old she is but maybe she should of waited till she got her own place, she will be lucky if she doesn't end up with a crazy/wild dog.

[sillylilykitty]

Originally Posted by Jen D

Hyer parents should not of let her get a dog if it wasn't going to be allowed in the house! I don't know how old she is but maybe she should of waited till she got her own place, she will be lucky if she doesn't end up with a crazy/wild dog.

Well when they first got the dog they lived in a different house and the dog was allowed in the house. I dont know where they lived then but now they live somewhere where there is red dirt everywhere. I understand they dont want red dirt in the house (its impossible to get it off carpet once its there). But if it was my dog I would wipe its feet off everytime it came back in the house, they are not the type to do it and my friend is so busy. She is on the principles list (straight A's) and has been accepted to the Naval Academy on the east coast so she is always busy with academics and extra curricular activities, shes always been that way but she still finds time to take care of the dog. I have no idea how she does it! I had to quit cross country one year so I could be home with Lily after school, when I first got her (she was a cry baby and my parents wanted me to deal with it, not themselves).

[DogAdvocat]

How about giving your friend a gift certificate for a vet check? It could be for an occasion, like a birthday, if you think it would help.