Should I fatten her up a bit?

[gooeydog]

I've actually posted about this before, but this time, with a bit of a twist....

Probably within the next few months, all the dogs are going to be getting dentistries done. Of course, I'm worried about Goo being old (11 yrs, 12 in Feb/March of next year), and just looking for anything else to worry about because that's what I do :roll:

My mother's always harping about how Goo is too skinny, which I generally ignore because the three dogs she feeds look like seals :lol:

Buuutt.... I'm wondering if it isn't a bad idea to maybe fatten her up a bit before she gets this done (she's also got a few lumps that I'm going to have to have them check out, the vet said probably fatty tumors, but he'd check them more closely when she's under anesthetic and probably remove at least the biggest one, about quarter sized), just to have a bit of extra weight on her in case she doesn't eat well afterwards, or has any other problems. I try to keep her lean to keep as little strain as possible on her joints and heart, but would it be better to keep her that way for this, or add some security weight on?

I don't think she's too skinny, but because she's an older dog and doesn't keep on the muscle definition as well as she did in her youth (she was never a real muscular dog, but she's a bit "softer" now), she does look a bit scrawny. You can't see her ribs, but can feel them easily, hipbones- can't see, but can feel pretty easily, backbone- can occasionally see a few vertebrae while standing, and can usually see 3 or 4 at least a bit when she lays curled up.

Here are links to a few pics showing what sort of shape she's in, if it helps any:
Standing: [url]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/gooeydog/June/lstarebirdssunsch.jpg[/url]

Laying straight:
[url]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/gooeydog/July/l4thlaystared.jpg[/url]

Crappy picture, but shows what I mean about her backbone (it's a bit more pronounced when she lays curled up, but not too much): [url]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/gooeydog/august/lcometotied.jpg[/url]

[gooeydog]

Also... TDG, you mentioned in a reply to one of my posts a while abck that it'd be a good idea to actually increase her vit E supplement when she has this done. Should I only increase it after the procedure, or before, and by how much? I've read that vit E can cause excessive bleeding, though several people I've talked to have said it won't increase bleeding by enough to cause a problem. Do you know anything about this?

[imported_Kat]

To be honest I wouldn't change the way that Goo's weight is. She is a fit dog and very muscular and her fitness will stand by her in a surgery and not the bodymass of her fat. I honestly didn't know that Goo was the age she is! She is a fantastic healthy dog for her years and a credit to your obvious nurturing. Vitamin E is also a great supplement for any dog of any age to get and usually a dog of her stature at our surgery , we would advise 200 I.U once or twice daily depending on her overall physical ability.

[ESSlover]

I'm with Kat, She looks perfectly fine to me!!!

[DogPaddle]

I think she looks pretty good, actually excellent for a senior dog. I wouldn't add weight right now. If she drops weight later than deal with it then with some extra special extra yummy additions to her food.

[MajiesMom]

I think you shouldn't worry she's perfect, keep her thin it's healthy.

Are her teeth really bad? I though it was not good to put older dogs under anesthetic?

[gooeydog]

Majiesmom, her teeth aren't too bad, tartar-wise, but she's got a few that are chipped (vet checked them briefly and said they didn't look too damaged, but that he'd take a better look at them when she was under anesthetic. SHe's had some tartar build up on them over the past few months as well, and it's hard to keep it off because the stuff seems to stick better to the chipped area than to the smooth enamel, so those areas probably do need cleaned now. It doesn't help that she's terrified of the vets, and the vet clinic (had some bad experiences there as a young dog), so she's not exactly cooperative.

There are varing opinions on putting old dogs under, everything from it being extremely dangerous to it actually being safer than a younger dog (considering that a dog at an advanced age should be in pretty good health to still be active and in good shape, plus probably have already been put under at least once in their life and had no problems). People that I've talked to about it say there are a lot more types of anesthetic available now, and vets can choose which is best suited for the individual dog.

It really is a double edged sword... on one hand, I don't want her to end up with her teeth causing her pain, or her having other problems from the tartar buildup; but on the other hand, I feel sick at the idea of something bad happening to her during the procedure.