Reba's Recovery
Page 
Reba
Rehabilitating a 70 Pound Pembroke
By
As with so many stories, it all started out with a phone call. I was sitting at
work the afternoon of July 16, 1998 when the phone rang. It was our good friend
Lois Kay asking if we were still interested in doing some foster work. Having
just recently known the satisfaction of finding a happy home for a black lab
and her 4 week old mixed breed puppy who I found sitting by the side of a road,
I was eager to actively get involved fostering my breed of choice. Here was my
chance. A Pem! I happily agreed. So, Lois told me that she had been talking to
Susan Strickland, and Susan had a female who had been returned. I called Susan,
who told me the details. Reba’s owners had called and said they wanted to
return their dog because she was “uncontrollable.” They
didn’t mention the fact that she also weighed 70 pounds! She had been at
Susan’s for a few days. We arranged a time for me to pick Reba up that
evening, I hung up the phone, then sat in stunned silence as the story sank in,
and I wondered what I was getting myself in for.
I arrived at Susan’s and got my first look at Reba. She looked like a
furry manatee with legs. “Can she walk?” I had to ask of this poor
dog panting furiously simply laying in the shade. “Yes, she even has
surprising bursts of speed. Even up a few steps. But she tires out very
quickly.“ Susan gave me a few pointers from the few days Reba had spent
there on how to move this poor girl around. She doesn’t have a neck, so
collars simply pop right off. Getting her from point A to point B is a problem.
Susan rigged up an old German Shepherd harness, with about a foot of leash
attached that would become our only way of controlling her for a while. Washed
her ‘pants’, which were filthy. Then we loaded her into the back of
the station wagon.
Over the next few weeks, George and I learned to loath Reba’s former
owners. “How could they?” was generally uttered several times a
day. This poor girl panted constantly, even while sleeping in an
air-conditioned room. So much so that the fur of her chest was constantly dripping
wet, and it smelled. We even considered shaving her chest so that it would stay
dryer, but ultimately decided that wasn’t a good idea. She couldn’t
curl her rear under to defecate, so she was constantly a mess (that area we did
shave), which smelled. Her vulva was pulled up inside a circle of fat, through
which her urine had to pass, burning the skin of her belly. Plus, she was
incontinent, making her lay in her urine much of the day. (We quickly moved her
to a roomier pen) The fat of her neck pushed against her ears, closing them.
The lack of ventilation made them so inflamed they looked like raw meat. Her
“underarms” were rubbed raw to the point that they constantly
seeped, and the fur was stained burgundy. She must have been in terrible
discomfort, all the time. Her owners had let her become this way in just 18
months. When she was spayed, in November 1996, her vet records indicate she
weighed less than 20 pounds. How can anyone do this to a 2 year old dog?
The owners were, however, truthful in saying that she was uncontrollable. Even
if it was their own fault. When a 70 pound Pem with no neck for a leash
doesn’t want to move, she isn’t going to move. Even the GSD harness
pops right off if you pull any way but straight up. Our test of wills started
almost immediately. She knew I wanted her to come, and she new which way that I
wanted her to go. She is one of the brightest dogs I’ve ever had the
privilege to meet. However, when I called her she ignored me. When I pressed
the issue, she ignored me some more, when I tried to push her in the right
direction, she gave me a look as if to say I was insane, she
“didn’t feel like it right now”. I knew that if I
didn’t force the issue, she would know she had won, and things would only
get worse. I firmly told her to go, and gave her a good shove in the right
direction with the side of my foot. She then rolled over on her back. You think
a 70 pound Pem is an immovable object on her feet, try her on her back! After a
few unsuccessful attempts at moving her, I finally decided that it was time to
play rough. She got a firm poke with my foot on her buttocks. She gave me an
astonished look as if to say, “What are you, stupid? These are NOT the
rules!” but she did get up and start moving. What followed for the next 5
minutes was an amazing display of her determination not to do what she knew I
wanted her to. A few steps and roll over, a poke in the butt to get going
again, repeat. Then, we went by the dining room. An amazing burst of energy
under the dining room table. A comical chase ensued, with every poke in the
rear sending her grudgingly on her way, only to burst off at the first
opportunity. Up the hall, down the hall, dining room, kitchen, family room,
around the coffee table, then finally through the back door. She collapsed
panting on the patio, and I collapsed panting on the sofa. I had been tested,
but I had won. I had gained her respect, and although she didn’t become
the picture of obedience, we had crossed the threshold through which we needed
to go. However, she wasn’t going to give up her position as Queen Alpha
Bitch of the Universe that easily, as George would soon find out.
Test, test, test. Always testing to see what we would let her get away with. I
had earned her respect, and was very grudgingly obeyed. George, on the other
hand, was not to be obeyed. George and she embarked upon their own test of
wills, culminating in an alarming confrontation where she literally challenged
George, snarling and snapping at his ankles when he told her to do something.
Let’s just say that it only happened once, and she became a changed dog
from that moment on. She still tested, trying to discover her new limits. But,
she settled into the new “pack”, accepting her position gracefully.
It was still a long haul to become the sweet, adorable girl that she has
become, but with patience, reinforcement, and tangible “rules” it
did happen. And, happily, she has never tried to be Queen Alpha Bitch of the
Universe since. Rather, she is a perfectly behaved lady, who doesn’t even
test her limits. She is the perfect example of what happens to a dog when you
let them rule the roost. Although this isn’t as dramatic as her weight
loss, I think it was every bit as important in her rehabilitation.
However, I know everyone is more interested in her weight loss, so I’ll
get back to that. When we first took Reba in, we had absolutely no idea what to
do. Susan talked to the vet, and even called Hill’s, and we finally
settled on canned Hill’s r/d. As odd as it sounds, given her extreme
weight, Reba was in danger of bloat. So, Susan elected to go with canned food
instead of dry. We were in uncharted waters, so we were constantly adjusting
her diet based on her weekly weigh-ins, and new information we received. We
finally settled in at ½ to 2/3 cup twice a day, supplemented with vegetables
for bulk, and vitamins. Primarily canned green beans. And, the occasional bit
of apple for a special treat. She lost weight at the rate of 1 to 2 pounds a
week.
As we watched the weight come off, the changes were dramatic. Here are some of
the milestones and observations I posted during her recovery:
7/17/98, 69.5 lbs. - “When she does roll over in an "I'm not going
anywhere!", she will show her teeth and snarl a bit when you reach to turn
her over. And she even put her teeth on George last night. But it's all show.
She's really a sweetie. This morning she came in and greeted me in bed, I
leaned over and petted her, and got my face thoroughly washed. :) She knocked
over the bathroom trash, and snuffled through it. And she keeps doing
small-scale happy Corgi things, like she'll give a little hop (very little -
it's not an easy thing for her) like she's going to jump up on the bed to give
me kisses. Then she'll remember "Oh yeah, I can't do that". There's a
sweet Corgi in there. We just need to get to her. Right now she's expending all
her energy just existing. Once she's more comfortable, I think she'll shine.
:)”
7/24/98, 67.5 lbs. – “She played fetch with a toy yesterday
afternoon. Then Casey got jealous, and since he can run faster, kind of took
over the game. But Reba would chase Casey then try and steal the toy. She was
playing with him!!! Casey still hasn't recognized her as a potential playmate,
but it's getting close. :) Reba had an excellent exercise session that left her
panting furiously. She may have run after the toy 10 times, but just 10-15 feet
away. And many of those were only intercepting Casey 1/2 way.”
8/17/98, 61.5 lbs. – “One day last week she was looking longingly
at everyone up on the bed. So, I encouraged her to get her front paws up (not
easy for her, but she can do it), then I hoisted her rear up. She was thrilled!
She raced across the bed and gave George kisses then ran around excitedly. We
didn't want to risk her trying to jump down, so she didn't get to stay very
long. But it really made her day. She was so excited to do a normal-dog thing,
if even for a few minutes. I was amazed at how such a simple thing could bring
her so much joy.”
8/21/98, 60.5 lbs – “Last night she actually tried to jump up on
the sofa! I had just gotten home, and Casey and Pepper were excitedly greeting
me on the sofa. Reba was very excited, too, and wanted to be part of it. So she
tried to jump up, making several respectable attempts. Her front paws on the
sofa, bouncing her back end. She probably only bounced about 3-4 inches up, but
it's a lot more than she's ever been able to do before. When she first got
here, she would try to bounce, but her feet wouldn't even leave the floor.
Actually, she couldn't even get her front paws up on the sofa! It was her FRONT
paws she could barely bounce, the back end was out of the question. “
9/11/98, 57.5 lbs – “She continues to become more and more eager to
please, taking pride in being obedient and pleasing us. …when we call
her, she'll eagerly run right up to our legs and look up at us intently. The
beginnings of a great recall. :) This is a vast improvement from the dog who,
not that long ago, would challenge us and refuse to do anything.”
10/26/98 51 lbs. – “We went to an agility competition on Sunday in
11/9/98, 48.5 lbs.- “Reba had a MAJOR breakthrough last night. She jumped
up on the sofa ALL BY HERSELF!!! … she flung her upper body up, got a
foothold with her back paws, and voila, one very proud, excited Corgi on the
sofa! A few minutes later she got down and did it again. I think she amazed
herself just as much as she amazed us. :) She was so excited and proud of
herself. … It's times like that when we really realize how terrible her
world was. Jumping up on the sofa is such a "normal dog thing" that
you don't even really think about it. And here we were on the verge of happy
tears over her accomplishment.”
12/23/98 – “As of last Thursday, Reba is a 41.5 lb. bundle of
energy. Her new favorite pastime is to entice Casey into a game of keepaway,
where they race around the backyard at top speed until one or both falls over
exhausted. She can't quite keep up with Casey, but she does a respectable job
of trying. “
1/4/99 – “Reba welcomed the new year with a weigh-in of 39 lbs. on
1/1/99!! That is a total of 31 lbs. 4 lbs away from losing 1/2 her body weight.
[Yes, I did take pictures. 6 rolls in fact.] Why 6 rolls of pictures, you ask?
Well, the little spitfire is so active now that I want to capture some of these
great shots of her playing "keepaway" with Casey. Getting action
shots is incredibly difficult. Especially when trying to get 2 dogs together in
the frame who are racing around the raised garden beds at top speed. And, you
don't want "butt shots". So I have to take something like 15.2
pictures to get one decent shot.”
The response to Reba’s plight was amazing. There was so much demand, we
decided to create a web page so that all her “devoted fans” could
see what she looks like and track her progress. Although a very rough,
thrown-together page, it was an instant hit. So much so that our web providers
nearly shut down our accounts! We had to move all of the pictures to another
server. I’ve heard that some breeders are even giving out the address
with each puppy they send home, telling the new owners to make sure they
don’t let this happen to their puppy. The page is www.corgidogs.com/reba.html if you care
to see it. Reba is famous in the Internet community, and her pages have
influenced many owners to help their dogs lose weight.
On 2/18/99 I tearfully drove a svelte 35 lb., happy, well-behaved Reba over to
Susan’s to meet her new human, Jan Reynolds. I haven’t seen her
since. After 6 months, she was certainly one of the family. It was very hard
saying goodbye. I knew from the start that I would have to let her go, but as
the time grew near I started finding more and more reasons to keep her. But in
my heart I knew I had to let her go. We had found the perfect family. And, I
knew, if I was really serious about doing foster work I can’t keep every
dog that I fall in love with, because pretty soon there won’t be any room
left to save another. By giving up Reba, I have proven to myself that I can do
this. I lost a piece of my soul that day. But with every update her new owner
sends, I know that she has found her true place in life. I have done something
good. It is a great feeling to know that you are making a difference. Even if
it does hurt sometimes.
As I sit here on 11/16/99 I look back at what has happened since that day.
Reba’s new owner posts to the Corgi-L mailing list frequently. I am happy
to report that Reba achieved her goal weight of 30 lbs. And is living her
“storybook happily ever after” on 13 wooded acres in
[
History | Obese Dog
Management | Diet and Nutrition | Consequences of Obesity ]
[ Exercise | Weight
Tracking | Vet Visits | Pictures | Disclaimers
| Main | Updates ]
[ Article ]