Why does my Bully appear Bored ?

[Maximus]

Maximus is 6-years old. He is a love, but I find him some days awake and just staring into space for hours,
that is when he is not sleeping. He can't go outdoors because he tore both of his ACL's and because he is
Obese at 85-lbs he can not have surgery due to the fact that the Anesthesia would most likely kill him.
So there is no diversion for him indoors. He lost interest in his toys a long time ago. Between the extra weight he is carrying and his knee injuries I'm he does not feel his best, and that could be it. I just don't
know what to do for him. All I can do daily is give him lots of lovies and Kisses and sit on the floor with him
and hold him.

 

[brutus77]

He needs a friend!!! Just sayin.....lol

 

[natski282]

He needs a friend!!! Just sayin.....lol

agreed and puppy would be excepted easier then a older bully

 

[oscarmayer]

Is it possible that he tore his ACLs because the knee joints could not handle his weight? With torn ACLs, a friend that wants to play may be ill-advised.
Talk to him and explain to him that he needs to lose weight and you are going to cut his kibble down to no more than 3/4 of a cup (1/2 cup would be better)twice a day combined with 1/2 can of low sodium green beans(more if you want). Explain to him that this is necessary because the extra weight he is carrying could profoundly decrease his life/quality of life. Tell him you want him around as long as possible and you'd love to see him active again. Hug him and tell him everything will be OK.

 

[aprilemari]

maybe some frozen PB in a Kong or some new nylabones. they are coming out with different flexichew flavors, i just got a filet mignon one if he can be trusted with spitting out the rubbery chunks when they're bigger. We let Lola rip off stuffy appendages when we're watching, which is a sit down job.

 

[Texas Carol]

Remembering your posting on this a couple months back, and prayed for y'all.

Did you ever start feeding less & adding green beans as filler? Consistent doing
of this will result in weight less albeit slowly. My Cami, very inert too, lost 5 lbs
in 4 months on 3/4 cup with 1 cup warmed green beans (Am & PM) & no snacks.
Slow & consistent is the key, if you start now, do this for 10 months, he could lose
10 lbs, another 10 months, another 10 lbs. Maximus could be 65 lbs in 20 months.
That 20 months is going to pass either way, so make a plan now & just do it

As far as getting a puppy, I too, worry about Maximus trying to keep up with puppy
energy PLUS, if you aren't home much, a puppy get's bored & becomes destructive.
Maybe a cat for companion?

As for his ACL injuries and exercise in general, what about water therapy to help both
conditions?

Let us know, good luck & hope these members can help with ideas!

 

[Whitney Chiang]

Have you tried the buster cube? If you fill it with frozen green bean bits, it's a bit healthier than treats, and it might provide a new toy with some mental stimulation and only as much activity as he is comfortable with. https://www.chewy.com/smarter-toys-buster-food-cube-dog/dp/45924

 

[Maximus]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and help. I think I tried the "green bean" thing a few years ago, and Maximus would not touch green beans. If it isn't meat, he is not interested. Currently, I have to feed him meat in order to get his medications in him, plus he
is on Cosequin and Omega-3 chewys. It could be all the Ground Turkey burgers that he is getting. But as far as his Kibble, Yes, he only gets 3/4-cup 2x per day. He did not like canned Green beans, maybe I should try again....
As far as a Puppy - Can't do that - I already have a Pug, and She is totally devoted to Maximus. They love one another and my Pug
is very protective of Maximus. It's a wonderful bond to see.
I will get him a new Nylabone. He used to have them all the time a few years ago, but then he lost total interest in them, so I stopped buying them. Maximus is on a lot of medications - for his Allergies he gets Apoquel, as well as anti-yeast medication Ketoconazole, and he is on Thyroid medication, Soloxine, plus eye ointment and eye drops for his Dry eye and Entropion.

He is a rough patient for sure. So thank you all. I will introduce a new toy or bone, and try again with the Green Beans.

 

[Texas Carol]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and help. I think I tried the "green bean" thing a few years ago, and Maximus would not touch green beans. If it isn't meat, he is not interested. Currently, I have to feed him meat in order to get his medications in him, plus he
is on Cosequin and Omega-3 chewys. It could be all the Ground Turkey burgers that he is getting. But as far as his Kibble, Yes, he only gets 3/4-cup 2x per day. He did not like canned Green beans, maybe I should try again....
As far as a Puppy - Can't do that - I already have a Pug, and She is totally devoted to Maximus. They love one another and my Pug
is very protective of Maximus. It's a wonderful bond to see.
I will get him a new Nylabone. He used to have them all the time a few years ago, but then he lost total interest in them, so I stopped buying them. Maximus is on a lot of medications - for his Allergies he gets Apoquel, as well as anti-yeast medication Ketoconazole, and he is on Thyroid medication, Soloxine, plus eye ointment and eye drops for his Dry eye and Entropion. He is a rough patient for sure. So thank you all. I will introduce a new toy or bone, and try again with the Green Beans.

Well, this is a tough one for sure, I am very touched by your profound love for Maximus
and desire to help him. Sounds like a combination of issues, the medications for one, I
know people can really suffer if thyroid dose is off so assume it can be the same for dogs.
Is there another med for that or is your Vet tweeking his dosage at all?

As far as green beans, my Cami hates the frozen & refused them, tried green beans & warmed
them so she would eat them but has to be mixed in with kibble. Maybe put a bit of his gr. turkey
in the mix too, you could then reduce total amount overall of his burgers by doing this and he
might eat the mix of it all.

So glad he does have your Pug & they're big buds! Continued prayers for all of you, keep us updated.

 

[oscarmayer]

Being in rescue, we've had many obese bulldogs come through our home. We start them right away on kibble and green beans. We put the food down and give them no more than 15 minutes to eat it. If they don't eat it then it's taken away. Next meal time they are getting a bit more hungry and we do the same thing. We've never had to do this more than 3 days and they begin to get the idea. They will eat what WE give them, not what they decide they want. Bulldogs can be stubborn and given the chance they can take over the home. Be firm and try the green beans for 3 days and do not waiver. I've never seen a bulldog that didn't eventually get hungry enough to eat what we put in front of them.
Sometimes a splash of chicken broth can get them going. Good luck and please report back how it's going as we are very interested in Maximus' well-being.

 

[jenzaar]

Just wishing you good luck with him, i imagine it's really hard to watch and wonder what he is missing.
Sending Maximus some kissies

 

[2BullyMama]

The gang has given some great advice..... as always, sending lots of hugs and positive thoughts to you and Maximus!

 

[Frith]

Swimming! Get that boy a lifejacket and get him into swim therapy to lose that weight.

 

[Frith]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and help. I think I tried the "green bean" thing a few years ago, and Maximus would not touch green beans. If it isn't meat, he is not interested. Currently, I have to feed him meat in order to get his medications in him, plus he
is on Cosequin and Omega-3 chewys. It could be all the Ground Turkey burgers that he is getting. But as far as his Kibble, Yes, he only gets 3/4-cup 2x per day. He did not like canned Green beans, maybe I should try again....
As far as a Puppy - Can't do that - I already have a Pug, and She is totally devoted to Maximus. They love one another and my Pug
is very protective of Maximus. It's a wonderful bond to see.
I will get him a new Nylabone. He used to have them all the time a few years ago, but then he lost total interest in them, so I stopped buying them. Maximus is on a lot of medications - for his Allergies he gets Apoquel, as well as anti-yeast medication Ketoconazole, and he is on Thyroid medication, Soloxine, plus eye ointment and eye drops for his Dry eye and Entropion.

He is a rough patient for sure. So thank you all. I will introduce a new toy or bone, and try again with the Green Beans.

I hope things have gotten better. I thought you might want to talk this over with your vet...its a link to anti yeast diet for dgs, that would eliminate one problem. Yeast Starvation Dog Food Recipe - Homemade Dog Food

 

[Canelospeeps]

This is a great thread, thanks for posting it. Our Canelo is a big boy. He was at 79 lbs but we have him down to 69 lbs. Interestingly, our regular vet, an ER vet, and who I call the bully vet can't tell us his ideal weight because he's tall and long but they say he needs to lose weight.
Canelo has major yeast infections which I finally found a food he does great on, Zignature Duck Formula. He gets a cup in the morning and evening, no snacks. But seeing this thread I am going to incorporate something I do with my parrots. I have three parrots and I switched the. From seed diets to real food. To get them to eat vitamin rich foods, I put the food in a bullet blender then mix it with brown rice. I am going to blend 1 cup of green beans and mix it with Canelo's food. Ideally I would like him down to 60 lbs. Again, great thread!!


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