My sheltie has tiyglycerides and high cholesterol.?

Question

Is this normal for a sheltie? If not, what kind of problems can it cause. He is 12 years old. He's approx 17" tall and weighs 29lbs.

Answer 1

I assume you found this out by taking your dog to the vet. High triglycerides and cholesterol are not normal for this breed or any breed. Your sheltie at 29 lbs and 17 inches is a bit overweight. My female sheltie is 17 inches and 26 lbs and is considered by my vet and agility instructor to be "ideal" weight. You want a senior to be on the lean side so you want to be able to easily feel his ribs without having to press into the skin and you should also be able to feel with very mild pressure the spine and tops of pelvic bones near the tail. 3 lbs may not sound like much but on a small dog it can make a huge difference. After-all 3 lbs would be about a 10% reduction in weight for your dog same as a 180 lb person losing around 18 lbs. The recommended weight loss to counteract obesity effects such as high cholesterol and reduce the likelihood of diabetes is 10-15% of initial body weight. ***FYI diabetics often have high cholesterol - at 12 years old your dog is a senior dog - was he checked for diabetes at your last vet visit? I would have him screened if he wasn't checked for this often age related condition.

I would do the following:

1. Screen for diabetes if not already done by your vet.

2. Screen for low thyroid too, since your dog is a senior and low thyroid can cause weight gain.

3. Switch to senior dog food if you don't already feed him a senior formula and limit extra treats and any table food he manages to beg off of your plate (LOL) to no more then the equivelent of 2 milkbone size biscuits a day.

4. If you already feed a senior formula, try reducing the amount you feed by about 1/4 to 1/2 cup or about 25 percent of what you are currently feeding daily to encourage weight loss. 25% of 1 cup = 1/4 cup reduction or feed 3/4 cup of food daily if you normally feed 1 cup of food every day. My sheltie who is the same height as yours gets 3/4 cup of Science Diet dog food a day. She also is very active in agility training and gets 30-40 minutes of intense exercise and ball chasing every day. So your dog may need even less if he is not as active as mine.

5. Try to increase exercise to about 20-30 minutes per day. You can split this up into shorter sessions of 10-15 minutes if your dog arthritis or if it is really hot outside. Throw a ball or take a walk. Mine also like to swim (easy on joints).

High Cholesterol is bad for all animals including people so the sooner you get it under control the better. Your dog will feel better and live longer if you keep his heart healthy.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

I am not sure that you have actually asked a question, you have listed what has happened to your husband, but not really said what you want to know? You have not given your husbands age, medical history or current medication history if there is one, nor said if he smoke, which would be a disaster and if he does should be the first thing to go. He appears from what you have said to have 3 risk factors:- Overweight, though you don't give the level. Raised blood pressure. Raised cholesterol. There are a number of things he can try and do to help himself, though they are unlikely to result in him avoiding medication if the problems are well established. They are all pretty obvious lifestyle changes. Moderate regular exercise 5 days a week, within the limitations currently imposed by his weight and his asthma. This would help him lose weight, it also lowers blood pressure and increases HDL cholesterol, the good cholesterol. A weight reduction diet, low in animal fats, this wold help weight loss, which helps lower blood pressure and help lower cholesterol. It would also reduce his future risk of diabetes, which is the next stage in what is often called 'the metabolic syndrome'. ( obesity, hypertension,hypercholesterolaemia, diabetes and heart disease, making up a composite disease entity.) Exercise would also help his asthma, make him fitter and more able to do more exercise and as an independent positive factor increase his lifespan. It is also a good idea to reduce salt intake. It is a bit of a tall order to get all these things right, but if you do the odds move in your favour!

Answer 3

You're feeding your dog dry food in all likely hood. Stop with the dry food and give it raw, cheap meat. Even canned food would be better although it contains grains and dogs are carnivores, not cattle. The carbohydrates your dog is consuming are what have caused this condition more than any other factor. Change the diet and watch to see what happens.

Answer 4

Make Sure the Sheltie has plenty of exercise.. as for the diet.. take it off of any fatty items and food items with sugar.. that should do the trick

Answer 5

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