Older Corgi/Beagle Mix

[pmysliwski]

I went to the grocery store today and the Animal Shelter had some dogs up for adoption in front of the store. There was a 14 year old Corgi/Beagle mix named Muffin whose owner shot her in the rear with the hope that Muffin would run away and never come back. When that didn’t work the owner then called animal control to come take the injured dog away.

Long story short, I am now the owner of a Corgi/Beagle mix named Muffin who is increadibly over weight but is very sweet. I already own a chihuahua, mini schnauzer and a german shepherd. Muffin has already been accepted by my other dogs and seems to be totally at home.

My question is, what kind of personality can I expect her to have since I don’t know much about beagles nor corgis and how old do these dogs usually get? Also, I’m very concerned with her weight because her tonnage can’t be good for her joints. Is there a certain dog food geared toward large dogs that should be small?

[LauraKY]

I have no advice for the weight loss, but, HOORAY for you! Bravo.

[Guin]

Bless you.

I would feed her whatever you are feeding your other small dogs, the schnauzer and chihuahua, in small quantities. Approx how much does she weigh? I feed the 37 lb corgi 2/3 of a cup of low-fat Wellness (1/3 cup 2x day.) I don’t think a corgi/beagle combo should be eating more than 1 cup of dry food a day. Add in green beans for extra “filling” so she doesn’t feel like she’s starving.

Poor old girl. I’m so glad you’ve given her a home for whatever time she has left. :sadsmile:

[JanM]

Feed the puppy the amount you would feed her at her ideal weight. If she should weigh what the other dogs do then that’s the amount to start with. You can supplement with something like green beans (barring gassy problems) that are very low cal, but filling. Feed at least twice a day, and if you give any treats (meaning dog treats not people food) then you can use tiny carrots or itty bitty pieces of whatever you feed the other dogs. And make sure Muffin gets lots of playtime. Thank you for giving her a chance to know what love and care are like.

[shea_smom]

Lucky dog and lucky Shea’smom, I don’t live closer and you got her first. What a terrible story.

[pmysliwski]

Thanks for the input. I did give her 1/2 cup of the chihuahua food and I will be taking her to the vets tomorrow. She has awful loose stools and when she got home I allowed her to drink as much water as she wanted, she drank quite a lot and unfortunately threw it up.

The shelter person told me that she did have loose stools and that approximately 2/3 of the dogs at the shelter had them. Is this something that dogs at a shelter could pass around or do you think it could be because of the stress of being at the shelter? I’ll let you all know what the vet says.

I’m just hoping that she doesn’t have any issues besides old age and obesity. I can’t give an approximation to her weight but I can barely pick her up she’s so heavy (and I’m pretty strong.) She is about 1 1/2 feet tall, 2 1/2 feet long and 2 feet wide!

[tallyho392]

ooohhhhhh…bless you for takng the poor ole girl in!!!..i am a sucker for the older unwanted ones…they just don’t have a clue , and are sooooooo grateful to get some comfort and loving…awwww, can just imagine how sweet she is…beagles can get FAT really quickly…dunno about corgis…give her a snuggle for me…

[tallyho392]

ooohhhhhh…bless you for takng the poor ole girl in!!!..i am a sucker for the older unwanted ones…they just don’t have a clue , and are sooooooo grateful to get some comfort and loving…awwww, can just imagine how sweet she is…beagles can get FAT really quickly…dunno about corgis…give her a snuggle for me…

[PAF]

Bless you for taking this girl in. Your kindness will be returned to you multiplied by a thousand in the form of love and laughter.

Corgi’s and Beagle tend to be two of the breeds that are “easy keepers”. I would feed a small quantity (maybe half a cup twice a day - please use a measuring cup) of an excellent quality dry food (think taste of the wild, wellness, etc) and supplement with green beans (I prefer frozen or canned no salt added) to add some “bulk” so that she thinks she is eating more than she really is.

There are all sorts of things that could be causing the stool looseness including internal parasites and just the changes of her life circumstances. I’m sure your vet will want to deworm her and please pick up and properly dispose of any stools until after that happens.

A gradual increase in exercise should do her a world of good. Just start out slow and short and gradually work up to more, letting her tell you when she has had enough.

There are a ton of diet foods out there but I never feed them. I just cut back on amount. I would probably feed a complete doggie vitamin just to make sure she is getting all the nuitrients she needs. Sometimes when you feed only a little amount, they aren’t getting all that they need.

Good luck discovering her personality. I love both Beagles and Corgis. It will be interesting to see her personality once she settles in.

[danceronice]

I have a Corgi and my parents have a beagle. Um…well, good luck. They’re both fat. They both are STARVING. (Puff of course is skinny and never puts on weight even getting corn oil.) They both have a VERY had time losing weight despite getting half what Puff (who barely gains an ounce) eats. I like the Tractor Supply store-brand version of ‘high end’ feeds (4Life, which is something like $6 for a five-pound bag.)

If Muffin’s anything like Tucker (Corgi) and Molly (beagle), you are going to have to learn to be adored. Also, if she has a beagle nose, look out for sniffing and following the nose. The Corgi is a sprinter, not a distance runner, but is energetic in her way and very vocal–not just barking but ‘talking.’

And you realize we need pictures. Does she look more like the beagle half or the corgi half?

[CharingHounds]

pmysliwski - good for you! What a wonderful thing you’ve done. No advice here, just sending a warm hug and a thank you!

[pmysliwski]

Older Corgi/Beagle Mix Update - Good News

Thanks DancerOnIce – I’m so happy I’ll be adored. Muffin is pretty adorable herself. I took her to the vets this evening and yes, it’s been confirmed, she is a porker. The vets office was shocked that she had been shot by her owner. She was so well behaved and sweet when she was being treated.

Muffin weighs 47 pounds and should be 30. The vet tested for diabetes, kidney trouble, etc. and all tests came back okay! He said that she should be around for at least another year or two if we could get the weight off.

I took her to the barn with me this morning to get some exercise for Muffin. It turns out that I got some too. I usually ride the four-wheeler down to the barn with the other dogs running next to it but decided that poor Muffin could only waddle at best. I ended up walking with her and she stayed put while I fed the horses. I did get some antibiotics for her loose stools and the vet said that she is probably drinking too fast and instead of water, give her ice-cubes.

She’s sleeping now, meds given and ice in her bowl. I have to feed her low calorie dog food and only am supposed to give her half of what the recommended feeding is. So, everything seems to be good and thank you all for your support and information and please do some jingles for massive weight loss for Muffin!

[incentive]

THANK YOU for adopting a senior. I’ve done it several times and have been very happy I did every time.

Corgis can live in air and still be plump. Adding green beans helps alot. Positive vibes for a good vet visit!

And just where are the pictures???

[BetterOffRed]

Thank you for adopting her and thank you to your dog family for welcoming her into their pack!

Depending on her energy level, you may also want to consider having your vet check her thyroid. My mother’s gigantically obese, elderly maltese weight about 15lbs too much and slept all the time. We thought he was old and at death’s door…nope, an inactive thyroid. With his thyroid meds, and a slight reduction in food he was a new dog…and lost weight and now he’s at a normal maltese weight now.

[jetsmom]

Aww, bless you for taking her in! Try adding a couple of heaping tablespoons of pure canned pumpkin to her food to firm up the stools.

Adding some canned low sodium green beans to her food (1/2 her food ration ) will help weight loss. They’ll help her feel full but are low calorie.

[belleellis]

We got a beagle and a corgi. Love em. I want to see a picture. And BLESS YOU FOR SAVING HER!

[DevilsAdvocate]

pictures picture pictures!!

I have a corgi also, your’s will become a little light in your life, prepared to become addicted to the breed! Bless you for taking her in and giving her an amazing end to her not so great life.

When I got Bella she was 38 lbs, I put her on wellness weight management and took her to the barn with me to walk around while I was riding. It was great because she’d lay down when she wanted and would follow me when she wanted to move around more. Only took about 3 months and she dropped down to a svelte 25lbs. Shes pretty active now and challenges the “sprinter not endurance” reputation corgis have. She usually comes in at the vets around 22-23lbs. She is smaller than normal female corgis and the vet assures me shes perfect weight. Thumbs up for green beans and canned pumpkin! Sweet potato is another good option, especially if all of her bloodwork came back normal, you wouldnt have to worry about the sugar levels in the ghord.

[Bacardi1]

While there are certainly a number of diseases &/or parasites that cause loose stools that can easily get passed around a multi-dog environment, your vet should be able to test for/diagnosis that.

However, let me just say that every single dog we’ve adopted from a shelter or pound (& we’ve had 6 pound dogs over the years - have 3 at the moment), EVERY single one of those dogs had loose stools anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks after arriving here, which then firmed up on their own. Think about it - severe stress from living at the pound, crummy low-quality food, different water supply, etc., etc.; then the stress of going out to the adoption places - more strange people, etc., etc.; & finally going to yet another new home - albeit a good one - meaning more stress, new/different food, water, etc.

Heck, I think I’D have loose stool going through all of that - lol!

It could also be as simple as a bad case of worms. While we were always told by the shelters that all of our dogs had been wormed before being released to new homes, our vet(s) found that the stool samples we brought in showed that EVERY single dog was still carrying a heavy parasite load.