weight.

My oldest staffie Gypsy, had an operation on her ankle when she was 6 months old..she damaged a cartlidge....She is only 141/2 inches tall, and because of now having athritis in the ankle(She is on metacam daily) she compensates by using her front legs more when running..resulting in her buliding up her chest muscles..She is now 17 kilo's which is too heavy for her height.But you can see her ribs, so the extra weight is muscle,How do I get her back to 15 kilo's..she has an hours walk a day, would do more if I let her...

Are you concerned because the weight is straining her legs? If she is simply just heavy for her size, and the weight is muscle rather than fat, then I would not be too concerned. If, however it is placing an unacceptable strain on her front joints then it would need to be reduced. Swimming is an excellent exercise for all the muscles. It could trim her dowm whilst distributing muscular development evenly over her body and without straining weakened joints.

I am just worried she is a bit heavy for her size..She can run around like any normal dog, there doesn't seem to be any strain on her front legs.Unfortunatley SB..neither of my staff will go near water...