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Dog Unable to Gain Weight
So my doberman, greyhound, possibly also boxer mix is having trouble gaining weight. He's always been thin, but lately he's been getting thinner, and it's to the point that I can see his hip bones.
A little background info, we recently moved to AK, from Florida and made a pit stop in Georgia for a couple of weeks in between. I've never been very good at keeping up with his weight, so I couldn't say how much weight he's lost in total, right now he's 46lbs.. At first I thought it was just the move that was stressing him out and causing him to lose weight, but now that we're settled he isn't bulking up any. He's now getting 6 cups of food a day with no improvement, and the bag of food recommends 3.
I've spoken with our new veterinarian, and our first step is to do a fecal, and de-worm him. He's afraid that he picked up some nasty worms in the South.
My question for y'all is if you've ever experienced anything like this what did you do. And if it isn't worms what else could it be? I'm concerned that it may be something more serious, and I don't know what to prepare myself for.
Re: Dog Unable to Gain Weight
Only a vet will be able to determine what's going on. If I read your post right he's not having trouble eating (and eating more than normal), just keeping weight on. Any stool issues - persistent diarrhea - that would indicate he's not getting nutrition? Worms are a definitive possibility. Or a metabolic disorder is possible.
Hope they're able to find the cause quickly!
BFP 11.8.12 * EDD 7.17.13 * MC 12.20.12
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over!
What are you feeding him? has it changed recently?
You and your vet are on the right track it sounds, but you may be able to help him by providing a more energy dense diet.
I hope your vet is able to figure it out! One of the possibilities is a thyroid problem, which I'm sure your vet will test for.
Good luck!
You may consider going to a puppy formula diet. They are more energy dense so it may help get more calories into him without increasing the volume any more.
I like j/d its an awesome food, but I think a puppy formula may be a better choice. Again they are more energy dense and I think a little more digestible. ie easier access to the nutrients. And its cheaper. A puppy food is inherently fine for an adult dog, just most adults don't need that much energy which is why it is recommend to transition to an adult dog food.
I'm going to drop a fecal off first thing tomorrow morning, so hopefully I'll get some news then. I'll also mention puppy food to the vet and see his recommendation, b/c he's so thin it may not be a bad idea to keep him on that anyway. My other dog, (a lab/hound/ possibly boxer mix) has always been real lean too, so I'll ask if it'd be alright to keep them on the same food and give her less.
Thank y'all!
None of these foods are nutritious or contain quality ingredients. You may want to find another food that is of higher quality, which may help.
And that is not true.
I hope you get some answers today nala. Let us know.
What about these ingredients is nutritious? The main ingredients are corn and chicken by-product meal.
Science Diet's j/d:
Ingredients: Whole Grain Corn, Chicken By-Product Meal, Flaxseed, Soybean Mill Run, Brewers Rice, Soybean Meal, Pork Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Chicken Liver Flavor, Powdered Cellulose, Fish Oil, Lactic Acid, Potassium Chloride, L-Lysine, Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Iodized Salt, DL-Methionine, Vitamin E Supplement, vitamins (L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), L-Threonine, Taurine, Soy Lecithin, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), L-Tryptophan, L-Carnitine, preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid, Chondroitin Sulfate, Phosphoric Acid, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract.
What about corn and chicken is not nutritious?
They are both highly utilizable ingredients.
First of all, it's not chicken meal, it's chicken by product meal. Not the same thing. Just because corn is used in a lot of food, does not make it good for us or our pets. They (speaking about corn and meat by products) are fillers without much nutritional value. Perhaps you should do some research.
thank you but I do do research. An extensive amount actually. I know exactly what byproduct means and what can and can't be included in that labeling (which a lot of people have misinformation on). And they do have quite a bit of nutritional value.
We also had a terrible time with trying to get my Border Collie/ Great Pyrenees mix to put on weight.
We feed raw, but we ended up realizing that we had calculated her food portions based on her current weight, not her ideal weight. We increased her food to the proper amount, split the food into 2 separate meals a day, and added in a salmon oil pill every day to add good fatty acids.
She's put on 15 pounds in just a few months and looks wonderful. Good luck!