My 7 year old Border Collie (Callie) is literally skin and bones.She normally stays trim but has been steadily losing weight the last 45 days or so.

Approximately 90 days ago I switched her, the 1 yr ACD and 20 mo ACD over to Taste of the Wild dry food at the recommended amount. They love it. The 2 ACD's have glossy coats and were doing well. Callie has lost weight. I have increased her feed and am adding Dyne to her food. She is extremely active (mentally and physically) and I am currently restricting her physical activity to conserve calories. The 20 mo old ACD is now beginning to lose condition although she still has the healthy looking coat. The monster puppy is doing great. I wormed all of the dogs 2 weeks ago.

They were previously on Diamond Hi-Energy at the recommended amount.

My vet just had surgery for brain cancer so I will have to go to an out of town vet. I am getting recommendations now. Is this a feed problem, worms, ......? I am at a loss. Is there anything I can do in the interim to minimize the weight loss?

I would switch her back to the food she did well on while you're finding a vet to take her to. Some dogs do not do well on some foods. And some dogs need more than the bag recommends. I always feed for body condition rather than the amount on the bag.

My youngest BC is a pain to keep weight on. With some kibble she needs 50-100% more than the bag recommends (which gives her diarrhea 'cause it's too much food). I finally found something that works for her. She was always healthy otherwise, just the very fast metabolism with a sensitive digestive system - oy!

I don't know, Christi, my first instinct is to say get a vet's opinion ASAP. How long will it be till you can get an appointment with another vet? (I hope your regular vet will be okay, BTW.)

If it was just your BC who was having the issues, I would say it could very well just be a coincidence and not related to the food switch. At seven years old, I would be concerned there might be something else going on. But now that one of your young ACDs is showing signs of not doing well........

I don't have any personal experience with either of the brands of dog food you mentioned. I believe there are others on the board who feed TOTW. Are you able to do a calorie comparison between the two? Just the name "Diamond Hi-Energy" sounds like it is a calorie dense food. So even though you were feeding recommended amounts for each, I think it might be helpful to know exactly how the calorie content compares.

It will be Monday before I can get her to a vet. I compared the labels on the feed. Diamond - 32% protein, 18% fat, 3719 calories/cup. TOTW 24%, 20%, and 3820. The overall calorie difference is not much but would 8% protein have an affect? I am increasing her calories/fat by supplementing with the Dyne. Per oz, it adds 1.9% protein, 38% fat. In the summer when she is really active, I have noticed a tremendous difference in a short period of time with Dyne, as in 5 days.

My husband has been hauling the 20 mo. ACD with him some and I think her nerves are probably affecting her. She is a bit timid and he is going to have to work on her confidence.

I mainly use kibble for treats and have bought a couple of bags of TOTW. I usually buy Orijen though and have recommended it to quite a few people. Some do well, some end up with loose stools.

A friend that is having problems with it and I were out for a walk the other day and she pulled out these chicken strip treats. Our Cosco sells them – really cheap for a huge bag. I told her those treats don't go anywhere near my dogs. Of course, a bit shocked, she said it's chicken. Pure chicken. The discussion started and she said she was going to throw away the bag.

I don't know what the side effects of these tainted China products are but maybe look at the treats you're providing as well. IMHO, TOTW is a pretty good food.

 Quote: Christi Coufal

I compared the labels on the feed. Diamond - 32% protein, 18% fat, 3719 calories/cup. TOTW 24%, 20%, and 3820. The overall calorie difference is not much but would 8% protein have an affect? I am increasing her calories/fat by supplementing with the Dyne. Per oz, it adds 1.9% protein, 38% fat.

Just for clarification, the calorie figures you've quoted are per kilogram (which is a little over two pounds). Per cup, the figures given by the companies are 370 for TOTW and 400 for Diamond.

That does seem like a pretty significant difference in protein percentage. I have had personal experience with a change of food causing weight loss, but an adjustment of the amounts fed took care of that. I'm not familiar with the Dyne, so can't comment.

If it was my dog, I would still want the vet's opinion to rule out anything else going on with her. Keep us posted.

Can you link us to the Dyne ingredients?

Is Callie willing to eat more? "She is extremely active (mentally and physically) and I am currently restricting her physical activity to conserve calories." She won't eat more? Giving more food would be far preferable to restricting activity in a healthy dog losing weight.

Like others, I'd want Callie at the vet's office asap.




You now have two dogs losing weight or tone?

Can you link us to ingredient lists of both the previous food and the new one?

Delete double post

Edited by Connie Sutherland (12/24/2011 02:16 PM)
Edit reason: delete

 Quote: Cheri Grissom

If it was my dog, I would still want the vet's opinion to rule out anything else going on with her. Keep us posted.

Ditto. Please keep us posted.

 Quote: Mara Jessup

I would switch her back to the food she did well on while you're finding a vet to take her to.

Me too.