Hey,

It's been a while since I've been on here, but I have been having issues with my dogs and their weight. Both my dogs have seemed to lose a lot of weight on Taste of the Wild Dry Food (lamb, bison and fish varieties). One dog lost about 25 lbs on it (from 95-71 lbs), the other who could stand to lose a bit has also slimmed down but not as much as the younger shepherd. We are feeding more to the younger gsd and she only went up roughly a lb in a month.

We did have a recalled bag previously but have since got a new batch of food.

Anyone have any ideas of what is going on? She had blood-work done and only a few things came back high, like protein can't recall the rest but vet she may just have inflammation in her system from getting fleas, ALT was fine and no internal parasites. She also came back negative for lyme and her titers were good. She had a weird hair fallout thing on her rump area in February after getting Rabies vaccination. Older dog has been having urgency to defecate but I chalked that up to old age.

Other than this the younger gsd seems in good spirits and has an appetite. Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

PS - I'm thinking of switching back to EVO.

K

Adult dogs at full growth, right< No one still growing? And no food amounts changed?

Specifically, did the dog who lost 25 pounds do so on the same quantity of food that she had previously maintained weight on? Is this the dog with blood-work done?

Was the hair loss also itchy? Is it resolved? Hair returned? Was this above the rump (base of tail)?

The dog with urgency to defecate .... do you mean unproductive straining or do you mean sudden need to dash out and have soft poop or runs?

Is this two or three dogs in the post?

Thanks Connie,

Yes, younger one is 6 unspayed, older is 12 spayed

Both were on the same amount of food throughout (different amounts for each b/c of different weight of dogs), only time amounts were changed were when they looked a bit heavy (boxy) so adjustments were made.

Hair issue was itchy but resolved, hair loss was to the dogs right hind area more closer to spine and thigh than base of tail. I could pull the hair out easily in large clumps including the follicle. Roughly a 3-4 inch area, resolved on its own.

12 yo old gsd has urgency, meaning she realizes she has to go suddenly, no straining and pretty normal looking, nothing alarming, a bit soft but she always had this issue. She's rather sensitive digestive wise. Has had a few accidents in the house recently which is unlike her.

2 dogs, TY.

Both are on Frontline +.

K

OK, I'm not fully getting specifics yet, so bear with me.

They looked chunky and you adjusted food downward. And .... ? Then what? They lost weight and you returned the food to the previous level but the younger one continued to lose to the point of losing 25 pounds? On the amount of food she had maintained weight with before?

The one who has accidents ..... poop? How soft is the poop? This one had no blood-work?


Is this exactly correct: "They lost weight and you returned the food to the previous level but the younger one continued to lose to the point of losing 25 pounds? "

Just the dog who lost 25 pounds:

If this is all stated correctly, this is not just a dog food brand issue with the dog losing 25 pounds on the amount of food she previously maintained on.

What does the poop of this one look like? Normal logs?

Does she act very hungry?

How's her coat? Dry or good?

When you say "high protein," do you mean in the urine? When was the blood-work done? Had she already lost all this weight?

Yes, anytime they needed to lose a bit of weight I adjusted down and returned food back to the previous (recommended) amounts after they looked decent. The younger one seems to be having the issue with putting weight back on when bringing it back to her previously fed amounts. I would think she would be able to gain more than a lb in a month.

No blood work on the elder recently accident prone dog. Yes, poop not urine, soft enough that I wait 10-20 minutes before picking it up from the yard to let it dry, but it is still shaped normally.

Yes, I brought the food levels back up and she only gained a lb in a month. I've kept her activity level down during this period also.

 Quote: Kimberly Bunk

Yes, anytime they needed to lose a bit of weight I adjusted down and returned food back to the previous (recommended) amounts after they looked decent. The younger one seems to be having the issue with putting weight back on when bringing it back to her previously fed amounts. I would think she would be able to gain more than a lb in a month.

When and how did she drop 25 pounds? I'm lost now.

Just the one dog for now: she got chunky, you decreased food, she lost a bit, you returned food to normal. When in there did she lose 25 pounds?

Just this same dog: what do her poops look like? Logs? Or patties?

Had she already lost 25 pounds when the blood-work was done?

Was the high protein in the urine?

Does she act very hungry?

How's her coat? Dry or good?

And how long did it take her to lose 25 pounds?

Is she now very underweight? What should she weigh?

We can't figure out what's going on and I'm afraid of the wait and see approach, she has another weight check in September. She has normal stools to a bit soft like the older dog at times. Now she is going 4-6 times a day where previously she went 2 possibly 3 times/day.

This dog has always acted very hungry, she is totally food driven unlike the older dog.

Coat in decent shape, shiny and fluffy.

High protein in blood, they ran a protein test in urine and it came back fine. I believe they did this for the lyme since she previously tested positive for lyme. Bloodwork was from June 2012 at which point she already lost all this weight.

I feed TOW to 3 dogs Kimberly. My Rott and E.Setter maintain their weight easy enough with it, but I feed my Shepherd TOW in the evening and EVO cans in the morning. He seems to need the extra calories to stay at a good weight.