Sorry if I missed it, what is the age of your dog? What are her stools like? How hungry is she? Crazy for food? Indifferent?

Did you get the TLI test results back? (The one that tests for EPI - Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency)

Post that result when you have it please.

Hi Laureen, she is 3 1/2 yrs old, her stools are solid and regular, she eats her fill in the am and pm, but isn't food crazy, nor indifferent. After dinner she usually naps for a while. She lives with a 7 mo. old pup( I forgot the breed, and a male Czech line GSD that she keeps in line!)

Her test results are due back by Thursday at the latest.I'll be sure to post the results!

Jeannette, how long did it take her to go from 68lbs to 55lbs? Was this a drastic change or a slow change?

Approx. 2 1/2 months, She went to Ohio in mid-July.

Besides getting her checked out in case of an illness, 2 1/2 months is also enough time in which she could've burned that weight off on her own. Dogs, as well as humans, can burn body mass(fat, muscle, and water weight) if they endure too much cardiovascular exercise without getting the proper nutrition and rest to help the body recover between workouts.

I agree with M. Williams on increasing her carbohydrate consumpsion. If the case is that she's just extremely active, higher carb intake will give her that insulin spike which will restore what she may have lost during catabolic activity(fat, muscle, and water weight), also preventing additional tissue breakdown. Carbohydrates are energy, and if she's putting out more than she's taking in, her body will only break down what it has for the needed energy. Even with all that food she's eating, she won't get everything she needs from just protein, especially if she's extremely active.

Mike,
Increasing Carb in the diet in response to exercise induced weight loss is not a good solution. Muscle tissue utilizes fatty acids for energy over glucose under all aerobic activity. There will be plenty of carb in the kibble to induce insulin production after meal time, and higher insulin spikes would impair the use of fatty acids for muscle energy. For high work/stress situation increasing the fat, then protein would be the best bet for maintaining BW. Additional supplementation of antioxidant vits and Se would also be a good idea.

 Quote:

Originally posted by Chad Stahl:
For high work/stress situation increasing the fat, then protein would be the best bet for maintaining BW.

Evidently, she's following a similar approach with the loads of kibble and additional meat being fed, and it's not working to keep weight on the dog. If an extremely active dog doesn't get adequate carbs, they reach a catabolic state, which means the body has now reached a negative nitrogen balance and is forced to feed off muscle tissue for energy. There is no energy source(carbs) in the body to be used for fuel, so the proteins in the muscle are then broken down to be used for fuel. Body water is also lost, which carbohydrates help retain. Also, muscle weighs more than fat. So all in all, that's quite a few pounds lost.

The level of intensity in the workouts should determine the amount of carbohyrate consumption. Kibble-based carbs are not what I would consider "good carbs". Everything in kibble is processed junk, and would never fully support an extremely active body. That's what RAW diets are for...Real food for Real dogs.

An earlier post stated that the dog was lean but well muscled and was the picture of health - maybe the dog was too heavy to begin with? If you look at most dogs even "working" dogs they are about 20% overweight to begin with. I would do the "hands on" test and go by the dogs energy and attitude.
BTW I would also do what Chad Stahl said diet wise - maybe the meat they are supplementing with is too lean and should be switched to something with a higher fat content.

 Quote:

Originally posted by Mike Sanchez:

 Quote:

Originally posted by Chad Stahl:
For high work/stress situation increasing the fat, then protein would be the best bet for maintaining BW.

Evidently, she's following a similar approach with the loads of kibble and additional meat being fed, and it's not working to keep weight on the dog. If an extremely active dog doesn't get adequate carbs, they reach a catabolic state, which means the body has now reached a negative nitrogen balance and is forced to feed off muscle tissue for energy. There is no energy source(carbs) in the body to be used for fuel, so the proteins in the muscle are then broken down to be used for fuel. Body water is also lost, which carbohydrates help retain. Also, muscle weighs more than fat. So all in all, that's quite a few pounds lost.

The level of intensity in the workouts should determine the amount of carbohyrate consumption. Kibble-based carbs are not what I would consider "good carbs". Everything in kibble is processed junk, and would never fully support an extremely active body. That's what RAW diets are for...Real food for Real dogs.

I think you are very confused about animal physiology and nutrition. A catabolic state has nothing to do with a negative N balance. When glucose levels in the blood decrease, most amino acids can be converted into glucose. These amino acids can be from the diet, they do not necessarily need to come from the breakdown of muscle. Glycogen is the carbohydrate storage form in the body. High levels are present in muscle and liver of living animals.

Muscle does not weigh more than fat. Question for you, which weighs more a pound of feathers or a pound of lead? Muscle is less calorically dense than fat (approx. 5 kcal/g vs. 9/kcal/g) on a dry matter basis. Since muscle tissue is approximately 75% water, losing a kg of muscle tissue only corresponds to approx. 1,250 kcal loss. Losing a kg of fat corresponds to approx. 9,000 kcal loss.

What would you consider "good carbs"? Typical kibble contains either ground corn or rice as an energy source. Starch from these sources is found as amylopectin which can be completely digested and absorbed by the animal as glucose - disregarding the effects of starch granule size and solubility. Even with concerns about the availability of the starch when in granule form, the digestibility is still greater than 80%.

And don't RAW diets recommend no grain or starch sources in the diet? Where would "good' carbs come from?

Most importantly, muscle uses very little glucose - in comparison with fatty acids, for energy. Glucose is not a large requirement for muscle growth or activity.