Ok well I got back the blood work and it was all normal. The vet said to play with his diet to try to put some weight back on him. I am going to stick with the EVO and add in some raw food and probably some brown rice. The vets basic response was that hes a very active dog and he's just burning everything that he's getting now. Any suggestions on what to add in with his kibble? I can't just feed him more as if I increase volume too much his stool turns to cowpie.

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I am going to stick with the EVO and add in some raw food and probably some brown rice.

How about adding in about 8 oz. of 73-27% ground hamburger per day? This has the highest percent of fat content, but it is better than junk food. You could also try chicken backs without trimming off all of the skin and fat. You want to add calories, but you also want those calories to come from a good source, IMO. Also, don't forget the old pumpkin standby for cowpies.

I am not a vet so take what I say lightly, but I do not agree 100% with your vet. If he had a steady weight gain on his regular diet and then all of a sudden started dropping weight I might consider doing further testing. Is he still losing weight or has it maintained itself? There are many diseases that can cause weight loss from diabetes to lymphoma.
I'm not trying to scare you but you may want to get a second opinion and do further testing. Maybe an ultrasound. If he is maintaining his weight now or putting it back on then I wouldn't worry.

I agree with Tina. That's a lot of weight for a dog to have lost with no clear cause in a short time. Around 2 years is when the dog starts to gain weight not lose it (ie- stops growing up...may start growing out!).

I would err on the side of caution and get checked by another vet. What did the vet check for?

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I am not a vet so take what I say lightly, but I do not agree 100% with your vet. If he had a steady weight gain on his regular diet and then all of a sudden started dropping weight I might consider doing further testing. Is he still losing weight or has it maintained itself? There are many diseases that can cause weight loss from diabetes to lymphoma.
I'm not trying to scare you but you may want to get a second opinion and do further testing. Maybe an ultrasound. If he is maintaining his weight now or putting it back on then I wouldn't worry.

I agree that I'd want a thorough workup if this is sudden, and unexplained by increased activity or by loss of appetite.

But if all else is well, I'd consider adding good (fresh and raw) fat.

Fat is not a bad word for dogs (unless they are chubby), and most commercial foods are much lower in fat than what a dog would eat in the wild.

If I were adding fat (such as cold-pressed oils, or, as Jan says, fatty ground meat), I'd do it slowly. Dogs use fat well, and they use it similarly to the way humans use carbs, but it can still cause a little diarrhea unless the dog gets used to it gradually.

The cooked (sometimes used restaurant frying fat) fat used in some commercial foods is not the same (chemically) as raw fat, which dogs are "designed" to use very well.

If you can get hemp oil (which, of course, does not have psychoactive properties), it has a great Omega 3-6-9 ratio. I would not use it instead of fish oil, because dogs get the beneficial long-chain Omega 3 EFAs only from marine sources, but I'd have no qualms about adding it.

If not, then safflower and olive oils are also very good Omega 6 sources.

JMO!

I hope you keep us posted.

OK guys time for an update, sorry for the delay but it's been really busy at my shop and I just haven't had the time to post. Alex started to gain weight he was up 2# but then over the last few weeks has lost more. On Saturday I weighed him and he was down to 61# almost a 25% loss in body weight. I took him back to the vet and they took blood to test for pancreatic function. I have switched him off of the EVO that I was feeding and he is now on a raw diet. I am looking for a local butcher who sells sweetbreads, I'm looking to feed him raw pancreas to help supplement his apparent lack of digestive enzymes. His blood test won't be back for 7 to 10 days at witch point he will go on viocase or something like that. At this point I'm hopping that the test shows a pancreatic problem because the alternatives are not good.

jason, i'm late to this thread, but you've just done what i would have suggested.

innova evo, in my experience, and from what i have heard from others, is NOT a good long-term food, especially not as the sole diet. it is meant to be a stand-in for raw food when you travel or if you are temporarily out of food, not as the dog's sole diet. the protein levels are very high, and that CAN cause pancreatitis.

the amount of weight your dog has lost is very worrisome, even if he isn't acting sick. rather than looking for raw pancreas, feed him a good broad-spectrum enzyme supplement. and bravo to you for switching entirely to raw.

feed whole chickens--young fryers are a good choice and are frequently on sale. you can cut them in half, or let the dog eat his fill and then freeze what he leaves behind. also feed liver, cottage cheese, whole egg with shell, yogurt, fish oil, and kelp once or twice a week. beef heart is an excellent food for building him back up as well. look for turkey necks, turkey wings, pork shoulders, beef ribs or brisket. feed a variety of foods. i get all these foods at my local chain supermarket. i have the meat counter guy order them for me by the case if they aren't in stock.

i would avoid sweetbreads and anything that has cow head meat in it because mad cow disease is out there.

i can't offer you proof. it is anecdotal evidence, and since jason has a problem, and lots of other options for diet, he would benefit from hearing the evidence. my dog begins to do quite poorly after just a week on evo, but for a few days, it is fine. others i've talked to have had the same experience.

Jason, I just got a great product called Prozyme that can improve digestion of the typically hard-to-digest substances and proteins so that the animal is able to make use of the nutrition it's receiving in the food. It is not a supplement, does not interfere in the least with any medication or supplement, and is not known to have any side effects.

I got it b/c my APBT (50lbs) was eating as much as my GSD (98lbs) and not gaining an ounce. I could count her ribs. Her weight wasn't a concern, as she's very active, but I couldn't believe that she wasn't gaining ANY weight, and she was having large, frequent bowel movements. It seemed more was coming out than going in, so I immediately became concerned that the good food I was giving her was being wasted, as she couldn't be getting any benefits from it with stools that large.

Before running expensive tests on dog that apparently feels great, I decided to try the stuff. I add 1/2 teaspoon to each cup of food, and you wouldn't believe the difference. The product insert alleges that you should be able to feed 20-35%less food due to the greatly increased absorbtion of the nutrients. Of course, you wouldn't decrease a skinny dog's food, but you get the point. It contains digestive enzymes that work in the dog's intestine and stomach to break down nutrients that they cannot, thereby allowing them to absorb what would've passed through without benefit. I get it from a wholesale place near me, although I'm sure you can google it. If you're interested in trying it and can't find it, let me know.

I would investigate Alex's situation further, since he's actually losing weight instead of not gaining, but I think whatever course is necessary, Prozyme would be a great additive. If anyone knows differently, please let me know; I just started using it.