Abby's due at the vet's next week, to get weighed and assess her progress. It doesn't look to us that she has put on any weight, but you never know. On advice from the vet we have reduced her walks from around 2 hours a day to two shorter walks. Honestly, she doesn't care! She settles at home with a kong when we take Cairid out.
She did a really strange thing this morning. Half way through her breakfast she ran to Cairid's dish, and for a moment the two heads were in the one dish....... this is astounding given Cairid's 'guarding resources from other dogs' behaviour previously! The dogs were fine, but we had to be resuscitated...............
Thanks all those of you who have completed the survey already. This is really going to help give us an indication of what kind of food is good. Of course, one size doesn't fit all, so there isn't going to be a definitive answer.
On the food front, so far we've discovered that the AAFCO (Association of American Food Control Officials), lists minimum nutrient requirements for dogs. The list includes protein and fat, but not carbohydrates. We haven't yet located a UK equivalent that isn't linked to pet food companies. Anyone got any information on this?
Thought i had posted something earlier but can't see it! Hope this works. Just wanted to check you have had pancreatic enzyme check done on Abby. This was something they checked when our GSD had problems with regular bouts of diarrhoea (and morning vomits) and then a bad episode of haemorrhagic gastroenteritis. He was thin and always hungry. His blood test for pancreatic enzymes was ok. But he did have an extended course of antibiotics and a course of Vitamin B12 injections. He has been great since then. However it took several weeks and probably a few months for him to gain weight. We now give him a probiotic capsule in his morning meal and he is fed 3 times a day. We feed him on arden grange lamb. Good luck with Abby.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this with us - yes, the first test they did was for pancreatic enzymes, and like your dog she's fine. She's still having Vit B12 injections once a month, although blood test showed it's up quite a bit. Abby's fed 3 times a day too. We're using part raw and part cooked food - the raw food was introduced in the last couple of weeks, and includes green tripe which everyone says is good for putting on weight. Hopefully the next vet visit and weigh-in will see a difference! She's also getting bromelain enzyme and fish oil capsules. She was on Arden Grange when I first got her about a year ago but she doesn't seem able to digest dried food at all - enormous amounts of poo and no weight gain, coprophagic and always starving! What age is your dog?
DeleteSorry for not replying sooner. Zander is four years old tomorrow! He was also coprophagic before his treatment but that has all stopped - thankfully. He had several courses of antibiotics during diarrhoea episodes. But they decided to give him an extended course (along with VitB12) to eradicate any possible residual bacteria in his gut that wasn't being cleared with a regular course of antibiotics. I mentioned this to my husband and he would agree that it took a few months for the weight gain to become evident. I hope you see an improvement soon with Abby.
ReplyDeleteOur vet hasn't yet suggested antibiotics - just about the only thing we haven't tried yet. Apart from a scope. Good to know it took a while for Zander to put on weight - hopefully Abby will too, over time. I thought we'd see a difference by now, and actually her eyes look brighter and her coat is a lot better, but still skinny. We've discovered she's got another problem now - well, I guess she always had it, but we only found out today. It seems she gets anxious when I am out. If we're both out we put her in her crate with a kong, and she seems to feel safe in there. If not in the crate she pees and poos. Today I went out and didn't put her in her crate because one of us was still here. However she made a very impressive mess on the floor! It was needing a wash anyway!
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