2 year old male dropping weight fast…

[LexiampDCsmom]

Thanks Dan for your info… i'm curious now to see what that breeder has for results. they had many different types of dogs that they were breeding, but i was able to meet DC's mother and father while we were there. I just hope it's nothing major. He's such a lover and if he's sick, it will just break my heart...

[lvoss]

Even though you may have been feeding the same food for quite some time that doesn't mean the food itself hasn't changed. Companies reformulate and do not always announce that they have made changes. Also depending on the Nutro formula you are feeding, it may be pretty low in fat and protein especially if you dog is very active.

Another question, what is his stool like? Is it firm or does he tend to have soft stools?

[tanza]

@Lexi&DC'smom:

LOL…. If you only knew where this breeder was.. Deliverance comes to mind. I will contact them tomorrow and see if they ever did any testing and keep your fingers crossed we get solid results. Is this a test that has to be done on all parents prior to being able to breed the dogs?

DNA testing for Fanconi began in July of 2007 (and it is not something that your Vet can do, other then checking his urine for sugar). DNA testing should be done before any breeding takes place. If you are taking him to the Vet tomorrow, you can have him check the urine for sugar and at least you will know if "right" now he did or didn't have Fanconi. The DNA test will tell you if you need to be concern in the future if he tested Affected and then you would need to strip test him monthly. To read about the DNA test, go to www.basenjihealth.org and www.offa.org.

Also if you have his papers and know his sire and dam's registration name or registered name you can seach the OFA site (www.offa.org) and see if they were tested because any Basenji that has the DNA linkage test is on the public web site with the results.

[renaultf1]

@lvoss:

Even though you may have been feeding the same food for quite some time that doesn't mean the food itself hasn't changed. Companies reformulate and do not always announce that they have made changes.

+1…I have had to change foods twice because of formulation changes that didn't work with my dogs. For me it happened with Timberwolf (they added chicken fat and my boy would no longer eat it) & Wellness Core (neither of my adults could hold their weight and my girl started getting sick everyday).

[LexiampDCsmom]

Interesting!! When we first had DC, we had him on Iams. When we came home to diarrhea up the walls and all over him in his kennel we rushed him to the ER. Multiple test and IV's later, we fed him chicken and rice and had him on 5 different things the vet gave us. i finally got tired of cooking so much for him, we searched food brands and went to Nutro. Immediately he was fine. We started him on the puppy food - small bites, i think its lamb/rice/oatmeal… or chicken/rice/oatmeal... as he was under a year old at the time. he had been fine, and so we got the adult formula after he was a year old, then decided to get a female. She was 16 weeks when we brought her home and we couldn't separate them for feeding so we put DC back on puppy food with adult treats. he gained some and was very active, but lately he started dropping the weight fast and very noticeable. we have been mixing the puppy and adult food to get lexi ready for adult food and then started with the wet nutro to fatten DC up. Lexi was always stockier than DC, but he shouldn't have his hips and ribs showing... As far as his poops, they vary. After waiting all day, they tend to be more soft, but the evening and mornings are normal and same as Lexi's.

[tanza]

Why can't you separate them? I always feed mine in crates, that way the get their own food and I know how much they are eating.

You might want to try something like Natural Balance Duck and Potato (after a Vet Check up)

I don't really care for Nutro since the first ingredients are Chicken Meal (not real meat), ground rice and Rice Flour and Rice Bran… You don't get to "meat" till the 6th ingredient. If you look at the Natural Balance duck and potatoes, it is potatoes, Duck and Potato protein

[AJs Human]

Do you have a current photo of DC you can post?

[Patty]

Tanza & Ivoss,
I'm not sure about this but could it be IPSID? I've never had it but I do know of a whole litter that died of it. A friend had a basenji with it - it mainly occurs under forms ofstress with diarrhoea and loss of weight. After this little boy had been re-homed to a very calm home and careful feeder he has only had one occurrence and his weight has improved.

[tanza]

@Patty:

Tanza & Ivoss,
I'm not sure about this but could it be IPSID? I've never had it but I do know of a whole litter that died of it. A friend had a basenji with it - it mainly occurs under forms ofstress with diarrhoea and loss of weight. After this little boy had been re-homed to a very calm home and careful feeder he has only had one occurrence and his weight has improved.

Since according to the owner, his stool is normal, I would guess maybe not, but anything is possible. But also could be a different kind of inflammatory bowel disease.

[MacPack]

Where in Florida are you? We are in the Tampa area. I agree that thorough testing is good, but dogs with food allergies have to change occasionally as they become sensitive to whatever they are eating. That said, I once had 3 brothers and one would periodically lose weight, we would vet and check out, never any issues, just "high strung" and hard to keep weight on. In the fall when females in the neighborhood were in heat is when it was worst! He never got so that his hips looked really bony, though.

Good luck with finding a cause and getting some meat back on your boy.

[sharronhurlbut]

I hope you can get something from the vet to help you get your boy back to where he should be.
I know we will all be here to support you.

[MacPack]

Not sure if there is a recipe for "satin balls" on this forum, Basenji Companions site has it I think. Guaranteed to put weight on them!

[MacPack]

Found the recipe for Satin Balls under the Feeding forum:

Satin Balls work great (for weight gaining and as random treats):

5 pounds ground meat
5 cups Total whole grain cereal
5 cups oats (slow cooking type)
2? cups raw wheat germ
? cup oil
? cup molasses
6 egg yolks
5 packets gelatin
2 ? tablespoons Solid Gold Seameal supplement
Mix all ingredients together thoroughly like you would a meatloaf.
Roll into balls no larger than 1 inch diameter.
Divide into at least 6 separate containers or bags. Freeze. Thaw as needed for feeding

here's a link that describes them
http://www.holisticdog.org/Nutrition…atinballs.html

and a link for different variations of Satin Ball Receipies
http://www.holisticdog.org/Nutrition…tinballs2.html

[tanza]

While that might be a good thing (Satin Balls) I would have a Vet check up first

[LexiampDCsmom]

Thanks everyone for your support and feedback. I've posted an album with pictures of DC taken tonight and around the first of the year. It's so much more noticeable in the pictures… Currently he is eating like a champion and sis is waiting her turn. They won't eat in their crates. They only go in them when we are not home. Otherwise, they are under our feet or lying in our laps... I'll let you know what the vet says tomorrow. I'm hoping it's just a change in diet. MacPac thank you for the receipe, sounds like a good treat for them.. We live in Bradenton. The breeder we got DC from was Brett Schenck in Starke FL. I found the names and reg #'s of is sire and dam. I'll check those out tomorrow.

[tanza]

Wow, he really is thin…. Hope that the Vet can run blood work to rule out anything serious....

[renaultf1]

Please let us know what the vet says - he is really skinny.

[nobarkus]

When I adopted Ringo in 1994 he was just like DC. He weighed 19lbs with ribs showing. They were giving him Pancrezyme in his food which I continued the rest of his life. He gained weight after about 4 months as he was fed junky dry Pedigree and I switched to Sold Gold dry. He didn't have a pancreas problem per the vet but the pancrezyme seemed to work. It may have been Malobsorption or some digestive disorder.

[LexiampDCsmom]

he really is skinny and he dropped it fast. I dropped him off this morning with a list of what everyone said on here and asked the vet to run whatever test he needed to do because I didn't want to have to bring him back. He was so upset just getting him there and then he tried to get out of the door when we put him on the scale. He weighed in at 20.4 lbs I had to laugh though because the vet office has a cat as a " Mascot" and DC is never around cats. The vet tech let go of the lead and he was gone after that cat..LOL. and the look on his face was like, " What? What'd I do??" lol… I will let you know as soon as I hear. Doc had to fit him in between surgeries today so could be afternoon until i hear anything... i'm on pins and needles waiting! Thanks for the support ya'll!

[Basenjimamma]

He sure is pretty, but yes very skinny..
Otis has been skinny too, but not like this..he is finally getting more weight on him..
Please keep us updated and yes Satin Balls are a favorite at our house..both Moses and Otis love'em and eat them often…