2 year old male dropping weight fast…

[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…

[LexiampDCsmom]

I just tried to look up his sire and dam and guess what? Nothing… no suprise! Guess that means no Fanconi test prior to breeding them. Thanks for the tip though Pat!

[tanza]

@Lexi&DC'smom:

I just tried to look up his sire and dam and guess what? Nothing… no suprise! Guess that means no Fanconi test prior to breeding them. Thanks for the tip though Pat!

Did you check Sally's pedigree site to see if his Sire and Dam were there or any of his other grand parents, etc? That might also give you a clue if there was some health issues in his background.

If you need help in doing that, email me privately if you don't want to post his sire and dams name here. You can find my email addy on my website www.tanzabasenjis.net

And regardless, I would consider doing the DNA test for Fanconi. It is just a cheek swab, cost is 65.00 (I think that is right) and again you can read about it at www.basenjihealth.org

[LexiampDCsmom]

Thanks Pat!

[lvoss]

I just ordered a kit for my puppy 2 weeks ago and the price is $65. It is really easy to do and then you know what to expect.

Basenjis can have issues like EPI, IPSID, and IBD. Many times they manifest very similarly and so it can be just process of elimination trying to rule out or rule in what disorder it is.

How is his appetite? How often and how much is he pooping? If he is pooping a lot and a large volume each time, he may not be getting much out of his food.

I agree with Pat that after you get his results from the vet, if nothing really stands out, you may want to try a limited ingredient food like Natural Balance or Wellness Simple Solutions. These foods are good for sensitive stomachs because they have less ingredients that may trigger a reaction and they are highly digestible so the dogs get the most out of them.

[nobarkus]

Here's the Fanconi kit order link.

https://secure.offa.org/cart.html

[LexiampDCsmom]

Thanks Dan! I ordered a kit last night online… and asked the vet to do a urine test for sugar as suggested. And thanks for the feedback Ivoss.. you know, he does eat well and yes he poops bigger than Lexi.. We get maybe two hours between walks lol... He goes about three times a day I would say. First thing in the morning, after work, and then again for the second evening walk. Sometimes only two times... usually three. But they eat on and off again. They eat when they're hungry and never finish a whole meal. Will go play and come back to it and nibble until gone. The more I read, the more I think he just needs a change in diet to get more out of his food. I always called him my ADD boy.. he's so hyper! lol...

[lvoss]

I would also stop free feeding them because you can't really know how much he is eating. The weight loss may be because he is not actually eating as well as normal. The change to scheduled feedings can be a little rough for the human who worries they are starving their dog but it is really important to know if there are changes in your dog's appetite and that is very difficult to gauge when free feeding especially with multiple dogs. You start by picking what the feeding times are going to be and then put the food down for 15 minutes after 15 minutes you pick it up and it isn't put down again until the next feeding. The dog may miss a couple of meals but they do learn pretty quickly eat when food is offered because you don't know when it will be available again.

[LexiampDCsmom]

mmmm interesting… I will look into doing that. Thanks for the feedback!

[AJs Human]

My Gramma had one dog she called her "kinny kid" who wouldn't eat unless she was locked inside her crate and left there until she ate. This was in 1980-81, before much research had been done re Fanconi. I suspect Eclipse was affected. However, if Eclipse's food was left down outside the crate, Echo and Bubbles would eat it for her. Eclipse never did put weight on or keep it on. Gramma is a vitamin-ophile and was cramming vitamins down Eekie's throat all the time. Eekie lived until she was 13 or 14 years old.

She was the one Basenji my gramma had who taught herself to bark after a few demonstrations by a Beagle.

[LexiampDCsmom]

LOL I can see how a Beagle would teach a Basenji to bark… lol...
Well I just heard from my husband after picking DC up from the Vet's. Apparently all the blood tests results won't be back until tomorrow. Vet said he checks out fine though... He gave him " Metronidaz 06" tablets 250mg. Not sure why or what it's for, so i'm not going to give him meds until i get the results back!! Does anyone know what kind of drug that is? All I could get out of my husband was something to do with an upset tummy.... $200.00 later to find out we should probably just change his food. I will get the fixin's to make the satin balls... sound like those should pork him up a bit and we'll go visit the holistic pet store this weekend for some new food.. It's a good $200.00 well spent to know it's nothing serious... ( well hoping the blood test results say so,..) Thanks to everyone for your support and helpful feedback!! What a load off of my mind !!! I'll send updated pics as we fatten the boy up! Thanks again!

Jennifer

[lvoss]

Metronidazole is usually prescribed to treat things like Giardia or bacterial overgrowth. The thing with these drugs is that they will also kill off his good gut bacteria. You may want to look into a probiotic supplement for him. There are two available through vets only Prostora (Eukanuba) and Fortiflora (Purina). There are also probiotic and prebiotic powders available at petstores.

[lvoss]

Also, be careful supplementing with things like Satin Balls, they can be awfully rich which can cause stomach upset.

[LexiampDCsmom]

" probiotic and prebiotic powders available at petstores. " is this something I would put in his food on a regular basis or just to treat what he has now?