2 year old male dropping weight fast…

[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?

[lvoss]

Some use it as a daily supplement. Prebiotics are great for feeding the good gut bacteria that your dog already has.

Probiotics are especially good to use when using antibiotics or when there is stress like travelling, vet visits, changes in the household etc. If you are using them that way you would start them a few days before the expected stress and continue for a few days after.

[LexiampDCsmom]

Excellent ideas!! Thank you so much Ivoss!!

[Basenjimamma]

I agree with lvoss, tread lightly when starting satin balls, they are very rich and nutrient dense and if he truly does have a stomach upset, he more then likely will actually get sick from the richness in the balls. They are good to give a dog as a supplement with regular food, but should not be given as sole food or to a dog with stomach issues. That being said, once his stomach gets better you could easily add some with his regular food and see how he does. I freeze mine individually so I can pull one or more out when I feel my skinny boys need something extra (I do serve mine raw, but they can just as easily be cooked).

I use fortiflora if we have some issues going on, but daily my dogs all get "plant enzymes and probiotics" by Animal Essentials..it is an all natural diestive aid..there are several different brands/versions out there.

I saw in an earlier post that you free feed, I highly recommend for you to change that to regular twice(or once if that would work better) a day feedings, so you can see exactly how much he consumes. It will take a few days for your dogs to get used to it, but tehy will catch on rather quickly. It is healthier for them to eat and then get hungry in between feedings as suppose to grazing all day, at least that is my opinion.
Good luck and keep us posted.

[tanza]

@lvoss:

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

For sure on that…. you could really get explosive surprises....

[sharronhurlbut]

I hope these suggestions work.

[LexiampDCsmom]

he was a hungry boy when he got home as he didn't eat breakfast before his 7am trip to the vet. i've mixed some chicken/rice and pumpkin in with some kibble as a treat for him to say i'm sorry for leaving him there and putting him through that! He's still not coming near me… lol.. i'm glad it seems to be just his diet, that's an easy fix.
I can't tell you all thank you enough. this forum has certainly given me great ideas and knowing that you all have tried them and they're true, and to have real feed back from experienced situations, there is no greater voice than someone that has already lived it, done that and got through it... so thanks to everybody again!!

[nkjvcjs]

How is DC doing?

-Nicole

[LexiampDCsmom]

Thanks for asking Nicole; He's getting better I think. The blood test results were all "normal" The vet said it was a food alergy. He had a bacteria overgrowth last march that landed him in the Vet ER, we changed his food and never had another problem until recently when he started dropping weight so fast. so we've put him on "california natural" herring and sweet pototo with some plant enzymes & probiotics powder. we'll see how this works for him… Thanks again for checking on him... through out it all, he's such a little sweetie...