2 year old male dropping weight fast…

[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...

[nkjvcjs]

Did they check serum-TCLi or fecal elastase levels to see if it might be EPI?

[Buddys Pal]

Hello Lexi&DC's Mom!!!! I just read your new post and had to respond. My Buddy started to loose weight where I happened to notice his ribs too. He is just under 3yrs and I feed him Nutro Holistic. My other two mixed breeds are on it too and I liked the fact that they were going leaner, but with our little athletes the B's, we have to make sure they don't loose weight!! I did bring him to the vet's to rule out a tapeworm or any worm Dec 23,2009. He acted just fine just like you said about your boy also except one day I noticed he started Pica, eating dirt like a snowcone!!!! I knew he was craving and missing something in his diet, and I am aware of the Basenji's inherited problems with digestion and thriving. No, I did not have him tested for Falconi's…. Well, the vet said he was fine except for the loss, put him on a liquid vitamin. He also advised to feed him a high energy food like Iams. Well, I read the ingredient label and just could not get past the corn gluten in the first 5 ingredients when I spend good $ on Nutro. Well, I decided to add protein and good fat to his diet.(Buddy gets 1/2C in AM and 1C in PM+supplement) I found beef heart at the grocery store, chicken giblets, and I make brown rice to add to all food bowls. I also decided to mix with Nutro the Purina puppy food along with the added cooked(boiled) food supplements. The big guys are going back to Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover-adult. Yesterday I weighed him on the same scale and he is up 2.2 lbs to 22. I want him to get back to 24 or so. No side effects except bad gas and breath right after the beef heart(which I did taste and I would eat if over liver any day!!!) Any questions or comments welcomed!

[LexiampDCsmom]

Good morning! NKJVCJS I'm not certain on what he checked for, the paperwork just said complete blood work with a $119.00 price tag next to it. I do know that a fecal float was done as well. - Buddy's Pal… Thank you for your post, When we first got DC, the breeder had him on Iams puppy.. We kept feeding him that and he got really sick after about 9 mos later, they said it was bacteria overgrowth. so we changed his food to nutro lamb/rice/ and oatmeal. seemed to do great, changed to the same brand only in adult after he was a year or so, then got our second B, we had to go back to puppy. now this past month he's dropping weight so fast.. so we changed his food again- this time from the holistic pet store. 12.00 for a 5lbs bag plus the supplement powder.. . he does seem better, but i like your idea of mixing in some beef or chicken. i would love to see him up to 22lbs, he was around 24-25 a couple of months ago and looked great. i keep telling my husband to stop complaining about the price of the food because the vet bills will be more ! and besides, we don't have a college fund to put aside for them, as these are our babies, so make sure they have the best while we have them.

[nkjvcjs]

The complete bloodwork is a chem panel, which checks things like liver and kidney function. The EPI test would be something they would have to specifically ask for. It is Serum Trypsin-Like Immunoreactivity or serum cTLI.

EPI is exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. The pancreas does not produce the enzymes necessary to digest the food, so the dog looses weight no matter how much he eats. It is rare, but there are basenjis with it.

The thing that made this pop to mind is the bacterial overgrowth you mentioned. Many dogs with EPI have SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) as well.

The treatment for EPI is to supplement with pancreatic enzymes. Dogs with EPI are also often deficient in the B vitamins. If they have SIBO as well, the SIBO needs to be treated, often with long term antibiotics.

If everything is going well, and he is gaining weight, don't worry about it, but if he starts dropping again, it is something to think about.
Check out http://www.epi4dogs.com/

-Nicole

[LexiampDCsmom]

Nicole, I'll certainly keep it in mind. Thanks so much for the feedback!