weight loss

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wrynnie from canada

weight loss

Post by wrynnie from canada »

HELP!!! I have a chow that is currently 9 1/2 years old and over the last few months she has lost alot of weight!When my husband took her to the vet he ran a batch of tests and basically said that nothing wrong with her and that we needed to put her on puppy food to increase her weight--the vet said she is about 10 pounds underweight.Well we have tried every kind of food and nothing is appetizing to her.We even tried feeding her with a syringe and she just ended up throwing up.Has anyone ever had this problem? Any suggestions would be helpful!! Would arthritis have this affect on her?
Karen from Canada :(
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willowchow
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Post by willowchow »

Hi! Willow is also a very fussy eater often dipping below 45 lbs. She will have days when she eats great and then days when she eats almost nothing.

Her favorite food and it's also very high in calories is Innova. Here is there website http://www.naturapet.com and you can look in the store locator section to find a place near you that sells it. It's a little more expensive than store brands but you feed less. They make a kibble called Evo and it is very small bites with no grain. It's the ONLY kibble Willow will eat.

Also, Natural Balance makes a roll type food. It looks like a sausage that is also very palatable to fussy and senior dogs. That can be found at Petco.

Anyway, hope I've helped.

Lori
wrynnie from canada

weight loss

Post by wrynnie from canada »

Thank you Lori for your quick response. I did locate a pet store that sold the dog food that you suggested. My husband came home with a few different varities but she will not give them more than a sniff. She did chew a bit of her bone today which is an improvement. I find this so frustrating because vet can't find anything wrong with her. My husband maybe thinks that old age is setting in but I have a hard time believing that she would stop eating! We had to put our lasa down in Sept. and now I'm wondering if my chow Samantha is missing him??? Anymore help is VERY appreciated!!
Karen from Canada :cry:
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Post by Guest »

Willow is only four but her eating habits are horrible too. It can drive you crazy and normally I would say put the food down for 20 minutes and if she eats fine, if not take it away and no food until the next mealtime.

But, since your dog is already underweight, I don't think that's a good idea.

When Willow first came to me, she didn't eat for almost a month. I had to cook for her, hamburger and rice or chicken breast and rice to get her eating again. What I did was did the cooked meals for awhile, a week or more to get her appetite back and then slowly added in kibble decreasing the stuff I was cooking.

I'd say give that a try, she will probably eat the homecooked food which will get her appetite going.

Hill's the company that makes Science Diet also makes a food (it's canned) called A/D. It's made for dogs that are anorexic/ill to get them eating again. I'm not saying your dog is anorexic but it's very tasty and Willow was on that for awhile when she went through a hunger strike. It's expensive so if you can cook and that works I'd go with that first.

Lori
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willowchow
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Post by willowchow »

Not sure why that last post had me logged on as a guest!
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carolyn dewrance
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weightloss

Post by carolyn dewrance »

This chow could have Hook worms, please ask your vet to give you a really good worm medicine, My one chow and doberman both suffered from hook worm and even with all the tests that were done the Vet did not pick up anything and I was going to have my Doberman put down because he was so thin, then she said lets treat him for hook worm and after a year he is still alive and has gained weight. My chow is back to his old self and bot are eating well and healthy.
Carolyn Dewrance
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Richwood
Cape Town 7441

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Juniper

Weight Loss

Post by Juniper »

I know this is a response to an older post but thought it would be informational. Hope your chow has begun to increase its weight.

When I first got my chow - a stray - it wouldn't eat - I bought this tube food called "Nutri-Stat" w/Omega Fatty Accids @ Petco (Can't remember the company name.). I believe Petsmart carries it also as well as most pet shops. After one tube was used up - that did the trick and she started eating - still a little picky - but eating! Make sure you get the one w/the omega fatty acids in them, I believe it's the yellow box. The white box doesn't have the omega. It stimulates their appetite apparently.

Also, I bought some 100% dried chicken breast jerky (no preservatives, etc.) from a place called Western Feed. Trader Joe's has one in there dog section as well, in a smaller size. My chow couldn't resist it.

If you can find "Neura" 95% meat, no by-products Chicken & Brown Rice by Old Mother Hubbard (At Petco only) that may do the trick - it was the only food my stray dog would even begin to eat.

Good luck and hope you have a Petco where you are.

Good advice on the Hookworm, Carolyn - I'll keep that in mind. And I'm really glad your Dobie and Chow are doing well now and eating. :D
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Weight Loss

Post by Guest »

You may want to consider having your Chow checked for IBD. I have a two and a half year old male, who has been sick since we brought him home at 10 weeks of age. Symptoms included: not eating, weight loss, vomitting, diahrea, abnormal stools. After two years of bi-weekly vet visits, trying every type/brand of food and medication imagineable, we were referred to a GI specialist. He did an endoscopic procedure, took biopsies of the GI tract, and a diagnosis of IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) was confirmed. IBD is not breed specific nor does it affect any age in particular, but it is a very serious condition which is very often overlooked since so many other conditions manifest themselves with the same symptoms. IBD can only be diagnosed based on results of a biopsy. We also found out that in conjunction with the IBD our chow was suffering from SIBO (a small intestional bacterial overgrowth). While IBD is not curable, it is manageable through diet and medication, depending on its severity. Information about either of these conditions can be found on-line.
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Judy Fox
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Post by Judy Fox »

Karen, my Milly is a very fussy eater and often dips below 45 lbs also. Mabel is a good little eater - in fact, I have to watch them carefully when they feed because Mabel is thrilled if Milly leaves some dinner - she is more that happy to finish it off and I am afraid of her putting on too much weight.
Anyway, when Milly is being difficult I tempt her will all sorts. Tuna and ordinary boiled rice, with a grating of cheese on top if one she loves. Also scrambled egg with Pedigree Small Bite Mixer. Also, Victory gave the recipe for a stew - minced beef, with several veg., stewed up slowly and servied with ordinary rice.
It is so worrying when they won't eat. I get worried about her having a really empty tummy then getting bloat.
Worms are a possibility for the wieght loss - possible the loss of appetite also.
Anyway, good luck but remember she is getting older now (says I when I get in a panic if Milly Ching hasn't eaten!!) :roll:
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kingalls
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Baked Chicken

Post by kingalls »

Hi,
To get the appetite going, perhaps you might try adding some baked chicken with some of the chicken fat added to the canned food. I will bake a batch of chicken thighs at a low temperature which will produce a fair amout of chicken oil/broth. I add a little to the canned Nutro food and my two love it. Make sure you throw out the bone where it can't be pulled out of the trash.
The chicken jerky is also a great treat that they love.
Karen
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