# Weight Loss?



## Kat LaPlante (May 17, 2009)

A new situation, I have a 16 month old GSD, fine boned. I had him into the vet for runny eyes Jan 26 weighed in at 71lbs. At that time I switched him to origin for the higher protien as I felt his growth plates were slowing down in their development. 

I popped in today to weigh him as I thought he looked a bit thin, he was down 4lbs, after 3 weeks of Origin, so....I have a deworming dose as he roams free on our acreage and has a tendancy to scavenge cougar kills and other carcasses in addition to his obsession with eating voles and mice. As well as decided to add RC Adolescent for the higher calorie count.

How likely is it that he simply has a case of worms vs. a larger problem? We have also been doing a tremendous amount of daily hiking/walking over the last 2 weeks, 5-6KMS per day.....

Darn GSD's, it doesn't help that anything new will give him a case of the runs, even if it is the remnants of a kraft dinner lunch.


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

With a high protein, higher fat diet like Orijen, I have seen some dogs will actually lose weight and some will gain. Just depends on the individual dog. How many cups are you feeding per day? BTW, it's not the protein amount that is the problem for growing puppies, it's the energy density that's the problem. That amount of exercise is not a huge amount, so that wouldn't really concern me. GSDs are the poster child for endocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI), so might be a possible rule out, but not necessarily. 

Use caution if he "runs free." If he eats wild rabbit, that is a way to get one of the varieties of tapeworm. Hookworms can cause a dog to drop a lot of weight quickly. We had an 8 year old emaciated German shorthair pointer that was hunting fine less than two months ago that was hospitalized for severe anemia, weight loss, and muscle wasting (you could feel the dog's femurs all the way down the legs and see each rib). We did his fecal today and he was loaded with whipworms and hookworms. With a bad infestation, you can usually see them in the stool, but the best way to do it is with a 3 sample series (like they do for humans) instead of a single sample if the first fecal comes back negative. Another caution about letting dogs running free is that we had 2 dogs (owned by different owners) last week at a rural mixed practice I was at die of strychnine poisoning because someone was baiting deer carcasses for the coyotes.


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## Kat LaPlante (May 17, 2009)

Thanks so much for all the ideas, insight and experiences. The pancreas is always a concern, and yes he eats anything he can catch: rabbit, rodents, birds, the whole spectrum really.


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

You're welcome! Though my poor sleep deprived brain, I wrote "endocrine pancreatic insufficiency." Should read "exocrine" instead. Time to head to bed, I think! :mrgreen:


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## Carlos Machado (Dec 28, 2008)

I fed Orijen for more than a year my girl had no problem keeping weight I had to limit her food to keep her weight down. I switched to Horizon legacy because Orijen seemed to give her the runs I found her stools were better and it seems more digestible she gained weight so I'm feeding her even less. It is made in a similar manner from local human grade food made in only one plant, but the weight loss is probably a parasite or the extra exercise with not enough food it takes a while to find the right amount to keep them in shape.


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## Adam Rawlings (Feb 27, 2009)

Hey Kat,

My 3 year old GSD has been on Oirjen for the last 5 months and he dropped a bit of weight too. For the last couple of weeks I have been feeding him a 1lb block of raw beef or chicken in the morning and I took a way 1 cup of kibble in the evening. He has put the weight back on.


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## Kat LaPlante (May 17, 2009)

More great suggestions! Unfortunately the raw chicken I cant do as I have youg kids that put their hands in their mount and salmonella is a bit of a concern. Kids are so gross 

However some juicy beef and the Medical will hopefully do the trick.


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