Our Senior Jimmy Is Losing Weight

[lovinggreysslp]

When we adopted 11 year old Jimmy in June, he weighed 65 pounds and looked "bony". By July, he was up to 67 pounds. I thought we were going in the right direction. Jimmy had a dental (his second with us) November 21st (weighed 65 pounds)and was given a weeks worth of amoxicillin. Jimmy threw up all his food three days later. All seemed ok for a couple days and then he threw up all his food again. I consulted with our vet and we took him off the amoxicillin (he had been on this med 3 times prior to this without any problems). Jimmy continued to go two or three days doing fine and then throwing up his food. As per vet recommendation, put him on a bland diet of rice and boiled chicken, his stool turned to liquid and he threw up the rice 14 hours after eating it. He went back onto his regular food (with plain yogurt because I was worried that he needed a probiotic). All seemed better, energy fine, gums fine, no increase in body temp, stool ok and then last Thursday he did not want to eat his food. He is a food hound and would ordinarily eat a block of wood if you put it in his bowl. We got into the vet right away. CBC and differential, Chemistry Panel 12 & electrolytes, and fecal float were all perfectly normal but his weight had dropped to 59.8 pounds. He has been on metronidazole and propectallin tablets with boiled chicken and potatoes. His stool is fine, no throwing up, energy level is fine but I am worried about what happens when we stop the medications this week. I also know that we will have to go in for "more diagnostics" if he starts throwing up again. The term possible mass on the stomach was discussed. What baffles me is that his bloodwork was fine. I have had a hound with absorption issues and his blood panels were never fine. Any ideas? I feel like we should change his food at some point to something with more calories. We are still feeding chicken and potatoes but started gradually adding his kibble.

Thanks for any help.

12/29 Jimmy was doing well until Christmas. He started backing away from food and throwing up a small amount of food. Vet appointment on Monday found that he had lost almost another pound. This was with feeding him smaller meals, several times a day and no throwing up except for one day. We scheduled an ultrasound for this afternoon (soonest appointment due to holiday closures). Vet also sent blood off to check thyroid since his coat is in such bad shape. I am worried about what we will find tomorrow after the ultrasound but it is time to figure out what is wrong with Jimmy. The past two days he seems to be going downhill with throwing up starting at five am and then small bouts during the day. It probably sounds strange but I am hoping for a piece of plastic (from one of the muzzle straps he decided to chew up months ago) but am trying to prepare for worse. Any positive thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Edited December 31, 2011 by lovinggreysslp

[Batmom]

I would vote for an abdominal x-ray/ultrasound, to rule out any oddities. Make sure you get a nice view of the esophagus and heart in there as well as stomach. Unfortunately, you can have some pretty big oddities and perfect bloodwork at the same time.

 

On the brighter side, it's possible his digestion has just changed for unknown reasons. I would feed him whatever he seems to tolerate. With chicken and potatoes, you might need to add a meal or two each day since those are pretty low in calories.

 

Hugs and hopes you can get to the bottom of things.

[Guest Energy11]

I agree with Batmom. I'd get the x-rays/ultra sound, to rule out any abnormalities, to be on the safe side. And, yes, sometimes their blood work can be perfect with masses.

 

Our Staggerlee, 11, has also had GI problems. We ruled out the above, but now, he is on Purina EN prescription food, and sensitive stomach probiotic treats only. He seems to be doing fine.

 

Hopefully, all will be well, and he just has a sensitive stomach like our "Lee Lee!"

 

Hugs coming your way!

[Remolacha]

Agree with the X-ray/ultrasound, hopefully, they won't find anything! If you can get him on a food he likes and agrees with him, just feed him more of it. Sounds simplistic, but sometimes as they get older, they just don't keep the weight on If he is a food hound maybe 3-4 meals a day will put a few pounds on him.

[greyhead]

Also think an ultrasound would be a good idea if things haven't resolved. Our 11-year-old IBD guy (with malabsorption, permanent hookworm, and history of SIBO) gets extra calories from half a bottle of vanilla Ensure twice a day. It's hard to put weight back on them at this age, but it's maybe possible if you go slow and steady. (We started with 1/3 bottle of Ensure per day and slowly worked up from there since too much can loosen the stool even more.) We also find it to be a good appetizer in the morning 10 miutes before breakfast.

[lovinggreysslp]

Thanks for all your suggestions. Yes, Xray or ultrasound I am sure will be our next step if Jimmy does not do well when meds end. I have been giving extra sweet potato and chicken pieces when the other hounds get their treats. The ensure may be a great addition once I make sure his system is doing ok off meds. You would think normal blood work would be a good thing but it actually worried me. Hopefully it is something as simple as food intolerance. Thanks again.

[GeorgeofNE]

My folks had an English Setter who had chronic troubles, and he just stayed on Flagyl for the last few years. It kept him in pretty good shape. If Jimmy is doing well on the meds, you might ask the vet if he can stay on them a bit longer with no ill effects?

 

Bless your heart for adopting an 11 year old!

[Charlies_Dad]

Another vote for ultrasound. I hope it's nothing serious and perhaps his tastes have changed. I also agree with the Ensure to hopefully get some calories back on him.

[silverfish]

We've been investigating somewhat similar issues with Ranger. He was a skinny when we adopted him, and it was thought to be due to his dental issues. Sorted those out, and he put on maybe a kilo, and there he stuck. His ribs are all visible, his hip pointers are more like little 'smiley face' bones, his vertebrae are pretty much all prominent. He has vast amounts of energy, he has muscle, his poop is fine, and his bloodwork is all fine, but he throws up his food every so often for no apparent reason.

 

I wondered if he had a piece of something indigestible in his stomach, but his issues aren't severe enough for the vets to want to take him in to x-ray/ultrasound. He is fine most of the time, and because his coat and energy levels are great, she's reluctant to put him through it all. I tend to agree since he feels so well and it could be he's just a skinny hound. I do think with Ranger it's partly a stress thing, because he threw up a LOT after going back in kennels for three weeks while we were away. Could it be the same for your guy? Can you pinpoint any stressors for him, and does the timing fit?

 

Certainly with an older dog who's skinny to start with, you don't want them to be vomiting and having diarrhoea and losing weight, but it is important to keep some weight on them. Do you know if Jimmy has always been on the lean side?

 

Ranger doesn't like sardines, but he will eat home made cookies made with olive oil (as the fat) with a mix of flours, two or three eggs and a bit of cheese. He loooves them, and I think they do help to keep a bit of weight on him. He can't eat much in the way of hard chewies because of his lack of teeth. If you think your guy would eat them and not throw them up, I can post the recipe.

 

Oh, and the other thing to consider is splitting his daily food up into two or even three meals. Sometimes the older ones don't do so well with all their food coming in one (or even two) big meals, but need smaller, more frequent amounts.

[mychip1]

No advice...just best wishes.

 

 

[lovinggreysslp]

That's a good thought that it might be stress but I don't think that is the main issue as he has thrown up a couple times in the middle of the night. I will start feeding three meals rather than the usual two. He is doing well on the two medications but they will run out tomorrow night. We will take him back to the vet for an Xray if he does not do well off the medication. Yes, continuing the metronidizole long term may be a good option if he does not do well when that med is stopped. I do know to watch for neurological symptoms though as in the past, one of our hounds developed head nods while on metronidizole for a long period of time. Thanks again for all your thoughts!

[Guest june]

How is Jimmy doing? Sending prayers that everything is OK.

[lovinggreysslp]

Knock on wood, Jimmy has been doing fine this past week. One of his medications ran out yesterday and the other will be done in a couple days. I am watching him like a hawk and will take him back in to the vet as soon as needed. Right now though, he is eating, stools are normal, food is staying down and energy level is fine. Thanks for asking.

[lovinggreysslp]

Update in first post.

[kudzu]

Lots of positive thoughts for Jimmy to have a clean ultrasound today. Then again, sometimes we actually want to find something if the something is treatable.

[45MPHK9]

We are thinking good thoughts for Jimmy. We will check back for an update.

[Guest june]

I was just thinking about Jimmy this morning and hoping things were better. Hope it is just a piece of the muzzle or something else treatable.

Sending lots of prayers for all of you!

[juliemac]

gentle hugs, and a you have our thoughts today. Hoping you find out what's going on soon!!!

[TheFullHouse]

Good thoughts for Jimmy. Hopefully you will find out what the problem is and it will be an easy fix.

[Batmom]

You and your boy are in my thoughts today.

[Remolacha]

[sweetdogs]

Very best wishes for your Jimmy.

[lovinggreysslp]

The vet at U of I showed me Jimmy's Xray and there it was!!!!!! A foreign body probably the strap to the muzzle he chewed up this summer. I had thought it was the muzzle strap but our vet thought it had been too long since he chewed it up and was not showing more signs of distress. Now we have to decide how to get it out, normal surgery or endoscopy. Endoscopy would have to be done at U of I, might take longer, might not be successful if it is the rigid muzzle strap but would not involve incisions. Any experiences with foreign body removal from the stomach would be appreciated. I am relieved that it is a foreign body but know that due to his age and underweight body, we are not out of the woods yet. Thanks for all the positive thoughts!

[Batmom]

Thank god. A foreign body beats a mass any day.

 

We considered endoscopy for Joseph's foreign bodies but -1- there was no guarantee they could get them that way, -2- he'd have to be put under anyways, and -3- if they opened him up, they could check the entire bowel for any pieces that didn't show up on x-ray ("our" foreign bodies were very hard to see). So we went with traditional surgery. Joseph recovered well. Admittedly, he was a young, strong dog in prime condition. Even so, if I had to do it again I wouldn't hesitate to opt for surgery.

 

Afterwards I fed canned I/D for @ 2 weeks, starting with very small meals @ 24 hours after surgery, and ramping up to larger meals over a few days.

 

Best luck in making the decision and getting it OUT!

[duncan41]

I have no experience but I do understand your dilemma because of Jimmy's age and current state of "unwellness". Still, I would want to go with the sure thing - open him up and get it out. I will pray for both of you.