Eat A Ton

[Sambuca]

Hi, I've been lurking for awhile and decided to ask for opinions. I adopted Sambuca "Bu" in early October of 2008. He was about 70 pounds. I started him out on purina pro plan but his poop was always like pudding, so I switched him to evo. That didn't help at all and he was still underweight and not really gaining. My vet decided to try him out on Hills I/D, 6 cups a day. His poop was still like pudding and he didn't really gain any weight. We decided to bring him down to 4 cups a day to see if it was just too much to digest. Bu lost 5 pounds in 2 weeks so we went right back up to 6 cups a day, but switched to Iams low residue. That didn't help his poop either so my vet decided to try Hills W/D, which is high fiber. The first time he pooped after he started on W/D he had totally solid poop. The w/d worked too well though and made him uncomfortable and he was pooping NON STOP. So we went back to Iams low residue and added in metamucil. His poop became soft but totally formed, so we are now happy with that. We then decided to up his food because in 1 month he only gained .4 pounds on 6 cups of food a day. He is now on between 8 and 9 cups of food a day, has finally gained about 10 pounds and has another 5-10 more to go. I am slowly switching him over to kirkland because I cannot really afford to pay $25 a week for food for him and I really don't think the food matters too much as long as he gets his metamucil. He has had his thyroid, pancreas, and bacteria levels tested. All the tests came back normal or negative. He has been tested many times for parasites and treated for giardia. We have had a second opinion who my rescue group sent us too because he has tons of greyhound experience and he said we just need to find the right food. Any advice you have would be great.

Thanks in advance.

 

Karen and Bu

[robinw]

It can be really tough finding the right food. A lot of us have gone through what you have. My hounds lost lost of weight when I switched them to Evo regardless of how much they were fed. I've had success with California Natural Chicken and Rice but it's expensive. Have you tried adding pumpkin to Blu's food?

[Batmom]

How much does he weigh now?

What was his racing name?

It can be useful to worm a couple times with Panacur even if nothing shows up on a fecal.

[MP_the4pack]

It's better to feed several meals over the day. He'll probably gain weight if you spread the 6 cups over 3 meals instead of two. And if you work.......do dinner then a midnight snack before you go to bed. There's at least 3-4 hours between his dinner and last meal then.

 

 

 

[Sambuca]

Thanks for the replies.

 

I tried pumpkin and that made Bu's poop looser.

 

He has had the Panacur treatment twice I think.

 

It's 8-9 cups of food a day now, and yes he gets it split between 3 meals. I'm a pet sitter so I have a pretty flexible schedule, thankfully. He now eats most of his meal then comes back and finishes the rest when he's hungry.

[robinw]

Thanks for the replies.

 

I tried pumpkin and that made Bu's poop looser.

 

He has had the Panacur treatment twice I think.

 

It's 8-9 cups of food a day now, and yes he gets it split between 3 meals. I'm a pet sitter so I have a pretty flexible schedule, thankfully. He now eats most of his meal then comes back and finishes the rest when he's hungry.

 

holy cow! that's a lot of food! my guys get about 3 cups a day each of California Natural.

[Jiffer]

I'd be looking into a possible Hookworm infestation... they tend to suck the nutrients out of the food quickly and cause very loose stools.

 

In light of that.. have you tried different types of meat? Lamb, or Salmon are often good ones to try if a dog isn't responding to Beef or Chicken based foods.

 

[Sambuca]

That's what it took to finally gain some weight. He still has another 5-10 pounds to go. As I said, he eats a ton.

 

They tested for worms multiple times. I am slowly switching him to kirkland lamb, rice and vegetables right now.

[Guest mandm]

My large male greyhound was also a "hard-keeper," and still is, although not nearly as bad as when I brought him home 3 1/2 years ago.

 

My greyhound had several health problems and it took a while to sort them out. He tested positive for Babesia and was treated, but his GI problems remained. He tested positive for bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and was treated with the antibiotic Tylan, which didn't result in much improvement, but it didn't make him worse, so I kept him on it. He couldn't eat any kibble, I figured that out early on. I put him on home-cooked meat and carb and realized he didn't digest the carb component of the diet very well. So I gradually reduced the carb portion of the diet. With each reduction, he improved. Eventually I was feeding him only cooked meat with added calcium, basically a raw diet, but cooked. I switched him to raw, novel protein, and he improved dramatically, immediately. But he still had intermittant diarrhea.

 

He had tested + for hookworms when I got him and I treated him for those with Panacur. Also treated him for tapeworm just because. Over the course of the next year, I took in a fecal sample every time we went to the vet, which was pretty frequently. I'd estimate we did 8 fecals that year, all were negative. But he just seemed wormy to me, so I wormed him again with Panacur, following the protocol for Whipworm, 3 rounds. We hit him hard -- 7 days each round. There was improvement after each round. When the 3 rounds were completed, I put him on year round Interceptor.

 

I wormed him again with Panacur about 6 months later, 2 rounds, 5 days each.

 

He's been fine ever since.

 

Since he wasn't eating kibble through any of this, I can't give you cups per day consumed. But like your greyhound, mine was underweight and needed to gain 10 lbs. I fed him twice the amount recommended for his weight for about 4 months to get the weight on. I fed 4 meals per day during this period. When he achieved healthy weight, I gradually reduced the frequency and amount of his meals. He now eats twice per day, about 50% more than recommended for his weight.

 

I don't know other breeds very well, but it seems to me that greyhounds need a little more than other breeds, so the suggested amounts to feed on kibble bags are rarely enough for greyhounds, especially young ones fresh off the track. But others with more experience may know more about that.

[Guest zoolaine]

I read an article last month about Endocrine Pancreatic Insurficiency - EPI - basically dogs will eat like crazy but basically starve because they don't have the enzymes to break down the food. I think there is a specialized test for it.

[Sambuca]

Bu was tested for hook worms and came back negative. He was treated with panacur twice I think and that didn't make a difference. As long as he has his metamucil his poop is decent. He was also tested for bacterial issues in the intestines and everything came back normal.

 

He was tested for pancreas issues and everything came back normal, but next vet visit I will ask about EPI in particular. I also talked to my sister about Bu's symptoms and she thought it was more of an intestinal thing. She is a pediatric endocronologist(sp?). It was hoping she'd have some insight, but she didn't think it was an endocrine thing.

[Guest DreamsMom]

My vet suggested adding in half a cup of puppy food per meal for the extra calories until weight is caught up. Worked for mine. We also had problems with pudding poo and now use Nutro High Protein with the greyhound on the front of the bag.

[Guest Energy11]

I'd get a fecal done again for internal parasites... I use Chicken Soup Kibble and Canned... MIGHT want to try that. I worked for a vet, and I am NOT a FAN of Science Diet! Good Luck!!!!!!!!!!D

[greysmom]

Toni came to us on Science Diet and her poops were almost liquid-y. They firmed right up once we switched foods.

 

Seconding the puppy food idea. Puppy foods have more calories and fat and helps them gain weight faster. Some people here aso swear by something called "Satin Balls" to help dogs put on weight. You can search for that term and find several threads with recipes.

 

Good luck!

greysmom

[Sambuca]

Wow, thanks for the replies. Bu is actually up to 80 pounds now. He could afford to gain about another 5, but if he stays where he is, then I won't be upset. He is on kirkland lamb and rice now and just eats when he's hungry (grazes). Both vets I went to says he just needs to find the right food. His poop still is pretty bad, but I compromised. I'm OK with bad poop because when we switched to kirkland, his entire personality changed for the better. He is happier and healthier now. He does not eat as much as he did before and I think he just doesn't do well with chicken, so I avoid anything with it. He's doing so much better that it's unbelievable. Thanks for all the advice.

 

[stlgrey]

Wow, thanks for the replies. Bu is actually up to 80 pounds now. He could afford to gain about another 5, but if he stays where he is, then I won't be upset. He is on kirkland lamb and rice now and just eats when he's hungry (grazes). Both vets I went to says he just needs to find the right food. His poop still is pretty bad, but I compromised. I'm OK with bad poop because when we switched to kirkland, his entire personality changed for the better. He is happier and healthier now. He does not eat as much as he did before and I think he just doesn't do well with chicken, so I avoid anything with it. He's doing so much better that it's unbelievable. Thanks for all the advice.

 

Has your vet checked his lymph nodes and maybe asked about Valley Fever, histoplasmosis or a tick disease. All of these can cause long boughts of diarrhea. Just thought I would mention.

 

Sierra had diarrhea all last summer. We checked for worms, gardia, parasites, intestinal infecitons, you name it. She was diagnosed with histo. Her poo was slimy and her coat was dull, and she lost a lot of weight.

[Sighthounds4me]

Even if he tested negative for hookworms, it's possible he has them. They are notoriously difficult to detect.

 

I would treat him as if he has hooks.