Sherman Is Still Losing Weight.

[Guest Shermanator]

Ok, I posted 2 weeks ago that Sherman had a lump on his chest, and was dropping weight. He dropped 3 lbs in one month (he's a big boy - went from 78 to 75.) After blood work, and fine needle aspiration - his thyroid is low, and there were some abnormal cells in the lump, but not too many, the vet is not worried.

So, we are watching the lump, and he is getting thyroid medication. The vet also mentioned to supplement his food with some wet food, to get him some more calories.

2 weeks later since we started the meds, and supplementing his food, he dropped another pound.

I am really worried. The vet says the only way to really determine if the lump is really the problem is to remove it through surgery.

Today, I am taking all of his medical records to our other very-grey savvy vet for a 2nd opinion. He might have more experience with this, and may be able to give us some other options before surgery. (Our regular vet is 2 min away, and the grey-savy vet is 1 hour away, which is why we do not use him for routine visits.)

DH thinks maybe he just doesn't like the food. He's never been a big eater, and we recently switched from the Sam's club food to Kirkland's. He were on Kirklands for a long time, stopped for a little while, and just started again.) But, he still is eating, and eats up all his wet food. I do mix the kibble with the wet food for him, to make sure he's getting kibble. DH also thinks he's getting older, and maybe the weight loss is a part of that. (He'll be 9 in Feb.)

I am not sure what to think of all this. We have seen NO behavior changes. He still eats, plays, and trots around the back yard. He is still our mellow, gentle boy. No aggression, no unusual behavior. The only difference since he starting taking his tyroid meds, is that his coat (he's a black boy) went from dull and full of dandruff to a healthy, shiny coat with no dandruff.

Sigh, has anyone had any experiences with this.

[RobinM]

How are his poops?

[Guest Shermanator]

Fine. Big, not too firm, not too soft, and many!

[Batmom]

Did he have a full thyroid profile or just a T4? And has he been checked again to see if the meds, if needed, have brought his thyroid function up properly?

 

If he's easy to vet, wouldn't hurt to take a quick abdominal x-ray.

 

Sending best wishes that you can get to the bottom of things.

[Guest Energy11]

Hard to say why he is losing weight, but the second opinion definitely couldn't hurt. I do it ALL the time with mine, as my vet her isn't GH savvy. I ask my former vet/employer in Florida, AND OSU, before accepting any diagnosis. Good Luck, and sending love!

[Guest Heehoo]

Pipi had a lump on her thyroid & I had it removed. It came back malignant. She is not on any meds & I did not do chemo. She has not lost any weight or gained any. 

 

Personally if he is losing weight, I would get a second opinion. I'd also have the lump removed....most  thyroid tumors are malignant....this is information I have both been told by my vet & read. 

 

 

[Guest Shermanator]

Took Sherman to the GH-super-savvy vet. His conclusion is that Sherman is becoming and old man.

He said the lump feels benign, and his blood work (minus the T4) is fantastic.

He said Sherman's weight loss is fat, not muscle, and this is common in older greys. He gave Sherman a complete exam, and said he looks excellent for his age. (Almost 9.)

I trust this vet 100%, so I am thrilled. My boy simply became an old boy, without me paying attention. Sigh. Sherman is my first grey, and my heart dog. I have never had an older dog, so all this aging stuff is new to me. The vet said Sherman's caloric intake can increase through carbs and fats. (Why can't I be so lucky?)

So relieved!

[Guest SusanP]

Our Wizard has lost some weight, and we're monitoring that at the vet's--her recommendation is that if he loses more, he should have an abdominal ultrasound and chest xray, since his bloodwork was all in order. Wizard is about Sherman's age, 9, and I've been hoping this is just age related, though my other elderly hounds didn't lose weight much at this age.

 

Here's hoping for both of us that that's just what's going on!

[Batmom]

All due respect to your vets, that's nonsense. Dogs don't lose weight because they are going on 9. That's not even close to "old."

[Guest Shermanator]

All due respect to your vets, that's nonsense. Dogs don't lose weight because they are going on 9. That's not even close to "old."

He's actually very greyhound knowledgeable, so I do trust him. He has had years upon years of experience with greys, and is the vet most rescue agencies have used in my area. Sherman is getting older. Has anyone every seen an older fat greyhound? In my experience, I have not. (I wish I was so lucky!)

But, I am watching Sherman. If he continues to lose weight at a rapid pace, then we do more testing/ perhaps the biopsy. He has been on his thyroid medication for about 2 weeks now, and I am starting to supplement his food with rice. I am keeping a very close eye on him.

However, his behavior and activity has not changed at all. In fact last night he had the super-zoomies, and played with his bone, tossing it around, jumping on it, and play-bowing off and on for the entire night.

Now, if the lump gets much bigger, or he is losing more weight, or we notice a change in his behavior, we will be back at the vet.

[Guest TheUnrulyHound]

Personally I would still be concerned about the weightloss... Stepper is 9 and is fat he has nice padding, Outlaw was a great weight before he got sick and he was 11. Bully on the otherhand is 8.5 and I cannot get weight on him, my hounds get 4 cups of food a day and keep great weight. Bully is getting 6 a day (for 2 weeks so far) and I can still see all his ribs, if anything he has lost more weight. He has a lump on his leg that we are having removed on Thursday, results back on Monday. Bloodwork is fine.

 

I would be more concerned about that lump.

[Guest LindsaySF]

Has he been dewormed recently?

 

Aside from going from 78 to 75 lbs, how does he LOOK? Does he look like he has lost weight? (Maybe post a picture).

[ahicks51]

All due respect to your vets, that's nonsense. Dogs don't lose weight because they are going on 9. That's not even close to "old."

He's actually very greyhound knowledgeable, so I do trust him. He has had years upon years of experience with greys, and is the vet most rescue agencies have used in my area.

 

If it's Yocham, then he used to be the track vet at Phoenix; he's the best person with greys for a hundred miles in any direction- next best stop would be Dr. Stack down in Yuma. She used to be a track vet in Tucson, IIRC.

[KF_in_Georgia]

The vet said Sherman's caloric intake can increase through carbs and fats. (Why can't I be so lucky?)

So relieved!

 

My greys each lost a bit of weight when they started thyroid pills. (Actually, Jacey lost more than "a bit," but she needed to.)

 

But be careful about upping Sherman's fat intake. Sam accidentally got some extra fat on his last turkey neck, and the diarrhea was horrendous. (I didn't see the fat until he already had the neck, and taking a neck away from Sam is not a viable proposition.) Anyway, if Sherman isn't used to fats, a sudden increase in fats could cause drastic diarrhea with a concomitant weight loss.

[Guest Shermanator]

All due respect to your vets, that's nonsense. Dogs don't lose weight because they are going on 9. That's not even close to "old."

He's actually very greyhound knowledgeable, so I do trust him. He has had years upon years of experience with greys, and is the vet most rescue agencies have used in my area.

 

If it's Yocham, then he used to be the track vet at Phoenix; he's the best person with greys for a hundred miles in any direction- next best stop would be Dr. Stack down in Yuma. She used to be a track vet in Tucson, IIRC.

It is Yocham. I like him a lot. I trust him, with all his experience. And, he really cares about those dogs. He's pretty straightforward, and matter of fact. he explains things to you, and spent a lot of time on Sat. listening to my concerns and fears.

I am watching Sherman's food, and we are slowing incorporating some fat. Not too much. (We've had the same issues with fatty turkey necks-the big D.)

I've noticed Sherman's weight loss. I see it in his tuck. But he's not too skinny. Yocham say's he's still looking good.

 

I've having him weighed next Friday. We'll see how his weight is.

[Guest MZH]

Hi, I just starting reading here.

 

If he were my dog, I'd remove the bump. That's a classic spot for mast cell tumor. Better to get it off earlier rather than later. We've had this done; it's not a big thing. Maybe you could schedule it along with a dental or something.

 

Worms can really take the weight off but 75 pounds sounds like a good weight, really. Our Grahmmy went from 75 down to 66 while eating very well. We know he had tapes and who knows what else that didn't show up on the fecals. Ick.

[Guest Shermanator]

Thanks everyone!

We are monitoring him closely. I do not want to put him through surgery if I do not have to. We are watching him closely, and I will take him back in for a weight check at the end of the week. Or, if he stops eating or stops being 'himself,' then we'll re-evaluate.

I never thought of worms. Where could he pick those up? Ew.

[nyGreys]

Sending prayers.

[Guest MZH]

Thanks everyone!

We are monitoring him closely. I do not want to put him through surgery if I do not have to. We are watching him closely, and I will take him back in for a weight check at the end of the week. Or, if he stops eating or stops being 'himself,' then we'll re-evaluate.

I never thought of worms. Where could he pick those up? Ew.

 

Hard to know, really. Perhaps he ate something outside that had fleas on it. Sometimes they hang around in the body for years if the parasiye has been sequestered in body tissues and then come out, so to speak. Could be he walked on ground contaminated with something.

 

Our Grahmmy had no visible fleas on him when we adopted hin on 7/8 but his poops were never right. He had three negative fecals, but one day in September the tapes were waving at us! Took him and a poop sample to a vet the next day and the fecal came out negative again! (There were no visible tapes in that sample.)

 

We gave him Panacur -- longer than usual -- and it actually worked. (That's not supposed to help most tapes but it seemed to for his.) A month later his poops derteriorated so we gave him generic Droncit. It worked too.

 

Moral of story is to deworm if they're losing weight but are eating well and acting normally. It's worth a try. Graham was VERY hungry while wormy. Now he's just plain old normal hungry.