Staghound Too Thin

[Guest Servicedog]

Greetings to you all from the North!

 

I have an American Stagound, Gwynnie, she is 3 in July, about 27" at the shoulder and she weighs about 47#. My vet wants her to gain a few pounds. She has lost weight this winter, gained about 2 1/2 # back, and is now down to 47# from 50.5# about a month ago. She is not sick, eats her kibble pretty good, and gets decent treats a few times a day. I feed Nurtisource Lamb and Rice, 3 cups per day for her, which is more than the bag chart shows.

 

So, HELP!!!

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Mary and Gwynnie

[Brindles]

Did she have a fecal to rule out worms?

 

My puppy lost a bunch of weight a few months ago and I discovered the magic of Satin Balls. Seriously, they're amazing and worth it. I rolled mine into tangerine-sized meatballs and started out giving him 4 a day. One with breakfast, two spaced out in the afternoon, and one with dinner. He put the weight back on in about a month, and he LOVES them. Eventually I cut him back to two a day, and now none at all (though I do have a bunch still in the freezer). I individually wrapped them all in aluminum foil and kept them frozen in ziploc bags. Works perfectly cause you can keep one bag thawed at a time.

 

I'd also bump her up to 4 cups of food a day.

 

ETA: Thought I'd add to keep reassessing her body condition as she puts weight on; be careful not to let her get fat. My puppy needed to gain 10 lbs, so my weight gain regimen above may be more aggressive than your girl might need. I'm not sure what her target weight should be because I can't see her, but my female greyhound stands 27" at the shoulder and weighs 70 lbs. She does have a heavier, longer build than most females, though.

Edited April 28, 2011 by Brindles

[Guest Servicedog]

No, no worms. She has had bad worms in the past so I keep a sharp eye for that. No physical or other medical problems. She has a light frame, so 70# is not really going to happen. I would like to see 55# or so.

 

I am considering other dry food, as she had a lot of tarter buildup and had a good tooth cleaning about 2 weeks ago. She sees her vet often enough that she is otherwise pretty healthy!!! This girl goes to the Dr. more that I do! And the combined dogs have a higher grocery bill than I do! At least I can take Gwynnie's expenses off of my taxes... because she is a service dog she is considered medical equipment.

 

She sure scared the heck out of me last night when she took off.

 

Thanks for all help.

Mary and Gwynnie, PA, CGC, MSD, PSD.

[Guest kydie]

when my grey came he was very underweight,, by about 10 to 12 lbs,, I would try additions,, like cooked eggs,, cottage cheese, yogurt (if not lactose intolerent)canned tuna, or salmon, or mackerl,,honey, my pups love cooked sweet potatoes I always increase add-ins during hunting season good luck

[Guest happygrey]

Especially if she's still young, she may need to eat way over what the bag recommends. What's the caloric content of the food? We feed our 3 hounds the same food, Taste of the Wild Pacific, but they all get different amounts. All of them are over the bag's recommendations.

 

Tatam, nearly 7 & 72 pounds -- 4 cups/day

 

Bentley, nearly 3 & 57 pounds -- 4+2/3 cups/day

 

Desmond, 5 & 80 pounds -- 5 cups/day

 

They also get lots of treats throughout the day and occasional add-ins.

 

Are you in a cold weather area in winter? Bentley really struggles to keep his weight up in the winter when it's cold. It's easier for him to gain and maintain his weight in summertime.

[Guest Servicedog]

Again, thank you for the input.

 

She is a difficult eater. For awhile I had been adding cooked oatmeal with some protien to their kibble because she was hardly eating. She comes to work with me, and the office atmosphere is stressfull. It has gotten better, and she is back eating about the way she did before. I put a little Little Friskies kibble on top of their food as encouragement (No one needs to encourage my Labs to eat, but they get some anyway!)

 

I may switch her food alone, and add extras. More for her, and less for the Labs. They understand how many of a treat each gets, not necessarily how big the treat.

 

Oh, yes. We live in Northwest Minnesota. It can get C O L D here in the winter, and snowed today in the eastern part of the state!!! April 29! And it is likely to snow Sunday or Monday, also, in parts of Minnesota.

 

Because she is a service dog, she never stays outside, summer or winter. I have a new one level house, in floor heat and central air. In my office she sleeps at my feet on a small soft oriental rug (on sale) and at home, well, you can all guess who hogs the bed! She has a pretty good life.

 

Any more suggestions are welcome.

 

Thank you all so much!

Mary and Gwynnie

[JJNg]

A slightly different perspective here... As long as the dog is healthy and maintains a fairly stable weight, I don't worry too much as long as they are not too far under ideal body condition, especially if she is a relatively picky eater who doesn't always finish meals. Some dogs just seem to maintain at a somewhat lower than what we consider ideal weight. A dog that is slightly underweight is healthier than one that is slightly overweight.

 

Now if the dog is losing weight, has any medical problems, or acts hungry and scarfs up all the food put in front of her, that's a different story.

 

If you think she'll eat it, I would just increase the amount of dry dog food. Or switch (gradually) to a higher quality, higher calorie food. I'm really not a fan of adding in a variety of extras, especially for a picky eater, as I feel that makes them even more picky, and it gets harder and harder to get them to eat.

[3greytjoys]

A slightly different perspective here... As long as the dog is healthy and maintains a fairly stable weight, I don't worry too much as long as they are not too far under ideal body condition, especially if she is a relatively picky eater who doesn't always finish meals. Some dogs just seem to maintain at a somewhat lower than what we consider ideal weight. A dog that is slightly underweight is healthier than one that is slightly overweight.

 

Now if the dog is losing weight, has any medical problems, or acts hungry and scarfs up all the food put in front of her, that's a different story.

 

If you think she'll eat it, I would just increase the amount of dry dog food. Or switch (gradually) to a higher quality, higher calorie food. I'm really not a fan of adding in a variety of extras, especially for a picky eater, as I feel that makes them even more picky, and it gets harder and harder to get them to eat.

 

All above are Excellent points.

 

Another thought re: a dog that previously had a bad case of worms. A follow-up fecal sometimes helps if only one fecal was returned clear. Some worm egg growth stages aren't caught on one fecal, but can be caught later.

[cleptogrey]

in the past my salukis did not fill out until they were 4 years old. i used to have people stop me on the streets and scream,"you are starving that dog" no matter how much or what i fed them. when they were ready they gained weight.the greys fill out much faster. aside from all of the excellent suggestions about food, cheese really packs on some weight. not tons of it, but some for training and maybe some kraft macaroni and cheese(one of the trainers i know swears by it). i always notice a couple of pounds when my dogs finish a round of obedience classes. if her coat and skin are good, then it's just a matter of time. be patient, i also agree a slender dog is a healthier dog. look at some pics of her lineage, you answer probably lies there.

[Greytlady94]

Losing 3 1/2 pounds on a dog 50.5 dog is quite a bit. If this were my dog I would talk to her vet about the possibility of worms that are just not being detected. Also what the vet feels about giving Panacur "just because".

 

I would also do some dog food research and increase the calories that she is being given. Adding calories should help her pick up the weight she has lost.

[Guest happygrey]

Losing 3 1/2 pounds on a dog 50.5 dog is quite a bit. If this were my dog I would talk to her vet about the possibility of worms that are just not being detected. Also what the vet feels about giving Panacur "just because".

 

I would also do some dog food research and increase the calories that she is being given. Adding calories should help her pick up the weight she has lost.

I agree with you. This isn't an issue of those not knowing sighthounds criticizing that the dog is thin; this is coming from the dog's vet.

[kudzu]

My staghound was a picky eater until quite recently. She is almost 3 yo. Finally she is up to 65 lbs at 29-30" at shoulder. That is up 5 lbs from a year ago. For a very long time she was almost 29" & only 55 lbs. Vet called her "runway model thin". If she had not had her Deerhound momma's coat people would have been calling AC on me. I searched for a high calorie food that she did well on. Finally found one she likes & eats rather well. However, I also had to train her to eat. It sounds crazy but it worked. Here's what I followed. Teaching Your Dog to Eat

 

If I were you, besides trying to teach her to eat reliably I would just give her more food. That is IF she will eat it. My girl would only eat approx 3.5 cups of food a day. She simply would not consume more regardless of the schedule or how many meals I broke it into. Trying add on just made her pickier. It was sooooo frustrating. Finally I just gave up, found the one food & stuck with it. If she ate, great. If she picked at it or walked away I picked up the bowl & she saw that food at her next meal. Seriously. She never got so thin as to be unhealthy though I did joke that she was my two dimensional dog.

 

PS She was even pickier on raw food & will simply not eat RMBs. So BARF was a big flop for her.