Too Thin After Tapeworm?

[Guest GreytScott]

So Kingsley (who has been with us a full 32 hours, woo! ) has definitely lost weight since the first time I ever saw him. I don't have great photos, as he's camera shy and I can never get great light. I just know that to me he looks more ribby and generally more bony now, and his hip points are jutting out quite a bit more than when I first met him. When I first saw him he was pretty bulky, he struck me as being a tad "bodybuilderish." He was pretty powerfully muscled. Shadows of his ribs were visible, as well as hints of his hip points. He was nice and healthy-looking. As expected after being retired for at least a month, he's lost some muscle. But he's also lost some weight and I'm not sure if he has approached "too thin" territory.

We were told the vet who did Kingsley's pre-adoption workup confirmed tapeworm, for which he received treatment before we picked him up. I'm assuming that's a likely culprit. He's still quite healthy, but I'd like to make sure we're doing the best we can for him. I've done lots of research as to healthy weights in greys and all that, but I know some greys are bonier than others no matter what, and I just feel like I need a bit of assistance.

Thus far he has eaten with the greyhound gusto I read about so many times. No problems there. I'd just like some input from more seasoned grey parents as to whether he looks a bit bony now, and if so, how should we go about getting some healthy padding on him without going overboard? Keep feeding normally? Add something special to his breakfast for a week or two?

Thanks in advance! Here are some photos. The photos don't show it very well but his spine is visible from just after his shoulders to just before the base of his tail. What were once shadows of ribs are now very pronounced ribs. And you can see in the second photo how his hips protrude. Normal? Too thin?

 

[sobesmom]

He is a bit on the thin side. He's got the dragon-spine, and his hipbones are clearly visible. If he had tapes that certainly could've made him drop weight quickly. I wouldn't worry at this point, especially if he's enjoying his food. I'd just feed him an appropriate amount, and he'll probably start putting on a bit of weight over the next couple months. I'd make sure that you're feeding a "decent" food - doesn't have to be outrageously expensive - just something that has real stuff in it - not fillers. You want to bring his weight up gradually.

 

Personally - I wouldn't start feeding him anything "special" (like meatballs or whatever) to bring up his weight. He'll probably regain it naturally now that the tapes are gone. Others WILL disagree with this. I'm just not a big fan of getting a dog into "special" foods and possibly creating a fussy eater. Now if he was sick - or old - that's different.

 

I've had fosters off the track - no worms - that were that thin. They were fine. Heck - my Diana stayed that thin for several years after we adopted her. Perfectly healthy - she was just one of those "skinny girls" She wore dragon spines and hipbones showing from age 2-7, despite all efforts to fatter her up.

 

One suggestion - I'd definitely take him to the vet for a worm check in 3-4 weeks. Gotta make sure those buggers are gone. They can easily relapse. And - he could've had another type of worm along with tape - I'd just double-check to make sure the're really gone. We almost always had to re-treat fosters that came to us that had just been de-worrmed.

 

GORGEOUS DOG!!! Congrats!!! Is he a pretty big guy? He looks like he is. He's a beautiful color! And that face! SO pretty~ I mean - handsome.

Edited February 10, 2014 by sobesmom

[Guest GreytScott]

Thanks for the input, sobesmom! Yes, he's a big boy! Quite tall and, as my husband put it, "Dang, he's a loooong dog!"

 

I'm definitely partial to his handsome face.

[Batmom]

He is looking skinny -- not dangerously so, but he could use a few more pounds. Like sobesmom, I wouldn't add special stuff. I'd just feed him a goodly amount of his regular food and weigh him in @ a week. If his weight has gone up a bit, keep doing what you're doing. If it's steady or gone down, feed more .

 

Handsome pup. Congratulations!

[Guest GreytScott]

Thanks, Batmom!

[JJNg]

I agree with the previous responses about him needing to gain a few pounds and to do that by adjusting the amount of his regular dog food. How much was he getting fed by his foster home? Tapeworms don't usually cause weight loss, so I suspect it's more just a feeding issue (unless he has other worms). When you see a dog every day, you might not notice they're losing weight, and he might just have needed a little more food than what he was getting.

 

Just make sure you don't overdo it. You want to be able to see a hint of the tips of the hip bones, just not as much of them that you see now, and the vertebrae shouldn't be that prominent.

[Guest Scouts_mom]

How old is he? To me he has the look of a young dog that is still filling out. Give him time and he should fill in. However do make sure that he is getting enough to eat. If he is still acting starved when he finishes his dinner, you could try increasing his food a little. Grey's have a high metabolism and need more food than many other breeds. A big active boy like him should be getting at least 2 cups of good quality kibble 2 times a day.

 

He is a beauty and I love his collar.

[Guest GreytScott]

I agree with the previous responses about him needing to gain a few pounds and to do that by adjusting the amount of his regular dog food. How much was he getting fed by his foster home? Tapeworms don't usually cause weight loss, so I suspect it's more just a feeding issue (unless he has other worms). When you see a dog every day, you might not notice they're losing weight, and he might just have needed a little more food than what he was getting.

 

To my knowledge, our adoption group doesn't do fostering before adoptions so it's possible, with so many other dogs to accommodate, the staff simply didn't notice he was losing.

 

How old is he? To me he has the look of a young dog that is still filling out. Give him time and he should fill in. However do make sure that he is getting enough to eat. If he is still acting starved when he finishes his dinner, you could try increasing his food a little. Grey's have a high metabolism and need more food than many other breeds. A big active boy like him should be getting at least 2 cups of good quality kibble 2 times a day.

 

He is a beauty and I love his collar.

 

 

Thank you! He's 3 1/2. We're giving him about that amount every day, with a bit of good canned food mixed in because we needed to entice him into eating his first meal or two and now we're just using up the last of the can. Perhaps I'll increase the amount just a tad. He doesn't act starved after, but he does look at me like, "Where's the rest?"

[a_daerr]

Agree with Batmom.