Weight Loss In Almost 11 Year Old Male Greyhound.

[Guest Loves4Greyz]

I don't post on here but am desperately looking for help. Maybe someone has had the same experience...hopefully not for you and your pup.

 

Murphy will be 11 on May 13, 2016. He has been losing weight since Dec 2015. Was at 90.4 pounds and March 3 was at 79.0 pounds. Appetite very poor and lethargic. No diarrhea now but did have some in December.

 

I have tried eggs, chicken breast , pumpkin, chicken broth over kibble, peanut butter with and without kibble. As a last resort I made satin balls last night. He tried a little of a satin ball last night but refused them this morning.

 

Xrays, fecal tests, blood tests have been done and he was given a B-12 injection yesterday. We are waiting for malabsorbtion test results to come in.

 

Thank you in advance or any insight.

[tbhounds]

Is he taking any medications? I assume the bloodwork results are normal? Vomiting/diarrhea?

[MP_the4pack]

Did you do an ultrasound? Sometimes things don't show up on xray.

[Guest Loves4Greyz]

Is he taking any medications? I assume the bloodwork results are normal? Vomiting/diarrhea?

[Guest Loves4Greyz]

Currently he is not on any meds except heartworm preventative and joint max. The blood work thus far has been okay. The malabsorbtion test is a blood test and the results haven't come back yet. Thank you for uour time.

Currently he is not on any meds except heartworm preventative and joint max. The blood work thus far has been okay. The malabsorbtion test is a blood test and the results haven't come back yet. Thank you for uour time.

[MaryJane]

Try steak and also challah bread toasted with a bit of butter. Cut the bread into small squares. Also try whole fat yogurt sweetened with a bit of honey and cheese slices.

 

Did they do a urinalysis?

 

edited to add - my Lucy went from about 70 pounds down to about 60 in a few months. Turns out one of her seizure meds caused IBD and she is now on a fish diet. You might also want to try fish like Tilapia (not tuna or salmon).

Edited March 4, 2016 by MaryJane

[greysmom]

Were the kidney and liver values off at all?? Those are the first things I think of when a dog won't eat and are nauseous. I second the ultra sound suggestion if it's an option.

[Guest Loves4Greyz]

Did you do an ultrasound? Sometimes things don't show up on xray.

An ultrasound has not been but will inquire about that. Thanks.

Were the kidney and liver values off at all?? Those are the first things I think of when a dog won't eat and are nauseous. I second the ultra sound suggestion if it's an option.

I will inquire about those values. With all the blood work those values have probably been checked. I will inquire when we talk to our vet tomorrow. Thanks for taking the time to make suggestions.

[Guest Loves4Greyz]

Try steak and also challah bread toasted with a bit of butter. Cut the bread into small squares. Also try whole fat yogurt sweetened with a bit of honey and cheese slices.

 

Did they do a urinalysis?

 

edited to add - my Lucy went from about 70 pounds down to about 60 in a few months. Turns out one of her seizure meds caused IBD and she is now on a fish diet. You might also want to try fish like Tilapia (not tuna or salmon).

I may have to eat with my pup tomorrow! Sounds good. I do not believe an urinalysis has been done but will add this to my list of questions. Thank you.

[tbhounds]

Currently he is not on any meds except heartworm preventative and joint max. The blood work thus far has been okay. The malabsorbtion test is a blood test and the results haven't come back yet. Thank you for uour time.Currently he is not on any meds except heartworm preventative and joint max. The blood work thus far has been okay. The malabsorbtion test is a blood test and the results haven't come back yet. Thank you for uour time.

Typically when there's a malabsorption problem those guys have an incredible appetite.

Think I would push for the ultrasound.

[XTRAWLD]

Often, what starts on your plate is usually way more enticing for them to eat. I conned Kasey into eating food that way and I ended up eating Pizza often and he got the Pizza Bones (crust). My Kasey was always a picky eater and he did lose a lot of weight after he turned 11. His ultrasound was clear though, so there wasn't an indication of an issue with his insides, he just didn't have an appetite. If you are able to get an ultrasound, that is a really good first step to rule anything else out after you've done your blood/urine testing. To be fair, what seems to be the norm is just a decrease in food intake naturally as they age, but obviously it's worrisome.

[Guest Loves4Greyz]

Often, what starts on your plate is usually way more enticing for them to eat. I conned Kasey into eating food that way and I ended up eating Pizza often and he got the Pizza Bones (crust). My Kasey was always a picky eater and he did lose a lot of weight after he turned 11. His ultrasound was clear though, so there wasn't an indication of an issue with his insides, he just didn't have an appetite. If you are able to get an ultrasound, that is a really good first step to rule anything else out after you've done your blood/urine testing. To be fair, what seems to be the norm is just a decrease in food intake naturally as they age, but obviously it's worrisome.

I spent so much time discouraging them from coming near my plate that I never thought of this but what a great idea.

[Guest FordRacingRon]

Leia went through this too, coincidentally when she was around 10 1/2 to 11 when it started. Aside from the appetite she was showing signs of CCD but did have that. During her battery of test which included x-rays and ultrasounds, the internist did say she had slight swelling in her intestines ,,she did have a case of IBS. She said for a few thousand more we can narrow it down so we passed.

 

We got to the point where her diet became weird. For weeks all she would eat were chicken thighs from El Pollo Loco. Then it became only sliced roast beef from the supermarket deli,,and only one specific kind. MOst of the time during this her stools were terrible so she was on one drug for that (I want to say sucralfate)and also mirtazapine for her appetite. Plus Rymadl. They sort of worked but it was heck feeding her and this went on until she was 12. All that plus we used this stuff called Viyo recuperating liquid (Amazon is a good source) to get vitamins in her and it also somewhat of an appetite enhancer.

 

As she was closing in on 11 1/2 she had to have an eye surgery and we went to a different vet and although she did an amazing job, when we were going over what Leia would eat and what pills she was taking and I could tell she wasn't happy with the mirtazapine because that was artificially making her hungry and I could tell from that vet she felt it was artificially keeping her alive

 

Anyway I decided to see what would happen if we took her off the drugs so slowly I decreased dosages. Then the really weird stuff happened (and by that I mean good weird) . The less pills she took, the better she seemed to act. The closer she got to eating like a real dog. By 12 1/2 she was off all drugs and eating dogfood. Kibble mixed with Little Caesar wet food and she still eats that today and her poops are perfect. But she also likes meat and chicken. So her daily food are two or so chicken thighs for breakfast (obviously no skin or fat or bones), maybe another for lunch. For dinner a regular helping of dog food and some beef. I usually buy her like a london broil and feed her a cooked 1/4-1/2 pound of that too. So a bowl with the beef and a bowl with the dogfood and away she goes.

 

In a month and a half she will be 13,,,Lord willing. She eats fine now but is showing some rear end weakness,,I assume because she is old (we have a wellness exam in a week). But she still will do zoomies in the yard and we still walk 3/4 of a mile every morning.

[Guest Loves4Greyz]

Leia went through this too, coincidentally when she was around 10 1/2 to 11 when it started. Aside from the appetite she was showing signs of CCD but did have that. During her battery of test which included x-rays and ultrasounds, the internist did say she had slight swelling in her intestines ,,she did have a case of IBS. She said for a few thousand more we can narrow it down so we passed.

 

We got to the point where her diet became weird. For weeks all she would eat were chicken thighs from El Pollo Loco. Then it became only sliced roast beef from the supermarket deli,,and only one specific kind. MOst of the time during this her stools were terrible so she was on one drug for that (I want to say sucralfate)and also mirtazapine for her appetite. Plus Rymadl. They sort of worked but it was heck feeding her and this went on until she was 12. All that plus we used this stuff called Viyo recuperating liquid (Amazon is a good source) to get vitamins in her and it also somewhat of an appetite enhancer.

 

As she was closing in on 11 1/2 she had to have an eye surgery and we went to a different vet and although she did an amazing job, when we were going over what Leia would eat and what pills she was taking and I could tell she wasn't happy with the mirtazapine because that was artificially making her hungry and I could tell from that vet she felt it was artificially keeping her alive

 

Anyway I decided to see what would happen if we took her off the drugs so slowly I decreased dosages. Then the really weird stuff happened (and by that I mean good weird) . The less pills she took, the better she seemed to act. The closer she got to eating like a real dog. By 12 1/2 she was off all drugs and eating dogfood. Kibble mixed with Little Caesar wet food and she still eats that today and her poops are perfect. But she also likes meat and chicken. So her daily food are two or so chicken thighs for breakfast (obviously no skin or fat or bones), maybe another for lunch. For dinner a regular helping of dog food and some beef. I usually buy her like a london broil and feed her a cooked 1/4-1/2 pound of that too. So a bowl with the beef and a bowl with the dogfood and away she goes.

 

In a month and a half she will be 13,,,Lord willing. She eats fine now but is showing some rear end weakness,,I assume because she is old (we have a wellness exam in a week). But she still will do zoomies in the yard and we still walk 3/4 of a mile every morning.

Thank you so much for taking time to write this. The fact that Leia is still with you certainly gives me a glimmer of hope for Murphy. We will do everything for him within reason but did rule out exploratory surgery because of his age. I will cook/buy whatever he will eat just to get some weight on him.

[Guest FordRacingRon]

PS: Through all this I did make sure she took vitamins and glucosamine. And obviously still do.

[Sundrop]

Hi there, interested to see if you moved forward with an ultrasound yet?

 

We've had two hounds who lost interest in food/lost weight (one @ 13.5 and the other @ 9.5 years of age). After a lot of tests (blood work, fecal, urinalysis, etc.) and office visits, switching foods, using appetite stimulants and stomach soothing meds, x-rays, etc. - you name it, we did it -- both were diagnosed after ultrasounds on their bellies. We spent over a month with our girl (the 13.5 year old) with so many vet visits, lots of tests and many different kinds of food (we tried everything) until the vet finally suggested ultrasound. When we went through the same thing with our boy, I insisted on ultrasound much earlier in the process, and I am glad I did.

 

Things didn't end up well in either case for us, but at least we knew what we were dealing with and we didn't have to keep taking them in, trying meds, foods, etc. It's quick, easy, non-invasive and not very expensive, and isn't like an x-ray that will dose your dog with radiation. Highly recommend it for any dog with eating/weight loss issues, especially when other tests have shown nothing.

 

Good luck.

[Guest Loves4Greyz]

Sorry that I didn't follow up sooner. Murphy should make it to 11 in May! After many vet visits, many tests, travel to our state vet school and many food changes, we think he is on the mend. He was diagnosed with lymphocytic plasmacytic enteritis (a form of IBD) and mild case of helicobacter and no cancer. We are treating the IBD with a change of diet, B 12 shots, prednisone and omeprazole. Helicobacer treatment would make him vomit so aren't treating that at the moment.

He has only put on a pound even though his appetite is greatly improved. What he eats in the morning he may turn his nose up at in the evening. Murphy loves satin balls most of the time but we are trying to get him on a hypoallergenic food or novel food so trying to eliminate those from his diet. The vet school recommended a novel diet which I had never heard of. We get smarter with each pup and know that novel diet simply means to put him on a protein source he has never had before. Yeah for us that I don't like seafood or the smell of it so our dogs have never been on salmon.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions and inquiries.

[Guest Loves4Greyz]

Didn't realize that it had been so long since I posted but Murphy became an 18 hour a day project between shopping for him, cooking for him, begging him to eat, giving him meds and taking him to the vets. After going to VT vet school he did show some progress and actually gained 3 pounds. We were maintaining his weight even going to Wendy's and Arby's for hamburgers and hot dogs. While we were trying to watch the fat, we allowed him to eat whatever he could get down. During the last month he started losing weight again even faster. And the day we finally realized that nothing further could be done, we took him in and in less than 24 hours he had lost 3 pounds. We let him go on May 26 and miss him so much. This pup during the last 5 months had constant watery diarrhea and only had 2 accidents in the house. He continued to take care of himself even though ill but his weight went from a healthy 88 pounds to 66.2 pounds. So sad to watch this beautiful former racer dwindle away. This is our third grey that we have lost and it just gets harder. Wish that I knew how to post a picture on here. I am so retarded when it comes to technology.

[ramonaghan]

I'm so sorry for your loss. Rest well, Murphy.

[Sundrop]

So very sorry to read this. Murphy was a lucky boy to have guardians who loved him so much and did all they could to keep him healthy and happy.

[Guest Loves4Greyz]

I'm so sorry for your loss. Rest well, Murphy.

Thank you.

Thank you for your posts. We sure do miss that sweet boy.

[Batmom]

I'm sorry for your loss. Big hugs.

[XTRAWLD]

I'm so sorry. Kasey consistently dropped weight but he never lost more than 12 pounds from when he was at his peak through all of his chemo. He never once in his life went in the house either except for one occassion he was very very sick. How stoic they are through it all right? He was always tough to keep weight on but somehow we managed. Im so sorry that Murphy kept on losing weight and you had to let him go.