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Concerned About Indies Weight Loss


julzjc
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Bloody hell, just got my hopes up because I heard his steel food bowl moving!!!

Fricken birds are eating it as he just lays there watching them :shrug:

I'm sure they will but make sure the new vet considers looking for intestinal and stomach disorders. It sounds to me like there's more to this than depression. I hope I'm wrong.

Praying you are too, but my gut feeling isnt good either.

Bah, now Im crying.....anyways, no point stressing till I see the vet.

:rofl: Knowing what you're dealing with will give you a way forward. I find its the not knowing that's the killer.

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Hi Julzjc

Just wondering what Indie's stools are like, I'm assuming as he's not eating there aren't many of them but if they are looking pale in colour like clay yellow and not as formed it might be worth having him tested for endocrine pancreatic insuffiency (EPI) this can make dogs look emaciated and while lack of appetite isn't usually a symptom it might come from other related EPI conditions. So sorry you are having such a rough time.

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sorry to hear poor Indie is having such a hard time.

When we have an animal in hospital that wont eat we syringe feed. Hills AD is very high calorie and doesnt need extra water added (shake the tin really well before opening or just give it a good stir). You can use the same idea with other food run through the blender or baby food. for dogs that dont tolerate the high calories or fats or after long periods of not eating we start with Lectade and graduate to Ensure or similiar before we start the 'blenderised' food.

The majority of our patients start eating after a day or two - whether that is because they are actually improving, because they remember how good food can be once we kick start their gut, or because they get sick of us and find it easier to eat and get rid of us is is a common discussion topic on long shifts!

I like the di-vetelact idea also, I have used it a fair bit on underweight fosters to add some calories and a lot of dogs seem to really like it.

Good luck, I hope you get to to the bottom of it and he is back on track soon.

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sorry to hear poor Indie is having such a hard time.

When we have an animal in hospital that wont eat we syringe feed. Hills AD is very high calorie and doesnt need extra water added (shake the tin really well before opening or just give it a good stir). You can use the same idea with other food run through the blender or baby food. for dogs that dont tolerate the high calories or fats or after long periods of not eating we start with Lectade and graduate to Ensure or similiar before we start the 'blenderised' food.

The majority of our patients start eating after a day or two - whether that is because they are actually improving, because they remember how good food can be once we kick start their gut, or because they get sick of us and find it easier to eat and get rid of us is is a common discussion topic on long shifts!I like the di-vetelact idea also, I have used it a fair bit on underweight fosters to add some calories and a lot of dogs seem to really like it.

Good luck, I hope you get to to the bottom of it and he is back on track soon.

:shrug: Thanks for that one lucknow.

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Hi Julzjc

Just wondering what Indie's stools are like, I'm assuming as he's not eating there aren't many of them but if they are looking pale in colour like clay yellow and not as formed it might be worth having him tested for endocrine pancreatic insuffiency (EPI) this can make dogs look emaciated and while lack of appetite isn't usually a symptom it might come from other related EPI conditions. So sorry you are having such a rough time.

F* it!

Went to inspect one I had seen earlier (ironically on top of Bonnie's grave). Soft/gooey-ish in parts, realy dark-almost black on the outside , Ive been keeping an eye on his toileting but thats the consistincy I would expect since he is eating so little......squished it with a rock, bright orange on the inside. Ill ask about EPI too when I go. Far out.

But they were fine untill Bonnie past away. Raw diet mixed with Royal Canin kibble so very firm and turning chalky within a day or so. Ill take a sample with me.

Edited by julzjc
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Hi Julzjc

Just wondering what Indie's stools are like, I'm assuming as he's not eating there aren't many of them but if they are looking pale in colour like clay yellow and not as formed it might be worth having him tested for endocrine pancreatic insuffiency (EPI) this can make dogs look emaciated and while lack of appetite isn't usually a symptom it might come from other related EPI conditions. So sorry you are having such a rough time.

F* it!

Went to inspect one I had seen earlier (ironically on top of Bonnie's grave). Soft/gooey-ish in parts, realy dark-almost black on the outside , Ive been keeping an eye on his toileting but thats the consistincy I would expect since he is eating so little......squished it with a rock, bright orange on the inside. Ill ask about EPI too when I go. Far out.

Take it with you.

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I'm sorry to hear he is not eating. :shrug: He really needs some nutrition to just keep him alive. Is he drinking?

If I were you, I would get some Nutrigel and some Hills A/D wet food. A/D is a nutrient rich food that is great for sick/weak animals. Get some 10ml (or even 20ml) syringes from your local vet. If he is drinking OK, I'd be giving him a few ml of Nutrigel via a syringe every few hours and giving him as much A/D as you can (up to 2 cans a day short term The A/D is very sloppy so its easy to syringe into their mouth. If he isn't drinking well, you can mix some warm water with the Nutrigel and/or A/D.

ETA: I have some cans of A/D and a tube of Nutrigel here that you can have if you pm me your address. :rofl:

Edited by Kirty
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I'm sorry to hear he is not eating. :D He really needs some nutrition to just keep him alive. Is he drinking?

If I were you, I would get some Nutrigel and some Hills A/D wet food. A/D is a nutrient rich food that is great for sick/weak animals. Get some 10ml (or even 20ml) syringes from your local vet. If he is drinking OK, I'd be giving him a few ml of Nutrigel via a syringe every few hours and giving him as much A/D as you can (up to 2 cans a day short term The A/D is very sloppy so its easy to syringe into their mouth. If he isn't drinking well, you can mix some warm water with the Nutrigel and/or A/D.

ETA: I have some cans of A/D and a tube of Nutrigel here that you can have if you pm me your address. :rofl:

What a lovely thing to do for julzjc Kirty!!! :)

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Yes - new Vet for a check up.

But in the absence of anything coming up on the radar from that, try some gentle training. Start with some tricks or things that Indie knows and finds easy to do. But treat it (with your facial expression, body language and voice) as though he's just won the Olympics. Reward him with food treat, if he'll take it, and if he will, jackpot him more often than you otherwise might. Also, a bit of tug work (rules of drive training/tug apply) - but don't make it hard for him to win (but at the very least, pretend as though he's really trying). Nothing that demands a huge gust of energy. The point of all of this to raise his self-esteem, assuming that it is depression that is the cause of his weight loss.

Good luck. I can imagine how worried you are.

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Hope Indie is ok.

A question was posted on a list that I'm on where a dog who was off its food was diagnosed with Masticatory myositis - wasting of the chewing muscles,

which if allowed to progress will eventually result in her being completely unable to open her mouth or eat anything. Might be worth suggesting that to the vet ;)

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