Unexplained weight loss

HI All,

My olderst GSD, Zane becamew overweight after he was neutered. He didn't slow down as such but I cut down on his exercise and kept his food the same for a while after the operation - thus putting on unnecessary weight.

I decided he could do wit hlosing a few pounds and cut his food down by about 15%. This way he was still being fed enough to not be hungry and I increased his exercise back up to what he was used to.

Now he has 2 short (20-25 mins) each day - one in the morning, one in the evening and he goes to the park for a run for about an hour in the afternoon. He also does the usual zoomies and play fighting with the other 2 dogs at around 9pm every night and 3am (I can hear then in my living room creating havoc!).

He is as healthy as he could be in every way other than recently, since coming back from kennels in March, he's lost a lot of weight without good reason. I have not cut his food down nor have I increased his exercise. He did put weight on in kennels as he was getting dried food alongside raw and fresh tripe every day (bet he thought he was in heaven!).

I can now feel his ribs (which I've always been able to do but they're sticking out more than I like at the moment) and his hip bones are becoming more obvious. If I run my hand down his back I can feel every part of his spine.

There was a lady at training last night (I've never seen her before) and she's an expert in GSDs apparently. She said he was healthy in terms of size and build.

If he stays this way I don't mind. But he seems to have lost weight quickly without good reason and I'm worried he may lose more weight and get too skinny.

I don't want to go running ot the vet as really there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with him and I'm not overly worried at the moment but just a little concerned - it doesn't seem right. He has had a small growth spurt recently and I wondered if this was the cause but by now I'd expect him to be filling out a little bit, not getting thinner.

Any ideas?

Laura xx

Hi,
Was he a bit stressed out at the kennels? do you know if he was eating properly!
I would nip to the vets and get him weighed so you know exactly how much he does weigh and do the same next week, then if there is any more weight loss , book him in to have a chat with the vet.
good luck
elaine xxxx

Get him checked, my last dog was showing signs of wieght loss, the vet said he would be more worried if she were over wieght than under wieght, she died the next week, and hadn't shown any signs of illness up till then, don't want to frighten you but hes better being checked.
her kidneys were failing.
Hope everything will be ok though.

Hi Elaine,

Thanx for that. Yes he was stressed at the kennels but not as much as I thought he would be. He's a big sissy underneath all that bravado and I thought he may pine a little bit because of how clingy he can be at times.

However, he had the other 2 dogs for company also, they were walked together and had playtime together whilst they were there. He ate normally and tucked into his food as though nothing was wrong - although like many shepherd the upheaval went straight to his stomach and he had loose poops for a few days.

Our holiday was in March though. We were back at the end of March and I fetched Zane home the day before the other 2 dogs so I could spend time with just he and I at home doing things together. I know his missed me because I ended up sleeping on the sofa that night. He lay across me and I couldn't move!

I always spend extra time with Zane - always have, always will but I'm wondering if maybe I'm adding to the problem and making him worse. If I'm making him more clingy could this make him more stressed and result in more weight loss, even though I'm here with him much of the time?

This time last year he weighed 48Kg and although he was overweight, he wasn't really fat. He lost the excess weight and a few weeks back when he was weighed, he was 46Kg but much thinner than a year ago. I put this down to him being much taller and having grown. Also, he's got very big muscles, particularly on his back legs and muscle is heavier than fat so that could also add up to him being heavier than it seems when I look at the figures.

I must admit, I tend to go on how he looks and how I know he should look for him, rather than just what the scales say.
I'll drop by the vets later for some basic advice (gotta drive past there anyway) and see what they say.

Thanx again.

Laura xx

I agree with a previous post, get him to the vet, Our labrador was 12 years old and suddenly lost over half a stone, he was showing no signs of illness then his kidney were failing and he was diagnosed with hepititas.

Hi,

Thanx all.

I went by the vets today and Zane is booked in at 640pm this evening for blood tests, urine tests (cos he can do it on command!) and for a general and compelte check iver physically.

If something shows up straight away then it will be dealt with. I won't have to wait long for the results but whatever is wrong with him (if anything) will hopefully be rectified as quickly as it's come about.

I'm also hoping the vet says he seems healthy generally (ie heart OK, lungs OK, no lameness and so on). If he does and he says it's OK, I'll be going strsight from the vet to agility with him. h eloves it so much it will almost like having something nice for being agood boy with the vte - although Iknow he hates it since impaling his top lip ion his tooth last year (dopey dog).

I'll post back with whatever news I have once seeing the vet later on.

Laura xx

Good luck at the vets tonight hun, fingers crossed they don't find anything {{{{{{{{{{vibes}}}}}}}

Thats a good idea giving something nice after the vet visit.
Hope that goes well too!!!!

Elaine xx

I think having him checked over by the vet is wise, and at least it will put your mind at rest. I hope it is nothing to worry about and you can enjoy agility

Good Luck at the vets. I'm keeping you both in my thoughts x

Hi All,

Back now (obviously). Spent 45 minutes almost speakign with the vet about diet, exercise, general state of health, usual routine, feeind habits and toilet habits.
he checked Zane physically twice over and found nothing to worry over. He didn't take blood tests but said a urine test at this stage wouldn't hurt.

He said he didn't want to start investigating somethign until he knows for sure there's definitely s problem to be investigated.

He suggested taking Zane to be weighed every week for approx 2 months and togo back then if there is any more weight loss at all - even a little bit. He also told me to go back straight away if there was any diarreah (sp?) or vomiting.

I get the urine test results on friday.

So I'm not worried now. It coudl quite easily be a combination of diet or less food, more exercise, zane growing up more etc.

The good thing is I wasn't charged! (I love my vet!!)

The bad thing was that it rained so agility was called off!

Laura xx