Hi All,

My 6 1/2 year old GSD is loosing weight. She still has a vociferous appetite and was wormed last month. She is fed on raw tripe, biscuit and titbits, eg, vegetables, bonios, meaty bones and the odd curry. She was spayed 6 months ago and started to put on weight after this for a little while. As she is rough coated and malting at the moment I first thought it was this as I groomed her out and expected her to look a bit leaner but the weight has continued to come off.
I took her to the vet 4 weeks ago about some lumps on her and he said that they were just fatty lumps that shepherds were prone to them and not to worry, standard really. I know they are prone to these as nearly all of my shepherds have had them in middle age.  But I still have a niggling worry and I am taking her to the vet about it next week, but just wondered if anyone has any idea what is causing this? Her excercise is lead limited because of hip/joing problems and she goes out for a 20 minute walk twice a day and she also runs round our large garden when playing with our other dog. Other than that she is her normal self and doesn't behave any differently. What sort of tests do you think they will do, and what will they be looking for? I am feeling anxious. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated :)

I know it's not easy, but try not to get yourself in a state - you may well be dealing with something very simple to diagnose and treat, so don't think the worst ;-)   Shepherds can have a variety of gastro-intestinal disorders which most vets will be aware of and will be able to test for so it's best to wait and see what the vet has to say following examination.

They will probably do blood and stool sample tests.  It may be that a simple change in diet could resolve the problem - not all dogs are able to get the best out of certain foods and so it is possible that although consuming a sufficient amount your dog is not getting all the nutrients needed from it.  It could be a parasitic problem like giardia for example - not all wormers kill these off.  Unfortunately there are lots of things it could be but *fortunately* many of them are not too difficult to resolve ;-)

Try and keep your spirits up meantime, don't let your dog sense your anxiety and remember to let us know how you get on. :-) :-) :-)     

Thank you Teri :)

Any news on your girl?  Teri

Hi Teri,

Thank you for asking :) The vet did a blood and stool test, the stool test has come back negative, so no probs there and they said that they will call in the next few days with results from blood test. But they did recommend a change in diet in the meantime to see if this makes any difference, trouble is, she is an absolutely stubborn bitch :rolleyes: and is not taking too kindly to having a different meal  put down in front of her :D So far I have given her a good talking to and point blank refused to feed her from my hand, albeit its a case of who gives in first, dogs! who'd have 'em :)

<albeit its a case of who gives in first>

That will mean you then :D  Glad to hear nothing sinister has been found.  Keep us posted and I'll keep everything crossed for good results on the bloods.  What diet did they put her on?

Teri ;-)

They didn't give me any advice on diet, just said to change it from raw tripe and biscuit
I didn't bother to ask for recommendations as they'll try and fob me off with the complete food that they sell. I used to feed complete food (Beta) but the breeder who I used to get my Shepherds from was of the opinion that it wasn't good for them and she thought that complete foods cause premature tumours. Not my opinion I hasten to add, but it did give me food for thought :D and after that I always fed raw wherever possible and I must admit all of my dogs, with this exception, have thrived on it. I'm not even sure that the tripe is causing the weight loss, until I get the bloods back I will reserve judgement on it. But for now I have been feeding chappie or butchers tinned, I say feeding, I have been trying to feed, so far she has broken all records and not touched it for 3 days now and has got into the tripe fridge outside to satisfy her cravings :D She has also been hand fed :rolleyes: lots of oily & white fish.

Hi there,

any news on your dear girl's blood tests yet and are you getting anywhere with her food change?

Teri

Hi Teri,

I am changing vets, I cannot believe that when I rang up, they said that they had lost the results on the computer and that I would have to take her back in for more bloods!!!! Surely all they have to do is ask for the results again from the lab??? She is still too thin, IMO, but doesn't appear to have lost any more weight. Her coat is still soo dull and flaky, but her eyes are bright, gums and breathe are good and she still seems her normal obnoxious self :D She chased one of the farm cats today as best she could ( I hate trying to limit ALL her fun)   and ended up getting her nose swiped ;)  oh fun, oh joy :) She is having soo much fun at the moment, terrorising the builders that we have in, talk about mind games (on her behalf)

But this does not detract me from her obvious health problem :( I have found another vet, who is about a 60 mile drive from me, but he specialises in Shepherds, he cannot see her for another week, so I will have to wait. Have finally given in, she absolutely refused to touch anything else, (not helpful with her weight problem)  so I put her back on tripe, but upped the amount that she is on plus all the other goodies :)

Hi again,

What a disgrace losing the bloods after all this time!  You must be VERY frustrated.  Don't blame you for switching vets.

Glad that you have found a vet specialising in Shepherds but what a shame you not only have to travel 60 miles but also wait another week :-(

On the plus side it's good news that she's not deteriorating at all ;-)  Have you noticed if her stools have been affected by going back to the tripe and also increasing the volume of her meal?  I only ask because sometimes tripe (any very *fatty* foods) can make thngs worse.  It could be that she's not able to process a high fat diet which is common AND disheartening in a dog that you're trying to build up body on.

Will be keeping everything crossed that you see some improvement between now and your appointment - please let me know how she gets on.

Teri :-)

What are her stools like?  and what sort of colour?