DMSchoeneck Posted January 10, 2011 Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 I need help!! My husky who is 4.5 yrs old is now dropping weight and losing her undercoat. I have dewormed her, the vet checked her out and there are no signs of illness. She suggest a higher protein diet than what I have her on right now. Right now her food is 21 % crude protein. In August she and her best friend (a wiener mix) started losing weight. I thought it was due to the move; however it has been 5 months and both are extremely skinny. The vet placed them at a 4 on a scale of 1-10. Please any advise. I am on a very limited budget. I also read in one of the forums not to give bones of any kind??? I always thought bones were okay with the exception of poultry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
husky princess Posted January 10, 2011 Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 I personally would worm again & consider doing a raw diet. Yes bones can be given as long as they are not cooked. However when you have more than 1 dog extra care needed incase they have a fight. Even the mist placid of digs will fight over bones. I assume a stool sample has been done? How much do the husky weigh? Can you load up a pic so we can see? Side angle & a birds eye view? Does he have energy, alert etc? Now you've moved is the garden bigger so now doing more exercise? What are you feeding & how much are stools normal?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
husky princess Posted January 10, 2011 Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 Loosing the undercoat is normal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuskyCouture Posted January 10, 2011 Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 okay first off, how much does your dog actually weigh? he's probably blowing his coat, they lose the undercoat 2 times a year. What food are you feeding? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BingBlaze n Skyla Posted January 10, 2011 Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 agree with jennet - it sounds like he is just blowing his coat do you have any pics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zani Posted January 10, 2011 Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 Pictures please! And you should know the hair falling out is just plain normal for a husky! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMSchoeneck Posted January 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 I don't know how to upload a bunch at once; I do apologize for this. She blows her coat 2-3 times a year. I feed her Triumph I was told that it is very similar to Taste of The Wild. I have had her since 2007, I rescued her from a very abusive man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arooroomom Posted January 10, 2011 Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 Is she eating regularly? How are the stools? How much does she eat? How active is she? There is so many factors that come into play, we really need more information to help you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMSchoeneck Posted January 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 Here are some pic I just took Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BingBlaze n Skyla Posted January 10, 2011 Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 ooh poor girl she is thin have you tried feeding her foods like raw chicken wings ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
husky princess Posted January 10, 2011 Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 Oh my goodness she is very thin, I would get her on a raw diet & give her a very good wormer. Have you had a stool sample tested? What has the vet suggested?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuskyCouture Posted January 10, 2011 Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 omg she's way thin we feed ours taste of the wild, it's relatively cheap and about 30% protein. and give her a few raw chicken wings a day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginty Posted January 10, 2011 Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 Here is a site so with some recipes for weight gain for dogs maybe try a couple if they sound good enough, http://www.lowchensa...ealth/diet4.htm make little fatty treats and could feed normally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kellystewart Posted January 10, 2011 Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 Yeah defin underweight but not terrible terrible....look at sled dog's and you'll see plenty like her. The worrying thing for me is that she has lost weight so rapidly. I'd defin want the vet to do some tests to rule out anything serious. Raw is best way to go for weight gain too. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daxwax Posted January 11, 2011 Report Share Posted January 11, 2011 Did the vet not run a blood panel? What is she being fed at the moment? Any diarrhoea or vomiting? Any pain when you palpate the abdomen? I would immediately want to remove any possible food allergens - wheat, corn, rice, beet pulp, preservatives etc. - will she eat boiled chicken? If she will, give her several small meals a day of that, with a view to eventually introducing a raw diet or a very high quality hypoallergenic kibble. To answer your question from the first post all raw bones are fine to feed, including poultry, but never a cooked bone of any kind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tan J P Posted January 11, 2011 Report Share Posted January 11, 2011 Oh bless her you must be really worried. Has this been a sudden weight loss or gradual? has she been poorly recently,even something that you may have dismissed at the time as her just bein off her food a little? how much is she eating and how often? if the vet has checked her,maybe go back to basics and start feeding her smaller and often and maybe try the raw too or a mix of both. Hope she improves soon xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aikoflavored Posted January 11, 2011 Report Share Posted January 11, 2011 She is thin! What were you feeding her when she started losing weight? How are her stools? My pup doesn't like eating much, so I switched her to Orijen, it has a large amount of protein, some people say it has too much, but for my pup its working great. She put on a few pounds (which I felt she needed since she had lost a few while on her old food) and her stools are firm and dark. Orijen is very expensive though, $61.00 for a bag. As other suggested a raw diet could do your pup some good. Does she eat when she's fed? Is she getting plenty of water? You said you moved recently, could your dogs be getting access to something they shouldn't be at the new place? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylor Piskorski Posted January 11, 2011 Report Share Posted January 11, 2011 She looks like my Zoey did after whelping 9 pups. Definitely mix up some of the weight gain recipies from Lowchens Australia they helped my girl gain back A LOT of weight that she lost after giving birth and nursing 9 puppies. She should bounce back, hopefully there isn't any serious problems with her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMSchoeneck Posted January 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 I don't think that she likes her food. So I am going to switch her back to Taste of the Wild. I have started putting one raw egg in her food and she eats all of her food now. No it wasn't a sudden weight loss it has happened over the last 5-6 months. I currently have her on Triumph; its suppose to be very comparable to Nutro. I haven't given her any raw chicken wings because I was under the belief that the bones will splinter when she eats them and kill her. With her current dog food (plain) she only eats about 1/4 cup a day, however since I mixed it w/ the raw egg she is eating about 3 cups a day. Cat food has more protein can I give her cat food??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BingBlaze n Skyla Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 raw chicken bones are soft so wont splinter - its cooked chicken bones that can splinter and hurt a dog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willow Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 Its sounds to me like she is blowing her coat and when huskies blow their coat they burn lots of extra calories. I would up her food for a while, at least until she is done blowing her coat. You might want to switch to a higher protein and fat food while she is blowing her coat or just switch over completely. Most of the time buying a more expensive and higher protein food will actually save you money in the long run as you will have to feed less since it is more concentrated. She is skinny but its not bad. Sled dogs are kept at their minimum weight, just like human athletes so they don't have to carry around excess fat. We usually go by the 3 rib rule. If there are more than 3 ribs showing then they need to put on a little bit of weight and if there are less than 3 ribs showing, then they need to loose a bit of weight and we also put extra weight on them going into the racing season because they will loose it during training.. I would try and put a little extra on her though, especially if she is not doing any pulling activities. Also if you have increased her activity level, she will be burning more calories. Hope this helps!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMSchoeneck Posted January 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 I want to thank everyone for all of their help ! She hasn't lost any energy at all through out this whole thing. And just since I started feeding her the egg in her diet she has gained weight; just a little but I notice it my husband doesn't. I am going to switch her dog food; but I am so excited she is eating and gaining weight. I just can't explain it. She and my other little dog are my kids and I have been having horrible night-mares about them. Now I can rest a little easier since she is eating and putting on weight. Once again thank you so much for all of you help and advice it has meant so much to me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BingBlaze n Skyla Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 yay glad she is finally putting some meat her soo happy for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuskyCouture Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 glad she's putting on weight, keep us updated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMSchoeneck Posted April 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 Well it's been a couple of months and oh my she is so much bigger !! She looks normal now. The vet couldn't find out why she was so skinny. I told her "I don't think she likes the food" and she said don't spoil her keep her on the food and don't give her any treats; she won't starve herself. Well I think that is exactly what she was doing because after just one day of switching food she was way more energetic and talking like no tomorrow. One week later she had major weight gain. Now a couple of months and you would have never known she was ever that skinny. I am so happy I was afraid she was dying. Thank you too all for all of your concern and advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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