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aeburke12 · Dec 30, 2006, 10:44 AM

I have gotten a 2 year old rescue dog, he was basically in a cage for the first 2 years of his life. He now has a large yard to run in. He runs in a figure 8 in the back of the yard, and runs as fast as he can for hours. I have to bring him inside sometimes to get him to stop running. From all this running he is losing weight really fast. He eats in the morning and at night, but the weight keeps coming off. What can I do?:)

labman · Dec 30, 2006, 12:03 PM

Have the vet check for worms or other problems. Throw away any charts you are using to decide how much to feed him. Evaluate him using this link, http://www.puppychow.com/products/po...condition.aspx I was once given a 7 month old, high energy Lab whose ribs showed. I had to shovel in 7 cups of Pro Plan a day to put weight on her. As long as he eats what you offer, just keep piling on the food until he reaches ideal body condition. If he won't eat enough, make sure you are feeding a concentrated, meat based chow.

Thank you for giving him a home. So many nice dogs are slaughtered for lack of homes.

Edit. Although you can freely shovel immense amounts of food into a Lab, as Heather reminded me, allowing some dogs to gulp down a large meal can kill them.

animal advocate · Dec 30, 2006, 11:38 PM

Your dog is showing stereotypic behavior. Which means that he is doing something that shows he has been locked up for a long time and not allowed to move about freely. He has basically had a nervous breakdown from being neglected. You see it a lot in wild animals in zoos, marine parks and on fur farms. Thank goodness you have rescued him. You are a hero! Thank you for helping this poor guy.

Besides a really high quality food (I suggest Natura products like California Natural or Innova) I would seek out a behavior specialist to help him get over this behavior problem. It may take quite awhile for him to realize he will always have a place to run. But you need to try and help him. It is a neurotic behavior and destructive to him, as you can see by his weight loss. Most towns have an animal behavior specialist. If you can't find one ask your local humane society and if that doesn't work, write to me and I will help you find somebody.

And you might check with a holistic vet for an herbal or homeopathic medication that will calm him down until he gets used to his new freedom. Have you taken him on long walks to get some of that energy burned off? How about fetch for a couple of hours?

Hope this helps,

Molly

heathervettechCa · Dec 31, 2006, 05:27 AM

You really need to see a behavioralist. You also need to be careful about the food quantity all at once. No matter how much he may need to gain the weight, if you feed him too much at once he can get food bloat which is painful and aften times they have to have vomiting induced or in the worst cases, they need to have a stomach pump, so possibly having a timed dish ( ou can pick these up at pet smart I think ) that lets out the predetermined amount of food throughout the day would be better. Again as far as treating the real problem, seek professional behavioral advice, it will make for a happier healthier dog in the long run. I agree with lab man about the vet visit. Have a routine blood work check and parasite check, include thyroid and metabolic in the panel for extra precautions.
Good luck!
Heather

badams007 · Dec 31, 2006, 08:05 AM

I agree about this being a neurotic behavior problem, though a thorough vet check needs to come FIRST

and you don't say how long you have had him. It iften takes several weeks for a dog to start to get the hang of a household's "vibe"

I'm curious about whether he will stop even to take a treat from you ? If he will, you can take tiny (1/4 inch x 1/4 inch) of a highly valued treat - cheese, hot dogs, the rolls of dog food that look like sausages...

Then I would get him to cme for a treat and dole each tny one out slowly... and over time increase the amount of time he can stay calmly with you

But - you do need to get him some help because this will be hard to clear from his mind. I had a gordon setter rescue who was much like this and who took about a year to get a grip

-Beth

labman · Dec 31, 2006, 10:29 AM

Originally Posted by heathervettechCa

You also need to be careful about the food quantity all at once. No matter how much he may need to gain the weight, if you feed him too much at once he can get food bloat which is painful and aften times they have to have vomiting induced or in the worst cases, they need to have a stomach pump,

It is a good thing we have Heather to catch my mistakes. I could let my Lab, Peggy, snarf down 7 cups of Pro Plan morning after morning with no problems. However, bloat is a big problem with many breeds. It can lead to a painful death. One of the best things is breaking the day's chow into several small feedings. You can also slow down their eating by spreading the chow our on a cookie sheet or by putting large rocks in their dish, much too large to swallow. Either way, it keeps them from gulping down one big mouthful after another.

Beth makes good points about the vet check and taking a little time to work with him. And she is right about being sparing with the treats. Being given a small piece of hot dog or cheese is wonderful to a dog.

animal advocate · Dec 31, 2006, 01:11 PM

<<labman disagrees: There is no evidence that the expensive, speciality chows are better for dogs. I wouldn't be so quick to drug a dog with untested herbal remedies. Natural is no guarantee of being safe>>

I was suggesting something like Calming Remedy which is no more harmful to a mouse than it is to an elephant. Very useful with nervous animals and people. It is completely non toxic and has no side effects. In fact sometimes it doesn't work because it is very mild. It is NOT a drug. And why would you assume it is untested?

Let me get this straight. You are saying that there is no scientific evidence that better quality ingredients with more nutritional value are better for a dog's health than lower/poor quality ingredients with less nutritional value ? That is sort of like saying eating nothing but Spaghetti O's ALL the time, as a steady diet, is better for your health than eating fresh fruits, vegetables and high quality protein.

I suppose I could sight some scientific studies starting with Pottengers Cats.. .
For all animals,

Molly

animal advocate · Dec 31, 2006, 02:02 PM

<<Originally Posted by heathervettechCa
You also need to be careful about the food quantity all at once. No matter how much he may need to gain the weight, if you feed him too much at once he can get food bloat which is painful and aften times they have to have vomiting induced or in the worst cases, they need to have a stomach pump>>

I agree with Heather. Also if you feed a high quality food you won't have to worry as much. Poor quality foods usually have more grain, corn and fillers which tend to expand when they get wet. So the dog swallows a large mouthful of food, drinks some water and the food expands in his stomach. I used to assist in surgery on gastric torsion cases when I managed a veterinary emergency clinic. Invariably the owners, unknowingly fed their dog a low quality food and then let him exercise afterward.

You can test this on your own food. Put a cup of Purina Dog Chow in a bowl and add a cup of water. Look at it in an hour. Then try it with a higher quality food like Evo or Innova. I think you will see there is a considerable difference in the amount of expansion. It's kind of a no brainer scientific experiment. We used to use it in the classroom when I taught canine nutrition at Washington Technical Institute in Seattle.

Molly

badams007 · Dec 31, 2006, 10:24 PM

I just saw this video about puppymills. You will see near the end some of the reasons dogs end up like yours - though I sure pray yours is not this bad...

YouTube - How much is the doggy in the window? Puppymill investigation

Oh - My own little comment is not to take me as a PETA supporter but they this video.

-Beth

fmshaw · Feb 7, 2010, 05:07 PM

I was reading I should introduce small portions of high protein "people food" into my dogs diet to help her gain weight. She has always been thin and a picky eater. I buy dirt cheap dog food cause it's all she will eat yet she will eat any kind of cat food that she can get in her mouth, go figure haha. (And no I have never intentionally fed my dog cat food although I try my best she manages to sneak a mouthful now and then). Anyhoo what are the best foods to give her and are there any that can have anything in them that might be harmful?