[LabLover]

My chocolate Lab is about 1 1/2 years old. A couple of months ago he was a good solid 82 pounds and now he is anywhere from 40-50 lbs. I feed him 2 times a day, exercise with him, walk him, let him in the house everything a good owner would do but I don't understand why he is losing weight. Diarrhea is a main concern because he has diarrhea none stop. I had him checked for worms, parvo the whole works but nothing came up. They want me to pay an extra thousand dollars to check him for some other stuff. We have another dog he plays with, they play tug of war, catch everything. I even bought the canned food for him and he is not gaining weight at all. You can see his shoulder blades, his ribs. He is such a gentle, loveable dog, and I definitely know he is not a fighter. I would never let me dogs do it. I trained them not to. Please can someone help me out and figure out what is going on with him. Diabetes and Cancer is the only things to mind. Please any feedback thank you. I will try to put a picture of him on here.

[mrs.pennell]

You should definitely take him back to the vet! That type of rapid weight loss in a dog is dangerous!

I have a link here that lists some causes of diarrhea and also what to expect when you take your dog to the vet:

http://www.thepetprofessor.com/artic...le.aspx?id=192

Please don't wait any longer. His life is at risk!

[labman]

Some causes of problems are very difficult to diagnose. I am afraid you may have little other choice except spend the $1000 to have him checked. You might try soothing his stomach with a diet of boiled chicken and rice. Long term, dogs need to be on a commercial dog chow, but the chicken and rice or potatoes can be used as a temporary remedy in cases like yours. It would be a good idea to talk to the vet first about it. Definitely let him know before any more tests.

From my new Puppy training manual:

Bland recovery diet for dogs
Mix 3 parts cooked rice plus one part boiled hamburger or chicken, or cottage cheese.

A few years ago we were on our way home from the dog guide clinic with 2 Labs that hadn't eaten all day and we had a 5 hour drive. I suggested we stop at Wendy's and buy them some plain baked potatoes.

One of them was Aster, that now lives with me. She had colitis a few years ago and was never completely right afterward, eventually leading to her retirement as a dog guide. Away from the stress of working, she is much better now.

[daehnolem]

It's hard to shell out that much money when you don't know what it could be, but if the vet doesn't know what else it could be, it's probably worth it. Especially if it's something that can be treated. I hope you're able to find out what's wrong.

Labman, do you think that diet might help my dog, Annie? As you know, she's had a history of digestive problems, well, only one that we haven't figured out yet. I do think it's an allergy because she not only has diarrhea, but she also has a rash of bumps all over her stomach, pustules around her mouth (not oozing or anything) and eyes, and most recently she broke out with the rash on her hip and tore out all the hair right there scratching it with her teeth. The only thing that all the foods I've given her have in common is rice, unless it's some kind of additive that she's allergic to. But I can't for the life of me find any dog food without rice. It was all I could do to find a dog food that doesn't have any form of corn that's affordable. Annie is still active and crazy, and she's not losing any weight. She doesn't have the appetite that is usual for labs. She eats around four cups a day. I feed her at night, and she'll eat about two cups, but then she doesn't eat the rest till the next day. Her diarrhea has gotten so bad. Man, she'd really love a diet that has boiled chicken (she's never had any, but she begs like crazy). If I fed her chicken and rice, how long could I keep her on it? And where on earth am I going to find a dog food that she's not allergic to (that isn't $50 for 18 lbs.) that I can afford to feed her for the rest of her life? Any input you might have will be well received. Thanks

-B

[labman]

If she is allergic to rice, the chicken and rice won't do it. You could try it. If it only makes things worse, switch to potatoes. As above, I know that was what Aster was on. Not sure about her niece Xylene*. Xylene did have to have a soft diet due to her braces. These bland diets are not a complete and balanced diet. They are only to be used for a few days to quiet down the GI tract. It is often a good idea to go on the diet until the stools firm before trying a different chow. If the GI tract is already irritated, the diarrhea may continue even on a diet that might be OK.

Do you know corn disagrees with her? Much of the bad publicity about corn comes from those selling more expensive chows. How bad can the first ingredient in the chow most vets sell be?

I seldom look at the ingredients in dog chow. I pay more attention to the health of the dogs eating it. I do know rice is very popular, and it may be a minor ingredient in chows based on other things.

*OK my friends are working through the alphabet and ''X'' names are hard to find.

Note, I thought I posted this before, but didn't see it. If it is a duplicate, sorry.

[daehnolem]

I'm not 100% sure that she's allergic to corn. Mostly, I'm just trying to cut out the foods that are common allergens for dogs (I've never even had an allergic dog before). I don't know if it will be possible to find out what exactly she's allergic to. So many foods share the same ingredients. I'm not one of those people who wants to cook their dog's food forever. I agree that it's not healthy. It's just that we've been feeding her this new food for around two months now, and it's just not helping. I'm not overly stressed about anything, and Annie seems fine and happy. I just can't figure out what she's been exposed to ever since she was a little puppy that affects her this much. She's been through Eukanuba, Nutro Natural Choice, Pro Plan, and now Nature's Recipe (the easy to digest fish and potato formula). I've tried to give her several weeks on each food to see if she levels out, but nothing has worked for her. I'm just afraid that this will get worse and worse, which seems to be what is happening now. I know have to find a new vet, but there are so many to choose from. But I guess that's what I need to do. But I have a feeling they'll just send me through what I'm already doing and make me buy an over priced bland food (which I'm sure is good, but just not cost effective when you have a lab) just like our last vet did. I would be okay with just buying the expensive food for several weeks to help her GI tract, but that vet said the other "special" foods he had for allergies were just as expensive. I can't spend $300 a month on dog food. I don't even spend that much on myself. Sorry for the rant. It's just really frustrating. I'm sure we'll figure something out eventually. I'm grateful for this board in the meantime.

-B