Dog Community

I don't know what the deal is with Abe

Posted : 1/31/2013 9:01:01 PM

Abe has always been very skinny for a spaniel. He has always been nervous and shakes a lot. We do think has some terrier in him b/c his coat is a little more wiry. He should probably be 20-25 lbs yet he weighs 16-17 lbs. When he is shaved, he is skin and bones. Like you can see his spine and his ribs sticking out.You would think he was malnourished and neglected but he isn't. We have tried to up his food to help him gain weight, but he would throw it all up afterward. In the morning, he gets 1/2 cup of Nutro Ultra (We have fed him this since we got him 5+ years ago.), a fish oil pill with a bit of peanut butter, and a little drizzle of Iams sauce. Evening he gets a 1/2 cup of food again. He eats soooo slowly. Like I wonder if he has trouble chewing or something. At times if he has been stressed out over something, he doesn't even want to eat and we have to watch him like a hawk or Kenny will steal his food.. I have to put shredded cheese on his food to get him to eat. Last time we took him in the vet, he was throwing up his food a lot and the vet reccomended a diabetes test which game back negative.

In the last couple of weeks he is having bowel problems. He has always been a "walk and poop" kind of dog. But recently, he is walking and pooping and it's like he isn't getting it all out. He is getting bits of poop stuck on him. It got so bad, I took him to the groomer and having them shave him down b/c he kept getting poop stuck on the back of his legs. We have also seen little bits of poop around the house. I don't know if he realizes what he is doing? (He is approximately, 8 years old)

I have NO EARTHLY idea why this is happening. Should we take him to the vet and make sure he doesn't need a special food?

Oh, and one more thing. He is has this sore looking thing now on the side of his face. It has kind of gunky looking build up on it . When I tried to take the gunk off the sore is bloody and has some puss too. Any ideas on that? When we have their deep cleaning on teeth done soon, we will probably ask them to cut that sore off if it's possibly.

Freedom

Posted : 1/31/2013 9:09:17 PM

Love the photo!

Have he been tested for thyroid issues? I'm guessing yes, he has had a full blood panel.

You can try adding canned pumpkin to his food to help with the BMs. Make sure you buy canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling which has spices and such (some of which are bad for dogs). Give 2 tablespoons daily for 3 days, then move to a maintenance dose of 2 tablespoons 3 times per week. I just give it MWF (my Tasha has issues and this has worked fine for her for several years now).

kennys_mom

Posted : 1/31/2013 9:31:05 PM

I don't think we have ever done a full blood work-up. Maybe we need to.

I will look into that canned pumpkin thing. Do you just leave the unused portion in your fridge?

janet_rose

Posted : 1/31/2013 10:05:43 PM

kennys_mom
He is approximately, 8 years old

He should have full senior blood panel and workup. Has he been checked for worms (including heartworms) or had a tick-panel done? Have his anal glands been checked? Has he been tested for Addison's disease? Does he drink enough fluids?

Please read this on Nutro dog food: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/nutro.html.

You might want to try something else. If you do, avoid kibble since not all dogs do well with starches and not all dogs do well on a dry food. Since Abe has always been so skinny, he may never have really done well on Nutro.

Have you tried probiotics and a digestive enzyme to help with digestion? At 8-years-old he may be having some senility problems (poop in the house), so try some Cholodin - http://search.entirelypets.com/search?p=Q&rs=1&rstotal=1&w=cholodin&rsdate=2013-01-31&rsloc=1

After you have him checked by the vet (and see no contra-indications) try adding some fresh foods to his diet (one at a time to start) - yogurt, sardines, cottage cheese, raw egg, cooked chicken (but no cooked bones). More, but smaller, meals might help him keep his food down.

This link will tell you more about canine digestive disorders: http://www.dogaware.com/health/digestive.html

calliecritturs

Posted : 1/31/2013 11:39:01 PM

Don't just do a blood panel -- you need to specifically send at least a Thyroid 5 panel to Hemopet, OR you can send it to Michigan State. Both places will give you a **BREED SPECIFIC** thyroid panel and for cockers that's huge. Often it will come back looking "ok" for other breeds but their metabolic rate is way different.

He could be low thyroid OR high thyroid. Typically you think of low thyroid dogs as being really heavy and can't lose weight. NOT all the time. My Luna was one of those dogs who was so hyper skinny I could NOT keep weight on her. She ate literally more than twice what my other dogs ate and I could NOT keep weight on her. I was convinced she was high thyroid -- tested her via Hemopet ... nope. LOW!!!

Started supplementing her and wow -- suddenly her weight became PERFECT. Amazing change.

It may or may not be thyroid -- you DO need to have full blood workup done -- that will tell the vet a lot. You can get an entire panel done via Hemopet -- they can often see things (and will comment) when they do the entire profile.

http://www.hemopet.com.

My last cocker -- I did FIVE thyroid panels on him via a local lab = thjey came back "normal" and he was SO typically hypothyroid looking but the numbers never looked it. But get it done at Hemopet where they take the breed into consideration? Yep -- he was LOW. Majorly low -- in fact we wound up having to suppplement him more than most dogs!

Skin problems would be typical of thyroid imbalance. But also -- if the liver is off you will also get major skin issues. He's a senior - it is TIME.

Please don't let your vet convince you to just do it thru the regular lab -- it's wasted money. Get it done either via Hemopet or Michigan State and you will KNOW for sure.

YOu do have to have the blood drawn and prepared by the vet and it has to be sent overnight for a full blood panel ... if you just do the Thyroid 5 you can just send it regular mail.

Freedom

Posted : 2/1/2013 8:42:19 AM

WOW yes definitely time to have a full blood panel done!!! I'm surprised the vet has allowed things to go this long with OUT doing one!

As for the pumpkin, yes I just put a baggie over the top of the can with an elastic band. Works fine. If you use the smaller sized can, you may find that the plastic can covers fit!

micksmom

Posted : 2/1/2013 10:19:06 AM

Callie gave some wonderful advice. Hyper thyroid was the first thing that came to my mind. Until I read Callie's reply, I had no idea that hypo thyroid could present the same way. A thyroid issues would also explain his coat.

As for the pumpkin-make sure you get plain, canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling. I spoon what I don't use into an ice cube tray and freeze. It thaws out pretty quickly, or just pop it into the microwave for a few seconds. But, I wouldn't go adding stuff to his food until you do the blood workup Callie suggested.

outdoorschik

Posted : 2/1/2013 10:31:06 AM

Everyone has already said it... but I concur full blood work up asap along with a stool sample. Good luck, let us know how he is, it sounds like there is definitely something much deeper than food going on.

calliecritturs

Posted : 2/1/2013 10:31:31 AM

micksmom
Until I read Callie's reply, I had no idea that hypo thyroid could present the same way. A thyroid issues would also explain his coat.

Until it happened to Luna I had NO clue it could either. I was looking for hyper, not hyPO. But according to Dr. Dodds it's not exactly rare but it DOES happen. It's just one of those "in THIS individual" things.

As in humans high thyroid is more dangerous than low because it often leads to hypertension. And high blood pressure in a dog is HARD because a whole lot of vets don't even have a blood pressure monitor for a dog. They are apparently devilishly difficult to use (if you think of we mere humans and how for some of us just the stress of TAKING bp can make it go up from sheer worry -- then think about a dog having to go "in the back" and maybe struggling AND they probably can't be standing on the leg??

This is also where I say "Read The Canine Thyroid Epidemic by W. Jean Dodds, DVM (Amazon has it) -- it is freaking amazing all the weird stuff that is totally thyroid related! It's a danged good reference tool if nothing more

calliecritturs

Posted : 2/1/2013 10:31:32 AM

micksmom
Until I read Callie's reply, I had no idea that hypo thyroid could present the same way. A thyroid issues would also explain his coat.

Until it happened to Luna I had NO clue it could either. I was looking for hyper, not hyPO. But according to Dr. Dodds it's not exactly rare but it DOES happen. It's just one of those "in THIS individual" things.

As in humans high thyroid is more dangerous than low because it often leads to hypertension. And high blood pressure in a dog is HARD because a whole lot of vets don't even have a blood pressure monitor for a dog. They are apparently devilishly difficult to use (if you think of we mere humans and how for some of us just the stress of TAKING bp can make it go up from sheer worry -- then think about a dog having to go "in the back" and maybe struggling AND they probably can't be standing on the leg??

This is also where I say "Read The Canine Thyroid Epidemic by W. Jean Dodds, DVM (Amazon has it) -- it is freaking amazing all the weird stuff that is totally thyroid related! It's a danged good reference tool if nothing more

outdoorschik

Posted : 2/1/2013 1:08:05 PM

Thyroid can definitely present in unusual ways... I've got one right now. He had - no fur loss, no weight gain, no lethargy, slightly skinny - but not extreme and typical for his breed a mix of ibizan hound. He appeared stiff and uncomfortable with no obvious cause. Brought him in and temp. was 97 degrees, due to an incredibly loooooow thyroid, he could not regulate his own temperature! Crazy stuff... but thyroid accounts for so much.