New Diagnosis - GSD Puppy

[Tuckaboo Pam]

COCONUT OIL, the balm of the gods! Antibacterial, antifungal, antimicrobial, good for the thyroid, and added to baking soda it even makes your teeth white! Glad to hear you're applying it to her skin, as well as feeding her a bit. She'll probably lick her feet, because it's so yummy, but that's ok! Hope she's doing well. Oh, it removes mascara, too.---Pam

[Madelon]

I have often said allergies are worse than EPI!! My boy started with the ear down and shaking head a few weeks ago and hair loss on his inner hind legs - I knew Spring was coming early because of it. Luckily he hasn't had an ear infection since the first one 5years ago because anytime I see the ear down or a head shake I clean his ears with Zymox - it's a miracle in a bottle!!

I got so frustrated with the allergies and did not want to keep spending the money on the vet bills and antibiotics so that's why I decided to bite the bullet spend the money and get the testing. Luckily he doesn't have to have the injections because I can keep it controlled with other things.

Coconut oil is great for a lot of things - if feeding it just watch the poops and only increase dose a little at a time. Doc couldn't handle coconut oil at all - immediately gave him greasy sloppy poops.

[Tuckaboo Pam]

Madelon, I actually had the same experience with Tucker, but rubbing just a little on his spots seems ok, even if he licks it. Thanks for pointing that out.

[Ehellriegel]

Good morning, everyone!

We have been smooth sailing until two days ago when Fi decided she doesn't like the taste of her food as much as she used to. There are too many factors at the moment, so I'm trying to figure out which one it is. We had her on 4 cups per day (2c per meal) of Sport Dog Elite Buffalo and Sweet Potato to get her weight back up, and I think she is leveling out and just doesn't need as much food anymore. She has been eating about half of her food and wandering away, even when we reduced to 1.5c per meal. I can't tell if she is getting full or if she has grown tired of the taste of the enzymes. I put some greek yogurt on her food this morning and she ate another 1/4 cup or so, but still left a few mouthfuls in the bowl.

She used to do this frequently before she had EPI, she was always a picky eater and it was a chore to get her to finish her food. Maybe she is just leveling out and returning to normal? In addition, my boyfriend's sister just moved in with us this past weekend with her dog (Pepper, they have known each other Fi's entire life and they get along great), and Fi keeps trying to get to Pepper's un-enzymed food and scarf down as much as she can if someone accidentally leaves a gate open. Luckily this has only happened twice and resulted in a little bit of soft-serve or loosely-formed stool, but no diarrhea and she was back to normal solid by her next poop. Is she just adjusting to having another dog around?

As another update, we re-tested her B12 levels after supplementing with WonderLabs for a month and it is up from <150 at diagnosis to >1000!!! Our new vet was very happy to see these results.

Advice for the food debacle is appreciated!!

[Madelon]

Wonderful news on the B12 levels!! Congratulations mom! As for the other issues - could be a few things like you mentioned. What is her weight and what is her goal weight? If she's close to the weight she should be then it could be she's just getting full.

[Ehellriegel]

She has gained 4lbs since diagnosis, so about 1lb per week if we don't count the couple weeks it took to get her stabilized. She is up to 56lbs from 52, but she should be around 75lbs when she is done growing. She has always been a slow grower though, never putting on more than about a pound per week even when she was a small puppy. So her growth rate has stabilized back to where it was before, but she still has about 20lbs to go. Female GSDs continue to fill out until they're about 1.5 years old, though, so she still has time!

The Sport Dog food we put her on following diagnosis is very calorically dense though, so maybe she is just getting full and doesn't need quite as much. We're feeding based on her goal weight of 75lbs of course, but according to the food she should only be getting 3 cups so I think it was a good idea for us to cut back from 4 now that she has gained her weight back to where she was before.

Poor thing is getting spayed and a preventative gastropexy tomorrow, so I know that's just going to cause even more reluctance to eat. Luckily Pepper will be staying with Mitchell's parents for the two weeks for Fi to heal! We'll see how it goes

[Olesia711]

Just wanted to pop in and wish you good luck with her spay tomorrow..... AND... i also wanted to mention, that her body most likely is becoming satiated/ filled out and full... so you are probably right that you simply do not need to feed her as much anymore..... BUT.....another possibility is that "sometimes" when they start to go off their food.... it could be an indication that the SID is starting to be an issue... either again... or just starting to get a wee bit out of control. Especially since we now know that her B12 is very much in good control (good job!!!!)

SO........... due to the fact that this (SID) may or may not be the issue, and due to the fact that she is going to be spayed tomorrow, and i am guessing they will have her on some sort of antibiotics .. which, if we are talking SID here...... then i would do nothing at the moment... except after she settles out from the surgery.... keep a close eye on her for any possible SID signs that happen more than once (multiple times) .... for example: If the dog displays any repeated signs such as yellowish-coloring to the stools, loose stools, gelatinous stool coating, flatulence, lack of appetite, stomach noises, low or low normal B12, acid reflux, etc. THEN i would contact your vet and ask to treat for SID/SIBO as it appears to be getting a little out of control.... or you can even try a little Slippery Elm powder first before resorting to antibiotics

However... even if this fussiness with the food is due to SID getting a little out of control, the fact that she is being spayed tomorrow and will be on medications (and if she is given some sort of antibiotic, even short term antibiotic, it jsut might be enough to knock the SID back in control.

In any case... just keep a close watch for any SID signs in the near future.... just in case.

If i am repeating what someone already suggested, my apologies, as i did not read this full thread, i just read the beginning post and the last ones...
Good luck for tomorrow!

[Ehellriegel]

Olesia,

Thank you so much for that reply, that's honestly what I was starting to think as well. Her stools have been off and on perfectly firm and a little soft, and her tummy has been a little more noisy lately than it usually is. Nothing crazy, can hear it from the other side of the room noisy, but definitely more gurgling. Good to know that this can sometimes cause their appetite to go off a little bit, as this sounds like what is potentially happening. We've been putting slippery elm on her breakfast and dinner (about 1/2tsp) for the past few weeks to try and keep the SID at bay, but maybe she does need some antibiotics to completely knock it out.

We will keep an eye on her following surgery to make sure everything resolves with whatever short-term antibiotic she is on, and maybe get her on some Tylan if it persists!

Thanks!!

[Olesia711]

that sounds like an excellent plan..... good luck with the surgery and PLEASE keep us posted.

Also.... with regards to the SLippery Elm.... i would continue it but lower the dose.... SLippery Elm is a mucilage and a fiber that actually helps get SID under better control (it has and abundance of the SCFA "butyrate" in it).... BUT the issue is that although it can and does improve SID... too much of it can also cause loose stools and gas.... so ..... try using a little less .... for now....

Again, Please keep us posted!

[Madelon]

Good luck with the surgery and keep us posted.