3.5 months in, 12.5% weight loss, questions.
Posted: 27 Mar 2023, 15:05
Hi, my name is Kate and I have Emma who is 5. She is a normally 40 pound Queensland x Australian Shepard cross. She is now 34.7 pounds.
Her diet now is Purina pro plan canned grain free. 1 can, 3x daily. She was on one of the grain free kibbles back in 2019 and was by chance diagnose with dilated cardiomyopathy. At that point I transitioned to a raw diet. She did great on that. My other dog had a liver issue and vet recommended a cooked diet, so I switched to cooked. Then, this past year I needed to be away for a week at a time and probably switched too quickly to a Purina kibble diet.
Last December I was gone three nights and came home to Emma with a very loose stool and very gurgly stomach sounds. The vet recommended rice and chicken breast, which I had already started. It really didn't help. We did this several times for at least a week each go, then tried to get her back on some kibble.
The vet then put her on metronidazole for a week. That seemed to help for a week or so, then back to loose stool. Her poops have been 5 and 4 scores. After the antibiotic she went to 3's. Sometimes it will be a 3 in the morning and a 4 or 5 in the evening. This has been going on since December.
Of course at this point I am a mess, seems like nothing is working and the vet just doesn't seem worried enough for me. I am going to another vet this weekend for another opinion. Emma has a good attitude and has energy but continues to lose weight. I got Insight of epi from an AKC article, then found you, thankfully.
Last week I put her on a plant based enzyme with food and it did seem to help but it read your information and bought Pan-tenex and gave her a dose, 1/2 tsp. In her can of food, she almost immediately got gurgly again and so I went back to just canned food with the other enzyme. I am trying again because I figured that there may be a transition period.
I have an appointment in 5 days, and am asking for a TLI blood test and cobalamin test. I am assuming it will be positive. I'm also trying to stay positive. I could really use some help on the diet part. I also have some Purina kibble, digestive health, grain free salmon and rice. I'd like to try to keep with a diet that the pet sitter can easily stick with when I leave for a week or so.
Why do you think she is having this response to the enzyme? Could I be feeding too little enzyme? Should I continue for now or do you have a suggestion? I read that you can put the enzyme into a capsule and feed with the food without any wait time, is that acceptable? Is any probiotic good or are there some prefered brands?
All help is appreciated. This really is a tough ride. Thank you.
Kate and Emma and Cricket (15 ys)
Her diet now is Purina pro plan canned grain free. 1 can, 3x daily. She was on one of the grain free kibbles back in 2019 and was by chance diagnose with dilated cardiomyopathy. At that point I transitioned to a raw diet. She did great on that. My other dog had a liver issue and vet recommended a cooked diet, so I switched to cooked. Then, this past year I needed to be away for a week at a time and probably switched too quickly to a Purina kibble diet.
Last December I was gone three nights and came home to Emma with a very loose stool and very gurgly stomach sounds. The vet recommended rice and chicken breast, which I had already started. It really didn't help. We did this several times for at least a week each go, then tried to get her back on some kibble.
The vet then put her on metronidazole for a week. That seemed to help for a week or so, then back to loose stool. Her poops have been 5 and 4 scores. After the antibiotic she went to 3's. Sometimes it will be a 3 in the morning and a 4 or 5 in the evening. This has been going on since December.
Of course at this point I am a mess, seems like nothing is working and the vet just doesn't seem worried enough for me. I am going to another vet this weekend for another opinion. Emma has a good attitude and has energy but continues to lose weight. I got Insight of epi from an AKC article, then found you, thankfully.
Last week I put her on a plant based enzyme with food and it did seem to help but it read your information and bought Pan-tenex and gave her a dose, 1/2 tsp. In her can of food, she almost immediately got gurgly again and so I went back to just canned food with the other enzyme. I am trying again because I figured that there may be a transition period.
I have an appointment in 5 days, and am asking for a TLI blood test and cobalamin test. I am assuming it will be positive. I'm also trying to stay positive. I could really use some help on the diet part. I also have some Purina kibble, digestive health, grain free salmon and rice. I'd like to try to keep with a diet that the pet sitter can easily stick with when I leave for a week or so.
Why do you think she is having this response to the enzyme? Could I be feeding too little enzyme? Should I continue for now or do you have a suggestion? I read that you can put the enzyme into a capsule and feed with the food without any wait time, is that acceptable? Is any probiotic good or are there some prefered brands?
All help is appreciated. This really is a tough ride. Thank you.
Kate and Emma and Cricket (15 ys)