I'm thinking it's that you have a huge fenced in yard that they run around in everyday now Perhaps they're in need of those extra calories from all the extra exercise! I don't think you're a bad momma, Val. Far from it!

Thank you Tori. I'm really hoping it's the extra off lead time in the yard combined with the cold. I still plan to do the blood test on Dakota and Faith just to rule out anything health related. Will also have a fecal done on all three even though they get wormed with their HW pills that they get monthly. I just really hope it's nothing health related, although that would seem unlikely since it's affecting all 3 of them simultaneously.

Btw, we got our brand new 15 cu ft chest freezer delivered today so now I can stock up on raw food which will be so much cheaper than kibble, cans, or THK. Hopefully next week I can make a meat run to stock up our new freezer. And at the rate that these dogs are eating I am really going to have to stock up!

Koda wrote:

... I don't think you're a bad momma, Val. Far from it!

jbealer wrote:

...your not a bad momma you are the BEST!

I couldn't agree more!

Thank you guys, that's very nice of you. Makes me feel a little less bad about the situation but still I need to fix this weight loss problem. It's great to have such a wonderful support system here.

As of today Milo weighs 51lbs pretty stout for a pup

Huskyluv, it might seem kind of obvious, but is it possible the scale they got weighed on was off? Seems kind of likley since they all were low. Maybe you can try weighing yourself at home with and without one of them to see if they are still too thin?

FWIW The cold can cause a lot of extra calories burned, way more than most people expect. I used to run cross country and bike race, during the winter I would eat over 4,000 calories a day. I still managed to 'over-train' and wound up weighing 117lbs with <2% body fat (I'm 6ft. tall) and chronic dehydration syndrome. I don't remember all the chemistry behind it, but things get to a point where it literally becomes physically impossible to synthesize the nutrients/proteins/amino acids as fast as you use them.

Rhet wrote:

Huskyluv, it might seem kind of obvious, but is it possible the scale they got weighed on was off? Seems kind of likley since they all were low. Maybe you can try weighing yourself at home with and without one of them to see if they are still too thin?

No, the scale is accurate. We used a human scale, the Wii Fit Balance Board, so it is calibrated between each weighing. We weigh ourselves on it first and then our dogs. The scale was spot on for both my husband and I and it is consistent with the weight they have been losing slowly over the past couple months. Not only does the scale give us the picture but I can feel Faith's and Dakota's ribs and spine so much more easily than I normally should, Faith especially is practically skin and bones.

And yes, I am very aware that they burn more calories due to the cold. My dogs lose weight every winter which is why I automatically increase food portions during the cold months of the year to compensate for the extra calories burned. But this is different, I've never needed to up portions as much as I am right now for Faith particularly. I stopped walking Faith to keep her inside (out of the cold) so she hasn't even been on a real walk for about 2 months now. What's really concerning me is that she eats so much on a daily basis and isn't even breaking even, she's continuing to lose. I'm seriously starting to question if this isn't a medical issue. Could Hyperthyroidism be a possibility? The symptoms sound the same. She'd have to get a blood test done to find out. We plan to get her blood test done once February rolls around. A 6 lb dog should NOT be losing weight on 1 - 2 cups of food per day, she used to eat 1/4 cup daily before this weight loss problem started.

Huskyluv wrote:

A 6 lb dog should NOT be losing weight on 1 - 2 cups of food per day, she used to eat 1/4 cup daily before this weight loss problem started.

Whoa...I'd be concerned too. That's a LOT of food for a little one and she's still losing weight? Please post results of the blood test when you find out. Just curious...it's info for me, and I do hope Faith is OK...

10% weight loss (Faith) is considered clinically significant, it's probably best to get her to a vet soon. Glory isn't too far behind either. Hyperthyroidism isn't likely because all of them are losing weight simultaneously. I also doubt it's nutritional, you've got a really good handle on that one It might be environmental, are there any other symptoms other than weight loss? Anything respiratory? Have they ever had ticks or all been sick around the same time before (at anytime, certain diseases and illnesses can be dormant for years)?

I hope it's nothing serious, keep us posted.

cmanding wrote:

Huskyluv wrote:

A 6 lb dog should NOT be losing weight on 1 - 2 cups of food per day, she used to eat 1/4 cup daily before this weight loss problem started.

Whoa...I'd be concerned too. That's a LOT of food for a little one and she's still losing weight? Please post results of the blood test when you find out. Just curious...it's info for me, and I do hope Faith is OK...

Exactly which is why she's got me so concerned. We had a lot of expenses this month so I going to get all 3 of them into the vet come February. I know it's not going to be cheap having all 3 of them tested at the same time.

Rhet wrote:

10% weight loss (Faith) is considered clinically significant, it's probably best to get her to a vet soon. Glory isn't too far behind either. Hyperthyroidism isn't likely because all of them are losing weight simultaneously. I also doubt it's nutritional, you've got a really good handle on that one It might be environmental, are there any other symptoms other than weight loss? Anything respiratory? Have they ever had ticks or all been sick around the same time before (at anytime, certain diseases and illnesses can be dormant for years)?

I hope it's nothing serious, keep us posted.

Will definitely keep everyone posted with their progress. Beginning of Feb is the soonest I can get them all tested at the vets due to expenses. Now if it were an absolute emergency of course I'd get them in but I'd like to see if any of them put on any weight in the next 2 weeks with the extra food I started since this past weekend. I'll weigh Faith again this coming weekend to see where she's at.

There are no other noticeable symptoms that we've observed. No breathing problems, their appetites are normal and their drinking is normal as well. Their attitudes, disposition and activity levels are normal as well. Glory started display more aggressive behavior than is normal over the past 2 weeks which I did notice as a big change for her. None of them have ever been sick at the same time before. Faith had numerous ticks earlier in 2010, in the March-early June timeframe she was picking up at least 1-2 ticks per week but never showed any reaction. Is it possible this could be related to all the ticks Faith was getting in 2010? She had been on Advantix which is supposed to repel ticks at the time and it obviously wasn't working which is when I turned to using Rose Geranium oil to repel ticks and she hasn't had a single one since using the oils starting in June. Faith had her last exam at the vet in November 2010 and she checked out okay although we didn't have any bloodwork done at the time.

Have you tried those meatball things? There's a recipe floating around the internet for dogs that are these weight gaining meatball things. I'll try to find it for you.. Worked for Cheyenne for a little bit...


Here:
Weight-On Meatballs

1 1/2 lbs fatty raw hamburger mince
1/2 cup wheat germ oil or wheat germ
3 eggs
3 cups oatmeal
Form into meatballs. Place on cookie sheet, put in freezer. After frozen, put in containers.
Microwave about 30 seconds per meatball, depending on size. Give 2-3 per day. Also
excellent for the finicky eater.

I have not tried Satin Balls on Faith because she refuses to eat raw ground meat, she will starve herself for 3 days before eating raw meat. She'll eat cooked ground beef though. She definitely won't eat raw meat without me seering it for her. And she really cannot afford to hold out on eating right now so I really can't do the tough love bit at the moment which I have done in the past to get her to eat raw.

I've got raw ground beef thawing right now for hamburgers tonight. Maybe I should put a little raw ground beef to the side, mix it with egg, flax seed, and oatmeal and seer it and see if she'll eat that? Or maybe I could also try a mix of raw ground beef and THK and seer that a little bit for her? Maybe throw in a little crushed egg shell too?

I rolled them around the pan and seared the outside to make it smell good when I gave them to Cheyenne. She ate them right up when before she would chew it a few times then just let it all fall out of her mouth onto the floor and walk away.

Huskyluv wrote:

Faith had numerous ticks earlier in 2010, in the March-early June timeframe she was picking up at least 1-2 ticks per week but never showed any reaction. Is it possible this could be related to all the ticks Faith was getting in 2010?

Not likley, unless the other dogs were getting ticks too?

How do her gums look? How bout her paws, any swelling or redness around the pads?

embry and zoey got weighed at the vet today

Embry put on 2lbs, putting him at 53.5 lbs
and Zoey put on about 7lbs hitting 42.5lbs

Zoey Is a Hungry Girl ~

I have a feeling she put on a lot because we started feeding raw for dinner

Rhet wrote:

Not likley, unless the other dogs were getting ticks too?

How do her gums look? How bout her paws, any swelling or redness around the pads?

No, Faith was the only one getting ticks. Her gums look perfectly normal and there is no swelling or redness around the pads. She really is the picture of health aside from being so skinny. I've been feeding her considerably more since the weekend so if she doesn't gain anything by the weekend I will go into panic mode. Fingers are crossed.

Hmm, how are Dakota and Glory's food portions in relation to Faiths? Have they gone up as dramatically?

No, I have increased everyone's portions but Faith is the only one getting huge amounts. Dakota I've increased his food from 1 lb to 1.25-1.5 lbs for now and I'll see where he's at next weigh in. Glory generally puts on weight way too easily so I've only doubled her food portions. Faith on the other hand is eating at least triple her normal portions currently. I picked Faith up a few times today and she actually feels better so I'm hoping the scale will confirm over the weekend.

Good luck, Val! Fingers are crossed for you and Faith!

Thanks Tori! I will post the results of this weekend's weigh in as soon as we get them done.

Btw Jennet, Zoey sounds like she might be a big girl. How big were her parents?

Yeah, at the moment she's still smaller then Embry, but weighs almost 10lbs more then he did as at her age I didn't think they looked very big, when i was playing with them lol.

this is her mom:

the breeder says she's a leggy and tall girl.

and this is the only pic i found of her dad

he's right at breed standards and has been shown before and has an APRI CH title, which probably is crap lol

Holy cow, her momma looks tiny Too tiny to have just had a litter of puppies!

I thought they always got really small after labor? when i went to go and meet Zoey her mom was in really good shape and looked healthy