I have a 4 yr old czech shepherd. He is on the to thin side these days. He is currently being feed orijen tundra at 5 cups a day. I also add a tablespoon of coconut oil, as well he gets natures farmacy complete supplement. In the morning he has loose stools but the rest of the day is solid. He is a personal protection/working dog. He gets a lot of activity, as well he is an intact male. So I have two questions really. One is do you think switching him to a lesser % protein kibble will help put some weight on him due to a better absorption? Or does he need a higher calorie per cup food to help keep some weight on him?
I was feeding the Diamond Naturals Extreme Athlete to my dogs -- higher calorie, higher protein and fat than the Adult chicken and rice, and then 50/50. My dogs do better with the lower calorie, lower protein food -- Diamond Naturals Adult Chicken and Rice. They hold their weight better. Not sure why that is. I think with some dogs, the higher fat/protein actually does cause less absorption.
You have to feed more of the lower calorie food. It's cheaper, so it doesn't matter so much. Just more poop to pick up.
If your dog is scarfing that much food down, then you might consider doing an EPI test. Dog will need to be fasted. It will let you know if your dog has a pancreatic problem, while you are at it, a SIBO test is in order. And, nothing wrong with checking for parasites -- fecal exam.
By four years, the dog should be holding some weight. Should. It could be just a young active dog. Better safe than sorry though.
Thanks for the reply. I figured that about food, I guess they are similar to humans, consume a lot of protein powder and you can get the runs. I usually do a fecal every two months just to be safe. I'll look into the EPI test. I have started the process of switching his food and he looks to be putting on weight already.
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