New vet got me worked up today

[TexasGS]

Hey Yall, Memphis is about 2 years 5 months and he weighed in today at 69.9 lbs. He is an intact male and his current food is fromm. He has always been light for a GS and since a puppy has always been thin to where you can sometimes see the back rib or two on him.

Two weeks ago we started running every few nights around 1.5-2 miles so his fitness has increased. I mentioned that this might be why his weight is a little down. The vet questions how I am feeding him, and then told me fromm is not that good of a food, and I mentioned I was considering a raw diet if I can educate myself (he has no issues eating meet pieces, whereas he will only eat his dry food when he has to). She told me raw diet is not necessarily good for dogs which is why the ADA? has not approved of it.

She then tells me there is a good chance he has TLDR? I'm not sure if I have those initials right but its a pancreas problem that German Shepherds are prone to? She said he might not be producing enough enzymes and that might cause him to just pass food through.

Thennnn I needed new heart worm prevention, evidently Sentinel's parent company is very very back ordered so I asked if they could just write me a script so I can see if it is available through various websites. She said they refuse to write scripts for people to buy online.

rant over, what do yall know about this pancreas issue that is prone to German Shepherds and have any of yall been able to get ahold of Sentinel?

[jaggirl47]

First off, vets don't understand crap about nutrition, so take what she said with a grain of salt.

As far as weight, when you started exercising him more did you increase his amount of food? You need to do that because they burn calories faster.

As far as the pancreas, it is Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency, or EPI. Why would your vet think he has this? Does he have foul poop that stinks to high heaven and looks like a cow patty greyish in color? Has he lost a good deal of weight in a short period of time? Does he scarf down food like he is starving to death?

How many ribs show on your dog? Do you have a picture you can post?

[Jag]

Unless she has run blood work to diagnose a problem, she needs to stop. There are more issues with an overweight GSD than a lean one. Shepherds are not supposed to be 100 lb dogs. I know there are threads on here about feeding raw correctly. You can always supplement that with kibble. I know there are a lot of people on here feeding Fromm. Don't know about the heartworm stuff as we haven't started that yet. Does your breeder feed raw so you can ask him/her about it?

That's true about the food. You can always supplement now with meat. I cook chicken livers (mostly) and stew meat with a mix of veggies in it for my guy to add in extra stuff. On the days I don't have something cooked, he gets a can of the same brand of his kibble. If you're increasing his exercise and he's not increasing his kibble intake, you may have to find other things more appetizing to increase his intake.

[TexasGS]

Ya I agree, His poop does stink a strong storm and I can usually smell it from 30' away with a strong wind.

Here is a photo I just took. notice you can sort of see the back of his ribs.


Here was one I took just a while back


I know that doesnt do him much representation but use it to see how overall he is a smaller GSD.

I have increased his food once we began running he just wont eat it until right before we go to bed. Everyonce and a while in the morning he will throw up like bile but its happened maybe 3 times in the past month if that.

[llombardo]

Originally Posted by jaggirl47

First off, vets don't understand crap about nutrition, so take what she said with a grain of salt.

As far as weight, when you started exercising him more did you increase his amount of food? You need to do that because they burn calories faster.

As far as the pancreas, it is Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency, or EPI. Why would your vet think he has this? Does he have foul poop that stinks to high heaven and looks like a cow patty greyish in color? Has he lost a good deal of weight in a short period of time? Does he scarf down food like he is starving to death?

How many ribs show on your dog? Do you have a picture you can post?

My vet also wanted to discuss EPI with me about mine. I haven't spoke to them since. I think that they base it on the fact that they are thin, because that is the only thing my dog is. Poop is normal, gained weight throughout puppy hood and has gained 5 pounds in the last couple months. And she doesn't scarf down her food. I'm almost relieved that my vet is not the only one that makes assumptions. My dogs also eat Fromm, I find it to be a good food.

[Jag]

Did your vet do any blood work? If not, she needs to if the dog is vomiting and you've got rancid poop. Of course, the food itself could be causing the smell. What color is his stool?

[jaggirl47]

Stinky poop is one thing, stinky, grayish, cowpatty poop is another.

The pic where you can see his full body he does not look underweight. GSD's are not supposed to be Great Dane sized

[TexasGS]

Originally Posted by Jag

Unless she has run blood work to diagnose a problem, she needs to stop. There are more issues with an overweight GSD than a lean one. Shepherds are not supposed to be 100 lb dogs. I know there are threads on here about feeding raw correctly. You can always supplement that with kibble. I know there are a lot of people on here feeding Fromm. Don't know about the heartworm stuff as we haven't started that yet. Does your breeder feed raw so you can ask him/her about it?

That's true about the food. You can always supplement now with meat. I cook chicken livers (mostly) and stew meat with a mix of veggies in it for my guy to add in extra stuff. On the days I don't have something cooked, he gets a can of the same brand of his kibble. If you're increasing his exercise and he's not increasing his kibble intake, you may have to find other things more appetizing to increase his intake.

This is exactly what I said. During our runs he has tons of energy, and it is true he isnt too excited about eating his fromm but he has never been excited on any of the foods I have given in the past (Fromm, Fromm gold, Back to Basics, Evo, Taste of the Wild, Royal Canine, Orijen) . My breeder does not feed raw. He is for sure not the type of dog that will be in the 100# area, however I would say since his last checkup he has lost maybe 4 -6 lbs, however I charge a lot of that to our recent increase in exercise and his adjustment to increasing his food intake. I wasn't to worried, but she kept saying all of these things and I left with anxiety about his health and overall condition.

Its so frustrating to me because I feel that they think I dont feed him, or im negligent which couldn't be further from the truth. I dont plan on going to this vet anymore after I go back in two weeks for his weight check up.

[CarrieJ]

Originally Posted by jaggirl47

First off, vets don't understand crap about nutrition, so take what she said with a grain of salt.

As far as weight, when you started exercising him more did you increase his amount of food? You need to do that because they burn calories faster.

As far as the pancreas, it is Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency, or EPI. Why would your vet think he has this? Does he have foul poop that stinks to high heaven and looks like a cow patty greyish in color? Has he lost a good deal of weight in a short period of time? Does he scarf down food like he is starving to death?

How many ribs show on your dog? Do you have a picture you can post?

Also, EPI your dog would be a voracious eater of feces. From what I've heard of the description the dog is starving to death; and acts like it. (the sick dog---not yours *wink*)
As far as Raw, if I had the freezer space I'd do it.
I've yet to hear of a vet (locally where I live) that says anything good about it....their big issue is usually salmonella....Um, I don't know, I don't even leave the kibble bowls down. I pick them up and wash them; why in the good Lord's name would you leave a bowl with raw meat sitting out for hours.
My girl was very thin as she was younger; when she hit two, she started having seizures so the drugs really slowed down her metabolism.
I only have to feed her about three cups of kibble a day as opposed to 6-7 cups.
I'd still get that "what'ya feeding your dog?"
I did find though EVO was a good food; it was too high in protein for such an ampy dog with no job. When I switched to a lower protein, and something with some carbs she put on some weight.
As far as the ammount, if you dog finishes eating and keeps going back to the bowl and checking after being done; it could probably handle another 1/4 cup or so. I've actually uped my dog 1/2 cup a day before; just depends what we've been doing.
Gotta love the dollar store measuring cups.
ETA: I have gone through two vets before finding the third vet that is good with Alice and doesn't treat me like an idiot. Or, the assistants afraid of large dogs. You can fire your vet; it's OK to do that.

[jaggirl47]

Originally Posted by llombardo

My vet also wanted to discuss EPI with me about mine. I haven't spoke to them since. I think that they base it on the fact that they are thin, because that is the only thing my dog is. Poop is normal, gained weight throughout puppy hood and has gained 5 pounds in the last couple months. And she doesn't scarf down her food. I'm almost relieved that my vet is not the only one that makes assumptions. My dogs also eat Fromm, I find it to be a good food.

I love my vets. Every time we go in they tell me how they wished other dog owners would keep their dogs at a healthy, lean weight like I do. They see more overweight dogs and it causes health issues. However, my vet is the type that is very truthful and will tell you when you are wasting money.