Weight loss in young dog!UPDATE and ADVICE NEEDED

MaximumImpact

Just after anyone else experiences?? I have a 2 year old Neo Mastiff X who is, in the vets words, sensitive! He is a big lad, but is terrified of anything and everything. He is always on the go and paces a lot. He can't bear to be away from me or OH and is a real softie. A few months ago I noticed that he was a little on the thin side but put it down to me bringing DS home from the hospital after his early birth, the new dog that we looked after for a little while and my other mastiff being in season.

6 Weeks ago, he still seemed thin, even after the new dog went home, the other mastiff was out of season and things settled down at home, so I took him to the vet. The vet said he didn't think he was excessively thin and would prefer a mastiff to be lean for health reasons. he then said that if I was still unhappy in a few weeks to bring him back to be weighed again.

3 days ago I took him back to be weighed and he has lost another 1kg and is looking awful!! They have just started blood and other tests on him, so I am running around the back garden with a spatula and test tube (eurrrghhh). The initial bloods have come back with no problems and so I am now waiting for the other results and am starting to get very worried.

Has anyone else experienced sudden weight loss in a dog for no reason? He's eating like a horse still but he seems to be slightly more lethargic than normal. (If a Mastiff can get more lethargic!!). He doesn't seem his normal happy self and to me it seems as though he is depressed.

Any idea's would be grateful???

YorkiePud_3

I don't want to scare you but I do know of one particular thing that can cause dogs to just sort of waste and go downhill, be lethargic etc ... it is called Cushing's Disease ... has your boy lost any condition in his coat?
Usually their coats go really thin and sparse ... does he drink a lot? Pant a lot? Some people say it is like they are growing old really quickly, as though they are going through the age process at breakneck speed.

It's usually in older dogs though but there are a lot of symptoms similar ... having said that, it could be a number of things and I am not a vet, but I would ask the vet if he or she thought it might be that and would they test for it even to rule it out.

I hope you find out what it is ... like I say, it could be so many different things ... I know you must be out of your mind with worry {hugs} ...

nikki702

no advice but good luck... I hope he is ok

jenhug

has he been wormed? how are his stools? what food is he on and how much excersise does he get?

I have two Mastiffs, one is fine and the other I struggle to get weight on her.

I feed Burns complete chicken and rice PLUS tripe or other raw meat twice a day.

My thin one had Giardia as a pup, its a parasite that causes diarrea etc. She had a dose of Panacur 10% over a period of days and it sorted it out.

Your dog could have a food allergy, my boy has a sensitive tummy.

MaximumImpact

Jen

He was wormed less than 3 months ago and his stools are normal. He is fed on a mixture of Vitalin Gold and Wagg twice aday with tripe or fresh deer/rabbit at one meal. He has his own paddock in the garden which is around a quarter of an acre and then is walked twice a week. (I have stopped walking him daily because of this weight loss). My other mastiff who is fine had giardia as a pup but this one never caught it. The vet is starting 'absorbtion' tests on monday but now I'm starting to get really worried about my lad. He's always been the healthy one and now i'm terrified that we'll lose him.

MI

GonzoAston

Havent got any suggestions for you sorry.

Just wanted to say that I hope everything works out ok for you, and it is something that is easily treatable

lowis

sudden weightloss can be caused by something fairly innocent right through to something such as cancer (don't want to scare you, this is worst case scenario)...you are doing the right thing by asking your vet to investigate and monitor your boy. good luck, i hope things get sorted very quickly x

WolfSong2000

could be stress? Or too much exercise (as was the case with our dog...he ran about so much as a youngster he had to go on special food for working dogs to keep the weight on him. lol). The latter doesn't seem to be the case...if his stress levels have increased (you mentioned he's anxious and paces), this may account for it...is he still eating as normal? How much does he drink?

Paradigm

If the initial bloods have come back as ok then I would be surprised if there was anything serious, vets know what to test for!

A good wormer (Drontal plus or similar) may be a good idea.

You say he has his own paddock? He couldn't have eaten anything he shouldn't? I.E Ragwort?

orlao

If all the tests come back normal....a couple of things to consider.

It could be that he is just a dog that doesn't carry weight well, I sometimes think that what we all consider "normal" is actually fat as some horrific percentage of pets are obese and so we're not actually very good at judging or keeping our pets at what is a healthy weight.

What is your dogs normal weight? A kg loss might only be a 2% weight loss if he's 50kgs for instance and most mastiffs are significantly heavier!

By the sounds of things, there have been a lot of changes in your household recently and a sensitive dog could just take time to become accustomed to them.

Also you mentioned that your girl was in season....if he isn't already castrated, that would help him gain weight - well it's always worked with mine!;)

jenhug

Mastiffs can drop alot of weight quickly when a !!!!! is in heat, would also explain his pacing.

Looking at the food, I would change it, personally. Dogs dont need things like cereal in their diet, often these cause allergy problems, (are his stools large and sloppy at all?) Mine were fed wagg when I first got them, talk about cow pats in the back yard!

Vitalin states their is "meat" in the food, it could be anything! Look at a food that doesnt have added cereals and names the meat..

I give mine raw chicken wings daily, they are an excellent source of nutrition for mastiffs,

I would put them on a better biscuit and up the meat, they need at least 3lbs of meat a day.