I think 65 lbs. is not too uncommon for females. Hear that, Oji? Females.
Doberman puppy owners - track your weight gain here
- Thread starter JanS
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Huh. Oji has actually always been quite a chow hound. Loves his food. Problem is that his system seems too fragile to handle the nutrition he needs. Tried several things and they all lead to his loose stool/diarrhea problem. I have finally found a food and an amount that keeps his stool fairly firm. I am tempted to try these "Toppers" you describe. How much $? I'm sure they'll just lead us to the same runny old place though.First stop after I crossed the border this afternoon was PetSmart. Turns out the grain free chicken toppers were on sale - woooo hooooo - so I bought every last one of them (my apologies to anyone in Port Huron who planned go buy any)!! I'm going to try to feed Luna with a topper in her kibble for each meal for the foreseeable future. We will be at the vet next weekend for the lyme booster so we will see how much she weighs then. Fingers crossed - hoping she will not be a skinny bitch (naturally I mean that in the technical dog terminology female kinda way
).
PandoraB
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We went through months of the loose stool problems on and off which I hated. Since I started Luna on a one a day probiotic treat we haven't had any more issues with that thankfully and another bonus was that the gas situation improved big time (Vetri Probiotic Everday bite size chews). I also throw either some pumpkin from a can or some pumpkin powder in her kibble occasionally.
The real problem for awhile has been that Luna seems to be a picky eater. We went through various foods before we settled on a Fromm grain free puppy food that she doesn't hate but she just hasn't been enthusiastic no matter what kibble I've tried. I don't know if she's picky or just doesn't have much of an appetite. Unlike when I first brought her home and she devoured her food immediately like she was starving, she has been mostly grazing and half the time when I put her food out she ignores it. I had tried putting some canned dog food in the kibble a few times out of desperation to get her her more interested but I didn't want her to prefer the canned food and the consistency made difficult to mix and easier for Luna eat the canned food only and avoid the kibble. It was also messy and I was only putting about a quarter of a can in so I had messy gross storage issues. With the toppers (marketed as a "topper for dry kibble") you don't have any of those issues. I think the key is the broth and the fact that they are really small (thus the "toppers" name). One is just enough to mix through a bowl of kibble and the thin broth mixes in easily. It is mostly actual chicken pieces in the broth. Usually when I mix it up Luna devours it immediately which is a huge difference. So I have 2 goals with the toppers - first to get her on a 2 or 3 time a day strict feeding schedule (vs. free feeding) AND to increase her weight. With the toppers she seems to be eating more food so I'm hopeful.
Yesterday I paid $1.34 each for the ones on sale. I've been trying 2 different brands and Luna loves both. One is Nature's Recipe grain free real chicken in broth and the other is Natural Balance chicken and tuna in broth (which also has pumpkin). They have different ones to choose from and Nature's Recipe comes with and without grain. Natural Balance also has one that is limited ingredients I believe. You can order both brands by the case of 24 online and I see there are deals online.
Nature's Recipe Grain Free Easy to Digest Chicken and Venison Recipe in Broth Wet Dog Food
Delectable Delights® Fish 'N Chicks™ Dog Food Wet Cups | Natural Balance Pet Foods
Natural Balance Delectable Delights Surf n Turf Grain Free Chicken and Tuna Formula in Broth with Pumpkin and Green Beans Wet Dog Food
You know, probiotics is one thing I did not get to try. I gave up first and just have embraced that my boy looks a bit starved. Hmmm. I wonder if I should just try some probiotics, and then try putting him back on a higher protein/fat food and perhaps in larger amounts.
PandoraB
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It might be worth a try. I take a probiotic vitamin myself daily and I swear by them.
It certainly can't hurt but I'd try to gradually add the high protein/fat food back in or I'm almost sure it would cause problems.
Prushanks
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I was wondering the same but her last tests were negative, and she has been on Sentinel for months. She doesn't come into contact with any other dog stool and i haven't seen any evidence of tapes. Im hoping she's just growing into herself!
I took some not so great pics that sort of show.. 
Such a pretty girl! She's definitely ribby but I don't see her backbone or hip bones so it might just be that she's growing.
That sounds like a great plan and I never allow free feeding with our because like you said, it can make for a picky eater. In the free feeding cases I've seen they're either obese or too picky and too thin.
Rits
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@Prushanks - she really isn't too bad, IMO. A lb or 3 maybe and she'd look great. She has great muscle tone!! Just look at the obliques and lats on her! (muscle on her ribs) IF she wasn't in a good shape, you wouldn't see that indentation half way down her rib cage...you would instead see a whole solid rib and then yes, that would be too skinny. She could just be breathing in for the two pics but prob would be perfect with another lb or so on her. Good job! Its hard to keep weight on active, crazy dogs but once you find the sweet spot, its something to be proud of.
I like to use this image to showcase the difference simply breathing in and out on a dog can make in how they look in a picture. If you went off this picture of him breathing in alone, you'd think the dog was too skinny. Totally different story, huh?
Good job! Its hard to keep weight on active, crazy dogs but once you find the sweet spot, its something to be proud of.I like to use this image to showcase the difference simply breathing in and out on a dog can make in how they look in a picture. If you went off this picture of him breathing in alone, you'd think the dog was too skinny. Totally different story, huh?
Oji has approximately that level of ribs showing, but he also has spine and hips showing.I was wondering the same but her last tests were negative, and she has been on Sentinel for months. She doesn't come into contact with any other dog stool and i haven't seen any evidence of tapes. Im hoping she's just growing into herself!
Puppies are 3wks 4daydMale weight 4.3
Female weight 4.6
I just had to share pictures.
The boys are sleeping in all the pics. Lol
Ooooooo, I'm in love! Lol
Thanks for sharing! The boys are all sleeping lol nothing new there?! My boy went to sleep at 7.30pm and we won't hear a peep till 7.30-8 am tomorrow. Lazy lad, haha!
Thanks for sharing! The boys are all sleeping lol nothing new there?!
My boy went to sleep at 7.30pm and we won't hear a peep till 7.30-8 am tomorrow. Lazy lad, haha!
I remember asking @JanS about the puppies weight because I was thinking they were 3 wks being 2+View attachment 61323 View attachment 61322 Puppies are 3wks 4dayd
Male weight 4.3
Female weight 4.6
I just had to share pictures.
The boys are sleeping in all the pics. Lol
lbs. but they were only 2wks. Sort of a panic there. They were born March 16th. The fawns look pretty big to me. Lol
Ha
I was wondering the same but her last tests were negative, and she has been on Sentinel for months. She doesn't come into contact with any other dog stool and i haven't seen any evidence of tapes. Im hoping she's just growing into herself!
Does she drink and urinate a lot?
Is she on a raw food diet?
Just a thought here.....Giardia is difficult to see using the standard objective in microscopy. Do the techs or the Vet do the microscopic evaluations for the intestinal parasites? I always used my own personal microscope for evaluations and wouldn't let anyone else touch it at every vet practice I worked in. LolI was wondering the same but her last tests were negative, and she has been on Sentinel for months. She doesn't come into contact with any other dog stool and i haven't seen any evidence of tapes. Im hoping she's just growing into herself!
I always used low light and requested the client bring in stool specimens for 3 consecutive days as the ova may not present itself in just one evaluation. All it takes is one cyst to cause problems and again they are difficult to locate on the slide even with an experienced user of microscopy.
Prushanks
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She is almost 7 months, been in two heats two months apart - both heats her urination increased but abated inbetween. She doesn't present with any thyroid symptoms so we haven't tested her. I am a SAHM now and not working anymore
, so both samples were sent to lab [which is pretty much the standard in the practices in southern Westchester, (or was at least when i was working) unless they need results immediately, then it's done in-house] for O&P and giardia antigen, both negative. I think she is really just lean and over-active and i am being neurotic! On a side note: So awesome to have another Tech here! I expect everyone will learn a wealth of information from you!!
And you as well. So much has changed and improved since I left the profession, however I still keep my license active with the required yearly CEU's, which include wet labs as well.She is almost 7 months, been in two heats two months apart - both heats her urination increased but abated inbetween. She doesn't present with any thyroid symptoms so we haven't tested her. I am a SAHM now and not working anymore
On a side note: So awesome to have another Tech here! I expect everyone will learn a wealth of information from you!!
It's amazing the advances made in technology both in human and animal medicine.
I remember when parvovirus first showed its ugly head in 1979. We were actually experimenting with feline vaccines to try and keep it from affecting the puppies and older dogs. We had a few donor dogs at the clinic and it seemed the breed that reacted the most to transfusions were the put bulls and bull dog breeds. We didn't have antigen tests for HW. I always did a direct test. HW prevention was given on a daily basis and there were no flea prevention developed yet that had continued protection. Guess I am a dinosaur. Lol
I remember when parvovirus first showed its ugly head in 1979. We were actually experimenting with feline vaccines to try and keep it from affecting the puppies and older dogs. We had a few donor dogs at the clinic and it seemed the breed that reacted the most to transfusions were the put bulls and bull dog breeds. We didn't have antigen tests for HW. I always did a direct test. HW prevention was given on a daily basis and there were no flea prevention developed yet that had continued protection. Guess I am a dinosaur. Lol
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