Pepper 🌶️

[MichiH]

Weighed Pepper myself today and she’s lost 4 pounds. The vet had her at 68. something. About a month ago. Kind of worried me.

Then if I think about it she had all those issues, went on that crap low cal food, and now she’s been back to normal for a few weeks. Her cals on new kibble/meat are much lower than when she was on PPP.

I am going to up her kibble and see how she does.

What do you all think?

 

[JanS]

I am going to up her kibble and see how she does.

What do you all think?

It can't hurt to up it a bit and that's what we did with Olive too after she lost a bit. She looks fine to me though in photos and most of our females have been around 60 - 65# at maturity. Olive isn't there yet but she is on the lower end of the standard for a female too.

 

[MichiH]

It can't hurt to up it a bit and that's what we did with Olive too after she lost a bit. She looks fine to me though in photos and most of our females have been around 60 - 65# at maturity. Olive isn't there yet but she is on the lower end of the standard for a female too.

Ok thank you @JanS

She gets 3 cups a day and then her toppers of meat. She was getting probably too much cals on PPP as she was up to 6 cups

Makes me feel better that other female Dobermans are in the same weight bracket.

 

[Katyusharocket]

I am going to up her kibble and see how she does.

What do you all think?

I think you're barking up the right tree. It's what I would do in what I know of your situation and her recent history

 

[MichiH]

It appears Pepper reacts to boiled chicken breast with gi upset. Although, her kibbles main ingredient is chicken meal. I read many dogs can handle chicken meal, but often not chicken itself. Interesting. So far boiled 93/7 ground turkey and 90/10 ground beef she does very well with.
Of course started some chicken Sunday and I went into a panic because she had loose stools, thankfully she’s fine now. I just have a fear of the runs returning

 

[Ravenbird]

Once you start noticing exact "coincidences" you will fill in all the pieces of the puzzle and have this thing solved. As always, keeping my fingers crossed for you!

 

[Katyusharocket]

It appears Pepper reacts to boiled chicken breast with gi upset. Although, her kibbles main ingredient is chicken meal. I read many dogs can handle chicken meal, but often not chicken itself. Interesting. So far boiled 93/7 ground turkey and 90/10 ground beef she does very well with.
Of course started some chicken Sunday and I went into a panic because she had loose stools, thankfully she’s fine now. I just have a fear of the runs returning

Pretty soon you'll have a routine that will 100% work for her. That's huge, knowing that boiled chicken is a no-go for her. And knowing that beef and turkey are good.

You brought up Lamb and copper content a while back, I was puzzled because from a feed standpoint, copper kills lambs. Checked into that and Lamb meat is indeed 0.2 mg per serving compared to beef at 0.1. Next time we run into one of the large animal vets, I'll ask why. I'm speculating that since thier liver can't process it and thier kidneys can't get rid of it, it builds up in muscle. I wanna know what's up because mine are currently eating lamb&rice kibble and is that too much copper in the long term.

 

[MichiH]

Once you start noticing exact "coincidences" you will fill in all the pieces of the puzzle and have this thing solved. As always, keeping my fingers crossed for you!

You are so right, thank you for this! Appreciate the support too

 

[MichiH]

Pretty soon you'll have a routine that will 100% work for her. That's huge, knowing that boiled chicken is a no-go for her. And knowing that beef and turkey are good.

You brought up Lamb and copper content a while back, I was puzzled because from a feed standpoint, copper kills lambs. Checked into that and Lamb meat is indeed 0.2 mg per serving compared to beef at 0.1. Next time we run into one of the large animal vets, I'll ask why. I'm speculating that since thier liver can't process it and thier kidneys can't get rid of it, it builds up in muscle. I wanna know what's up because mine are currently eating lamb&rice kibble and is that too much copper in the long term.

Thank you for the support! Yes, I sure hope so, I just have such a fear of diarrhea resurfacing. Hopefully, it doesn’t unless it’s a one off thing no big deal.

Let me know it is rather, what you find about lamb. I am tempted to get some ground lamb and give it a try for a treat. They do sell a lot of kibble that uses lamb so I would think it’s safe to use long term. Your crew seems to do well with kibble changes so always an option to mix it up.

 

[Katyusharocket]

I am tempted to get some ground lamb and give it a try for a treat.

I would think it would be fine on a treat basis, like a tablespoon a couple times a day is what I'm thinking when I say that. I don't get ultra hung up on treat quality, as long as they like it, and it agrees with them I will usually use it. They often get standard Milk Bones because they're easy to find in town and they each only eat 2 a day. Now their main kibble and raw topper and Greek yogurt topper, I tend to put lots of care into those choices..

 

[JanS]

Although, her kibbles main ingredient is chicken meal. I read many dogs can handle chicken meal, but often not chicken itself.

I've heard that somewhere too but now I can't remember the reason.

 

[remy]

Makes me feel better that other female Dobermans are in the same weight bracket.

Pepper is definitely normal/healthy weight for a female Doberman! Of course if she gets too thin than you can up her calories, but I wouldn’t be worried at all if her weight stays in the 60’s.

When I first started showing I was kind of surprised at how small some of the female Dobes were. Occasionally I’ll see some that are larger and more “doggy” looking, but it’s more common, at least in my area, to see smaller to mid-sized females. At my first show I would have swore 2 of them were puppies or at least not fully mature yet. I looked them up in the catalog just to find out that they were actually 3 and 4 years old lol.

 

[JanS]

I was kind of surprised at how small some of the female Dobes were.

There is a huge difference compared to males. A lot of people comment on how massive Elroy is when they see him next to Olive but he's within the breed standard for a male.

 

[MichiH]

There is a huge difference compared to males. A lot of people comment on how massive Elroy is when they see him next to Olive but he's within the breed standard for a male.

At a soccer game last fall, Pepper and I were hanging were hanging with a soccer parent and their male Doberman. We had them together a few times prior, but they were really having fun this time. Anyway, a passerby asked what kind of dog is that? Regarding the male lol

We both responded and said they’re both Dobermans lol male and female.

He is well over 100 pds and next to Pepper a big difference.

And thank you @remy you are right she’s where she should be.

 

[MichiH]

This is how she sits at the vets office lol
Here for shots and her check up. We are at a new vet, one I went to as a kid with my dad and my first Doberman. No idea why I didn’t think of this sooner. It’s a bit of a drive, but so worth it. They specializes in Dobermans too!

They want to do a Von Willebrand blood swab before her spay. She’ll be spayed in April.

 

[JanS]

They want to do a Von Willebrand blood swab before her spay.

You can do that yourself through Embark and it probably costs less.

 

[MichiH]

You can do that yourself through Embark and it probably costs less.

Ok good to know! Thank you.

It’s to check how much she’ll bleed? I didn’t know this was a thing.

 

[JanS]

It’s to check how much she’ll bleed? I didn’t know this was a thing.

Yes, she will either be clear, carrier or affected. Clear or carrier is just fine and even affected can be okay if they aren't clinically affected.

Embark Dog DNA Test

What breed is your dog? Learn their breed mix and screen for health risks with an Embark Dog DNA Test. Knowledge is key to giving your dog a happy, healthy life.

shop.embarkvet.com

 

[MichiH]

Yes, she will either be clear, carrier or affected. Clear or carrier is just fine and even affected can be okay if they aren't clinically affected.

Embark Dog DNA Test

What breed is your dog? Learn their breed mix and screen for health risks with an Embark Dog DNA Test. Knowledge is key to giving your dog a happy, healthy life.

shop.embarkvet.com

Ok thank you Jan!

 

[JanS]

I was looking back and it looks like you already had her tested and she's just a carrier.

Post in thread 'Transitioning to kibble'

Dec 18, 2023

Here's a better explanation of it from Embark.

Von Willebrand Disease Type I, Type I vWD (VWF)
Melrae's Jet-Setter inherited one copy of the variant we tested
What does this result mean?
This result should not impact Elroy’s health but it could have consequences for siblings or other related dogs if they inherited twocopies of the variant. We recommend discussing this result with their owners or breeders if you are in contact.
Impact on Breeding
Your dog carries this variant and will pass it on to ~50% of his offspring.
What is Von Willebrand Disease Type I, Type I vWD?
Von Willebrand...

• JanS

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