# 2 1/2 yr old Pyr - unable to put weight on



## farmmom (Jan 4, 2009)

I have a 2 1/2 yr old male Pyr. He was castrated at 12 weeks at the same time he had a larger hernia repaired. He eats good, is dewormed regularly (at the same time as the goats), but is thin as a rail. The last fecal I had done for him was negative. I have also treated him for Tapeworms as I occasionally find a rat or opossum that he has killed and eaten part of. I can't afford to have a lot of blood work done at this time, so I'm asking for help here. He is active, but I have him on food that is supposed to be for active dogs. I would love to feed him raw all the time, but can't afford that either at this time.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

He was neutered too young, but that should make him tall and lanky not really skinny. You might just have to offer him more food more often. And I would worm him monthly to kill off parasites and prevent heartworms.
I have never had a pyr puppy that wouldn't eat all you could feed him, and then ask for more. It takes them a year or more to get filled up, and they grow when they eat. If you have a blood sugar checking machine (glucometer) or know someone who has one you might want to prick his ear and see if the level is high. DM causes low weight, but it isn't a common disease in GP.


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## farmmom (Jan 4, 2009)

He does get monthly heartworm prevention1(Ivermectin), but I also use other wormers (Panacur and Drontal) to make sure I've got everything. I had the neuter done at that age because he was already going to be under anesthesia, and I had always been advised to castrate dogs before they began lifting legs to urinate. He is my first ever LGD, so I'm still learning a lot. He is very tall and lanky, but he is also too thin. He's getting fed twice daily about a scoop and a half each feeding (these are big scoops like you feed horses with).

For a long time, I had trouble with him allowing the goats to steal his food. I had to separate him for feeding. Now he will defend it and is fed in the goat pen the same time the goats are fed.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

If he is on monthly ivermectin, then it definitely isn't worms especially since you give him the extra prazi for tapes every now and then. You might check his blood sugar levels if you have access to a machine. The easiest place to get blood is the ear. There is also the possibility that he might have a cancer somewhere, but at such a young age that would be even more rare than DM. And the early alter wouldn't cause him to be underweight just tall and lanky.
I hope you find an answer soon. Good luck.


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## westbrook (May 10, 2002)

things to try...

when feeding wet his food... goats hate wet food! if you have goat milk replacer or goat milk... pour over his food. The goat milk (or replacer) over the food will give added calories and lots of vit. and min. he could use.

as to raw feeding, raise rabbits, a few extra chickens, butcher a buck/wether. I often buy those chicken quarters from wal-mart, the bag is 10 pounds for $5.97 a bag. The quarters roughly weigh 3/4 of a pound each. Meaning you are getting about 10 leg quarters to a bag. I bring them home and rebag them and freeze. I give each dog 2 quarters along with their regular dry food.

I too would also feed him a measured amount.... start with 6 cups of dry dog food and 4 cups of water, adding a half cup of goat milk replacer or, 4 cups of goats milk. Mix in a large can of dog food. If he eats it all, good. if he doesn't then next time use 5 cups of dry dog food and so on until he eats it all. if he eats his 6 cups of dog food.. try 7 cups the next time.

You can also put him back on puppy food for large breeds. It has all that a puppy needs. I usually keep my dogs on puppy food for 18 months to 2 years. 

He may need to eat 2 times a day. It will be a trial and error until you find the right amount to feed him, but for now... over feed him and what he doesn't eat at this feeding add to the next.

how is his bowel movement? any diarrhea? or normal stool. Do you take his temperature? I would take his temp. at least once a day and at the same time each day. And I would probably do it for a 7-10 days to get a feel for his normal temperature. (I use a digital thermometer that takes the temp in 5 seconds. You can also get plastic covers to slip over the thermometer to protect it from stool) Be sure to hang onto the thermometer. 

If you have done fecals and worming and no worms, normal temperature (do an average - add each day together then divide by the number of days - that gives you an average) <--added in case others reading needed a reminder on how to average.

Dogs stool is normal, eyes are bright, dog is energetic with in the norm for the dogs breed. The dog gets up and is attentive. The dog is getting more then enough to eat and goats aren't stealing it or the dog is actually eating all his food and not leaving it most of it - meaning he isn't that hungry when he clearly needs to be eating more.

Often these dogs are very active at night and need more calories... not meaning it is good for a dog to be fat either!

The last resort would be to have a thyroid test done, but if your vet doesn't think that is the problem.. though I would mention it.. cost is about $80 (at my vet).

Try to feed him more meals and as I mentioned earlier, goats hate wet food! dogs love the added milk.

and sometimes you just have a skinny dog! fixing a male at 3 months... his hormones don't get a chance to develop so his head may not look as masculine, he may not develop a deeper bark, he may not get the muscling a male would get and would be more lanky. But no harm done as I know breeders that have them fixed at 8 weeks before selling them.

keep us posted on how he is doing.


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## BarbadosSheep (Jun 27, 2011)

I have never tried these, but people swear by them for conditioning a dog or putting on weight. 

http://www.holisticdog.org/Nutrition/Satinballs/satinballs.html


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## farmergirl (Aug 2, 2005)

What kind of kibble are you feeding? If it's mostly filler he not getting the protein and nutrition he needs. For us, feeding raw is actually a bit CHEAPER than feeding high quality kibble. Our growing male Pyr, who is 10 months old and just over 100 pounds, eats about 1.5 pounds of raw chicken daily, plus whatever extra scraps we have from the kitchen. This morning he had a snack of leftover baked beans, somedays it's a few hard boiled eggs with the shell on, or a heel of homemade bread. 

Pyrs eat ALOT! More than any other breed of dog we've ever had.

Another thought, we do give ours a scoop of yogurt once in awhile to help with gut flora. That might help your guy. Good luck!


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## BoldViolet (Feb 5, 2009)

BarbadosSheep said:


> I have never tried these, but people swear by them for conditioning a dog or putting on weight.
> 
> http://www.holisticdog.org/Nutrition/Satinballs/satinballs.html


These are great!

I also wonder what brand of food you are currently feeding him.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

westbrook said:


> and sometimes you just have a skinny dog! fixing a male at 3 months... his hormones don't get a chance to develop so his head may not look as masculine, he may not develop a deeper bark, he may not get the muscling a male would get and would be more lanky. But no harm done as I know breeders that have them fixed at 8 weeks before selling them.
> 
> keep us posted on how he is doing.


They are taller, weigh less because they have less muscle, but aren't skinny if they are altered too early. The real risk is the osteo risks. Maybe he just needs more food or has an underlying medical issue like DM, thyroid, or worse although those would be unusual.


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## bluetick (May 11, 2002)

Another possibility is exocrine pancreatic insufficiency or EPI. Two of the symptoms are cow plop poops and skinnyness (is that a word?!). I have a German shepherd with it - diagnosed at about a year old. The testing was not cheap. She is on meds for the rest of her life.

A dog with EPI cannot digest food properly and needs a feed that has low fat and low fiber.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

If he's *acting normal*, I wouldn't worry about his weight too much.

He's stilll young and has plenty of time to get fat and lazy


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## farmmom (Jan 4, 2009)

Bearfootfarm said:


> If he's *acting normal*, I wouldn't worry about his weight too much.
> 
> He's stilll young and has plenty of time to get fat and lazy


He's acting perfectly normal. Very active, barking at intruders, etc.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I honestly don't remember which food I bought this time as I've been trying various ones to try to put weight on him. I didn't keep the bag although I know it was white with black and green lettering. I keep all my feeds in large plastic barrels to keep the pests out.

I'll try mixing in the pig milk replacer I have and see if that helps. I'll look into all the other suggestions as well.


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## BarbadosSheep (Jun 27, 2011)

You probably have a Tractor Supply store nearby. Get a bag of 4-Health food and try him on that for a while. Many of the feeds that claim they are for active dogs really aren't. They can say that because they are loaded with carbs in the form of corn which a dog can't digest anyway. 4-Health is a very good quality food with no wheat or corn and it's not expensive.


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## farmmom (Jan 4, 2009)

BarbadosSheep said:


> You probably have a Tractor Supply store nearby. Get a bag of 4-Health food and try him on that for a while. Many of the feeds that claim they are for active dogs really aren't. They can say that because they are loaded with carbs in the form of corn which a dog can't digest anyway. 4-Health is a very good quality food with no wheat or corn and it's not expensive.


I'll try that. They just opened a new TSC about 8 miles away.


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## HappyFarmer (Jun 17, 2006)

My intact male is 5, and has always been on the skinny side. The girls on the other hand put weight on quickly. I think it's just his metabolism added to the fact he runs a tight ship! 
As long as they are healthy with good coat & eyes, and he's on preventatives, I think it's just him.

HF


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## BarbadosSheep (Jun 27, 2011)

farmmom said:


> I'll try that. They just opened a new TSC about 8 miles away.


great! My dogs have done great on it. I don't know where in SC you are, but if you are near a Costco (I am not), check out Kirkland's food. It's another premium food for a reasonable price. 4-Health and Kirklands are manufactured for TSC and Costco by Diamond.


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## longshadowfarms (Nov 27, 2002)

I had a terrible time keeping weight on my last Pyr. He was a picky eater, VERY tall and could always feel every rib. He was eating 8-10 cups a day of good quality food and he still didn't seem to really like anything I tried (Evo Innova, raw feeding, satin balls over dry food). I FINALLY ended up with Taste of the Wild which "clicked" for him. He finally started putting on weight, eating a bit less (6 c/day) and was overall feeling much better. Then again, he also had completely matured by then (4 yrs-ish) which may have helped too. I'd keep trying different brands until you find something that he really likes, keeping in mind that they take a while to mature.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

My border collie was thin as a rail as a young dog. He ate plenty, and if I tried to feed him more, like three meals instead of two, he'd leave the third meal alone. I feed raw, so it wasn't the flavor. I finally _made _him stop. I had him lie down in the shade for a specified time then released him. These forced rests allowed him to put on the weight he needed. Is your dog more active than the others?


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## TedH71 (Jan 19, 2003)

Why get him neutered if he's an outside dog? Only aspect I would worry about is him escaping to find females in heat. I would have let him be maybe 1 or 2 before neutering. That's what I tend to do.


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## rainy5 (Oct 28, 2011)

I have a six month old black lab and he is all muscle. I feed him holistic wellness puppy. 50.00 a bag. I will switch him after a year to mix something a little cheaper. I want him to have what he needs to grow. He also gets vitamin c and fish oil and pet multitabs daily. He is solid muscle. The breeder we purchased him from has been doing this 30 years her show dogs have alot of awards.We purchased him for hunting and for family. I have read you should wait to have dogs neutered it better for them. If I can figure out how to post a picture on this site with my apple I will. you could try a scoop of yougert with some 1/4 teaspoon food grade diatamicous earth. IF he has any worms parasites you will see them after giving him that in his poop. If you see them give him that for 10 days. Then give him yougert in the hoilstic food.


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