Dudley is losing weight... fast.

[zakatak]

Hi Guys,

Recap: Dudley had his TPLO last September and did great. The vet at Cornell wanted him a bit thinner so we decreased his food to 3 cups a day (1.5 cups in morning / 1.5 cups at night). He did well on this (he also gets some healthy snacks like veggies and raw chicken here and there).

He was very slowly losing the weight (144 at surgery) - just a few pounds or so however early summer I noticed he was a bit Spiney so I stopped at the vet before the groomer to check his weight. He was down to 128. Ok... a bit down but still OK said the vet.

Today (3 months later), I stopped again on the way to the groomer and he's down another 9 pounds to 119.2! :darn: This time the vet wants him to come back today for a physical and blood work.

The only other thing we've noticed with him in the last 3-4 months is excessive gas. Dudley really never had gas = until the last few months and it's crazy bad.

So I am worried now... He acts perfect regardless. Doesn't act overly hungry - eats well, drinks ok, active, sweet as always.

Ideas? Experiences?

 

[lmfoltyn]

No experience other than I would increase the amount of food...my newfies never seem to be overly hungry but will eat anything given to them...Jake still gets about 4 to 5 cups per day...he is at 145, but is really tall...no fat on the boy...keep us posted...hopefully he just needs more calories and all is well...

 

[Brandie&Maggie]

If you decreased food and he was losing weight, you would need to increase it just a bit to maintain the current weight. So perhaps he just needs more calories. I don't remember how old he is. If he's more active now that he's recovered from the TPLO, he'd need more calories as well.

Hopefully that's all it is. If you need to put on weight fast, look at the pinned "Satin Balls" recipe.

It's also possible that he's developing an intolerance to his food or something with all the gas?