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Good morning, Pyr friends!
Five weeks ago I brought in an older (probably over 7 y/o) neutered,male
Pyr that was left in the night drop of a local shelter and then turned over to
ACC to be destroyed.
I am a placement partner with ACC, so they called me and I picked him up as
soon as they were able to release him to me (after five days).
(you all may remember that at that time I requested members of the list if
anyone knew of anyone that was missing a Pyr in south Florida - with no
response)
Anyway, Baloo is here to stay, apparently and seems unable to gain any
weight.
He is heartworm negative and I am keeping him on preventative, he was
also wormed with ivermectin at the time he was brought to ACC and then I wormed
him with Nemex two weeks later...
He only weighs about 80 pounds and since he is as tall as one of my other
rescues, Sophie who is 116, I figure he should be at least 120 to 130. His
bones are very prominent in both the hip area and the shoulder area, while his
coat is very full (he was very matted but we worked on that and he still has a
few on his neck - a more difficult area).
I am feeding him the fattening Parmesean biscuits that I got the recipe
from one of the Pyr pages (all my dogs gained 10 pounds the summer I started
baking them). I also have him on a premium food, Timberwolf Organics Black
Forest (which is Venison and Lamb based) and I also add Wysong's Venison Au Jus
(which is pure venison). He eats heartily without be obnoxious or
overprotective. His stools are fine and I constantly monitor him and know
he is not throwing up. I also feed him liver brownies treats which I bake
myself (I got him licking the batter off my hands last week for the first time,
while he still won't eat a biscuit in front of me). The brownies are made
from beef liver, eggs, carrots, green beans, elephant garlic, bulgur wheat,
oats, and corn meal.
I feed him several times a day (started with five as he was only able to
take in less than a cup at a time). He is not tremendously active and just
kind of lumbers around (although I have seen him gait in the last few weeks a
few times).
Does anyone have any ideas on why he would not be gaining weight? He
was seen by two vets, at both the shelter and ACC. I will bring him to my
vet this week - I have been trying to put some weight on him and work on his
coat before I brought him in. I am fearing he may have cancer because
of his lack of ability to gain weight. He seems comfortable and content
and I don't want to put him through a lot after all that has happened to him
(one can just imagine). It has taken a lot to earn his trust and is a constant
process.
Any ideas to help me would be appreciated (although I will still bring him
to vet, regardless). I guess I am just trying to settle my mind away from
it being cancer.
Regards,
Does
Lisa Oliver (Beardie), Derby (Aussie), Jelly (Tibetan Terrier), Taffy (Kuvasz) Sophie, Baloo, CeeCee, Tonka, Cubbie, & trixiesueFRANCES (Great Pyrenees) ALL RESCUED! Oliver's House, Incorporated - 561.379.8328 - oliverslb@aol.com "Dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and placement of dogs in Palm Beach County" |