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Nine month Cody still thin, not eating well!


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Hi, Cody is very healthy-looking (shiny, healthy coat, eyes, wet nose, etc.) but I noticed his paw pads look very dry, almost cracked looking. He does alot of walking on roads and pavement, so that could be the cause.

 

However, he is also quite thin - he's very lanky and about 38 lbs. but you can definitely feel ribs and hips. He isn't a great eater, never has been, and we only give him dry food (right now, Purina One for Sensitive Stomachs since he is prone to diarrhea). Sometimes he goes a day, day and a half without eating. He drinks a lot of water and is quite active (2 hours of walks, lots of playtime, fetch, mind exercise, etc.).

 

Our trainer at Petsmart who rescues BCs and is very knowledgeable about BCs suggested a vet visit for bacterial infection? Any one have any ideas about whether Cody's symptoms are that?

 

Thanks,

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Hello! My dog, at Cody's age, would also go up to a day or more without touching his food. He would take treats, but not his dry food! I used to stress out a lot, and even try to hand feed him (what a nightmare!). What worked for us was sprinkling shredded cheese on his food or other toppings, such as a spoon of canned food, some Iams Savory sauces. Even a couple of days ago I think he went almost 24 hour without touching his food, then he cleaned up his plate and asked for seconds. Yes, he is not food oriented, he would rather play than eat. Unless I have yummy treats, or even bread (!)

 

I'd say dry paws are from walking on the pavement. I was glad when Ouzo started to tough up his paws, so he wouldn't bleed from every little pebble he would touch.

 

38 lb is not very skinny. Mine was about 40 at Cody's age, he's now 45 or more at 16 months.

 

Edited to add: Mine is prone to stomach problems as well, so once I found a food that works for him, California Natural Lamb & Rice, I stuck with it, with great results.

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I have that problem too. When I got Black Jack he wasn't over 30 lbs. He has put on a little weight but still not enough yet. He really doesn't care about his food in the morning, and sometimes at night. Most of the time after a long day he'll eat good at night but not very often. I have to put little cut up pup peroni things on it to get him to eat. I don't think anythings wrong since he takes treats, still playing, and seems to feel fine. I am going to try a different food for active dogs and see if that will give him more energy. He still get really tired pretty fast.

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A vet check regading the reason for his sensative tummy is not a bad idea. However, his eating habits are really not that unusual. Some dogs eat every chance they get, some only eat when they're hungry. 14 yo Sara has always eaten only when hungry; some days she eats all of food and wants more, some days she eats only part of her food, and I don't worry unless she doesn't eat for 2 days. At 1, she was 24 lbs and at 3, she was 44 lbs. - which has been her top weight. My late Meg, however, never missed a meal and her failure to eat was the first sign she was ill. You just have to know what is normal for that particular dog.

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When Red Dog was that age, I free fed him as I was still feeding kibble back then. He would go lond periods without eating anything. People used to stop me on the street and tell me to "feed my dog" as he was very thin. That was just his way. He ate when he got hungry.

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If he seems "off" (i.e., the loose bowels), a once-over by your vet is a good idea, but if he looks healthy and is otherwise behaving normally, I wouldn't be too concerned. If you are able, I would try a little better grade of dog food (searches on dog food will net you about a million posts, but there is a lot of good information there). The yogurt is also a great suggestion, my own BC LOVES a little yogurt on her kibble and it's great for their intestinal tract.

 

I free-feed (no throwing of rotten tomatoes, please), and Allie generally eats her 2 - 2 1/2 cups of kibble a day with no problem. However, she sometimes go for a day or so without eating much at all. She's very healthy, so I don't worry about it too much. She is still a thin little thing, ribs visible, etc., but very active, glossy coat, bright eyes and I know she is healthy. (At around 1 yr. she only weighed 27 lbs. and even at a winter weight now, she is only around 31 pounds.) We are going to adopt a "brother" for Allie in the next few months and I will probably have to change my feeding technique when we get the second dog -- I've never had more than one dog at a time, but based on what I've heard the free-feeding might not work so well with more than one dog.

 

WyoBC - if BlackJack seems like he gets tired easily I would have him checked out by the vet. (Just to be on the safe side.) :rolleyes:

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We are going to adopt a "brother" for Allie in the next few months and I will probably have to change my feeding technique when we get the second dog -- I've never had more than one dog at a time, but based on what I've heard the free-feeding might not work so well with more than one dog.

 

Oh REAAAAALLY. What dog might that be, praytell :rolleyes:

 

RDM

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Cody's eating habits sound pretty normal, and if that were all, I would say don't worry - keep feeding as you have been. Since he has digestive issues, I would suggest changing him to raw. My last dog had chronic diarrhea problems that were resolved when I finally changed him to a raw diet. I bought the premade frozen diets for their convenience.

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Deb, I always free feed! When I got Jackson as a pup, he learned the food was always there so after a few days there were no probs. When I got Skip, he ate till he threw up! He did that twice, then realized the food was always there, no more probs. When I got the two foster girls, I was concerned cuz they were older and I had no idea what feeding arrangements they came from. Plus they were already over weight! But they too realized the food was just always there! They have even lost weight! And I have two bowls, each gets 4 scoops of dog food. That is for 5 dogs. 2 very active, 1 semi active, and 2 lazy ones! I only fill them once a day. Most times there is food left! They have just learned that if a dog is there eating they have to wait. There has never been a food fight!

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When Zoe was about that age she didn't eat on a regular basis either. Her weight was going up and down depending if she ate or didn't eat. I started putting a spoonful of all natural plain yogurt on her kibble in the morning and she has never missed a meal since.

 

Both of my girls are lean, Zoe at 26 months is 39 pounds and Ari at 16 months weighs 38 pounds. I can feel ribs and hip bones easily but my vet says they are the perfect weight.

 

If you live in an area where salt is used on the roads that could be drying the pads out more than normal.

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Well, Mr. Snappy - I been looking around and kinda have my eye on a pretty keen looking red and white dog I saw.

 

Flwrpwr - Good point about the road salt! Also, that snow melter crap causes irritation on the dog's pads, too. I have to wipe Allie's paws down after every walk because of the stuff on the sidewalks and roads.

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Ohhh, update on my skinny boy. After bragging that he's 45 lb on his 1st birthday (Oct 21), I took him today at Petsmart and got him on the scale. My 16 months old boy is now down to 43.3 lb :rolleyes: Guess he's going backwards, but I don't have any trace of concern as he is full of energy, as always. He demonstrated it today at the dog park by getting all the other dogs tired within the 1 hour we spent there :D And everyone was impressed and commenting on how fast he was, as he was panting and moving in slow motion at the end of the hour :D .

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I would ask the vet to deworm him. Preferably with panacur or a similar product where you do one treatment now, and one in 3 weeks (to be sure you catch all worms at all life stages). I don't know if you've had a fecal check, but a "negative" result just means that there were no worms in that particular sample; you can ask your vet to give you dewormer even if he has a negative fecal test or no fecal test.

 

My dog was very skinny at 6 months of age and after deworming him, he gained 15 pounds in 6 weeks. He's still a sleek little thing, but no longer frighteningly so!

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Exactly. Same with Popcorn. Two vets out here in Spokane, W.A.

 

told me that out here, we only have round worms and tapes and not to worry about checking for whips and hooksworms, and one vet even just handed me a pill for roundworms.

 

But I had a gut feeling so I went with it. Besides, my pup is from Idaho.

 

 

Well it turns out he had both kinds of worms. I wormed him myself using Panucur, made by Safeguard. It's called Safeguard canine wormer.

 

More Info: http://www.safe-guard-for-dogs.com/dewormer.html

 

 

 

After the worming Poppy gained about 5 lbs!!

 

BTW- You can get it online or from many big pet wholesale stores. And it comes both in a paste and granules.

 

Good luck!

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Hey,

For what it's worth, I free-feed 4 and have never had any problems. Good kibble is free- fed ( I have had mainly 'afterthought' eaters).The REALLY good stuff,they get from me.

 

One thing to remember (after an all clear from the vet) is that UNLIKE MANY breeds Border Collies 'eat to live' not 'live to eat'.

Many are just too interested in life and it seems that eating can be an 'afterthought.' :rolleyes::D

 

Tara

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I have one dog that would eat until she exploded given free choice access to kibble. I have another that would do just fine, and three that are in the middle range. You can't generalize about the breed. Perhaps Border collies are less likely to overeat than other breeds, but some will.

 

FWIW, I have never seen a free-fed Border collie that wasn't overweight, at least by a little.

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Tempe turned 1 on Oct 26. When she was at the vets 3 weeks ago she weighed a whopping 30 lbs and stands close to 20" at the withers. She is very, very skinny but the vets say have no fear. She seems healthy in every way. I feed her 2 cups a day of Innova Evo. She eats like she has never been fed before. I refuse to feed any more than that because she is still growing and I don't want to take the chance of causing to fast of growth.

 

As long as a dog acts healthy and the vets say the dogs seems healthy then don't worry about how skinny your dog is. Ignore anyone who complains that he/she is too skinny. Most of the pet society have a warped since of what is healthy on a dog. I would prefer too skinny to being too fat.

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Maggie weighed in at just about 32lbs earlier this month. She's 7.5 years old and 19.5" at the withers and is at a great weight. I do tend to keep her on the light end of normal since she does so much jumping - I want her joints to be healthy for a long time, and extra weight is just a liability there.

 

She is a food hound though, so I feed her 2x a day - one cup each feeding.

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When I free fed Missy, she would eat every day or day and a half and only as much as she needed. The cat was more interested in her food than she was. Her weight stayed right around 38#, ideal for her. She is 22" tall, and looks quite scrawny when wet.

 

30# Kipp is a food hound and would probably weigh as much as Miss if free fed.

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My bad... should not have generalized re:ALL BCs...and 'eating to live' but all the ones I've had during the past 20 yrs have been that way and I keep my dogs at a VERY LEAN working weight...actually they keep themselves that way,

Well that's my bunch anyway....

 

Tara

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lucy lou too is an eat to live dog

 

i asked the vet about her being so skinny and he just said that's the breed of dog she is" so i no longer worry.

 

she plays outside for a while and then comes in and grabs a bite, then right bacxk out

 

i have 2 dogs and free feed dog food and have never had a problem

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