Wah, the vet kept my Ozzy...Update Page 3

Ozzy has been loosing weight for a few months and nothing I do has helped. He's been de-wormed. He is fed a high fat, high protien diet. He eats more than Heyoka who weighs more than triple what Ozzy does. So off to the vet he went this morning.

There's nothing abnormal on his physical exam. The vet, Dr. Jessica(new to our clinic), did a very complete exam, much to Ozzy's dismay! No suspicious lumps she can feel from the outside, other than his ribs, spine and hip bones! Temp was normal and his, ummm, internal exam, apparently felt normal. His heartrate was way up, but he was pretty nervous in the clinic.

I was very impressed with his behavior at the clinic. Ozzy is a timid dog to start with and last time he was at the vet, Dr. Rick had to crawl under a chair to examine him. Ozzy let Jessica handle him. He was obviously stress, but not completely freaked out. He prefers women so that probably helped. She's very gentle and soft-spoken. She's covering for a friend/vet who's on maternity leave. I like her so far.

Ozzy is spending the day at the clinic for testing. They drew blood while I was there. Depending on the results he may need x-rays or an ultrasound. I decided to leaving him there would be less stressful than making another trip back if he does need something else. Get it all done in one trip. Ozzy is not going to be happy with me, but I need to figure out why he's a bone rack!

Please cross your paws for my little guy. I'm very worried that the parvo he beat as a wee puppy left behind some other damage.

Prayers that Ozzy will be ok. You may discover after a day with the new lady vet that he doesn't mind the vet so much. She sounds really nice.

HI God ~

Sorrie fur the short notice ... but we need sum help wiff wunna da Snow Dawgs -
Ozzy keeps loosin weight no matter how much grub he eats. :(

Kan You hop onna Silver Klowd an *zipp* down to da Yukon this afternoon?
Give Doc Jessica a lil help lookin stuff up inna Big Book - You can prolly find da answer.

Maybe take a treet along? Ozzy dint know he wuz stayin inna Klinik all day!
Anna big {{{God'sHug}}} fur Momma Tamara, if You will ... She's *wurried*!

We'll send a Follow-Up Prayer at BigBed Tyme.

THANKS, God!

/s/ the Prayer Pups

Smokey & I are praying for Ozzy!!

It always upsets me when I have to leave one of my cats at the vets overnight for anything at all.

There is such a huge void at home - with even one of them gone.

Prayers for Ozzy - that all is well - and you can start packing on the pounds once again!

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Originally Posted by gini

It always upsets me when I have to leave one of my cats at the vets overnight for anything at all.

There is such a huge void at home - with even one of them gone.

Prayers for Ozzy - that all is well - and you can start packing on the pounds once again!

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That is so true Gini. :( Even one makes a difference in the feel of the house.

Glacier, I hope they find the cause of the weight loss ASAP. I have heard
that dogs who do survive parvo have a weaker immune syetem. I hope
Ozzy gets to eating more & enjoying it.

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Originally Posted by lizbud

I hope
Ozzy gets to eating more & enjoying it.

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His appetite is not the problem. He eats like a little piggy and is always very excited about food! For some reason he doesn't seem to be absorbing the calories though. I'm feeding him the high test formula, not the off-season stuff the other dogs are eating. He should gain weight like crazy on that stuff when he's not working.

Thanks everyone. I'll update again once I hear from the vet.

Maybe he needs more carbs with the protein?

Prayers for Ozzy! {{hugs}}

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Originally Posted by Catty1

Maybe he needs more carbs with the protein?

Prayers for Ozzy! {{hugs}}

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Dogs can't absorb most carbs. They lack an enzyme that breaks down cell walls in most carb sources. They can produce their form of carbs from protien. But at this point, I'll feed him spaghetti if it help!


Update:

Apparently Ozzy's problem is me! The vet says he appears to be extremely healthy. All his blood tests are perfectly normal. His heart rate returned to normal once he had settled into his kennel. No masses or weird things on the x-rays.

Current theory is that he has some sort of freakishly fast metabolism and just needs more food! I had increased his food quite a bit already, but it's going up even more! He's going on their winter diet at almost double what Heyoka eats. Heyoka weighs close to triple what Ozzy does. I'm going to make him some Satin Balls too--mix of meat and fat that is apparently good for adding weight. My butcher buddy gave me some pure fat trimmings for Ozzy. Just have to be careful that I don't cause a new problem, like pancreatitis, by feeding him too much fat! Sheesh!

He has to go in weekly for the next month to get weighed. If he still doesn't gain weight, we'll have to do more tests--the really expensive ones that can't be done up here in the boonies! Hopefully, the problem is just a bad Mom and more tests won't be neccessary.

You're a GREAT mom - it's not your fault that you have the canine equivalent of a teenage boy with a hollow leg! :D

How old is he?

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Originally Posted by Catty1

How old is he?

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He just turned four a couple weeks ago. Been here since he was a yearling.

Like a teenager, he's going to eat you out of house and home!! I hope you can fatten him up. He could always visit my parents if you have trouble. They had the roundest husky/malamute ever! With his own piece of peanut butter toast every morning, plus something for lunch and dinner it wouldn't take long!!

Hey OZZY ~

You back HOME at the Husky Ranch yet???

Sure hope so - Mom prolly has sum GUD STUFF for you to *munch* on.
What'd your new GirlBuddie - da Pretty White Coat, have to say?

Y'all keep *munchin* now - gotta put sum meat under that fluff!
{{{Hugs}}} to You an Mom!!

/s/ Phred & the FurGang

Buy peanut butter in bulk! Here's to PB Toast for Ozzy! :D

Prayers for Ozzy whether it is just that you need more food or something else is going on.

Poor Ozzy! I hope you enjoy being totally spoiled!! (More than you were already, I mean!)

I hope eating a bit more wil fatten Ozzy up. You're not a bad mom. :)

Bad Mom...Whatever:p Your a GREAT Mom and all your dogs know it!

I hope the new diet can add some much needed pounds to your skinny boy.
How lucky is he getting all that yummy grub?! All the others are gonna be mighty jealous;)

Best of luck!

I almost laughed out loud when you said you were a bad mom. There is no way you could ever be a bad mom. Lucky Ozzy boy that he has a mom that cares enough to make him Satin balls. Yum. Ginger says sometimes she wishes she had a little more trouble putting on weight (so she could get more goodies ;) ).

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Originally Posted by Glacier

Update (from Yesterday :o ):

Apparently Ozzy's problem is me!
The vet says he appears to be extremely healthy.

Current theory is that he has some sort of freakishly fast metabolism and
just needs more food!
... He's going on their winter diet at almost double what Heyoka eats.

Hopefully, the problem is just a bad Mom and more tests won't be neccessary.

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:D
Sorry I *missed* this "He's HOME" Report yesterday :o

Glad the FurTeen is just *hungry* ... an easy fix!

Bad Mom?? :rolleyes: Like Sandy Pawz is the Christmas Grinch! (NOT)
I'll try to get Cinder to shed a few "extra pounds" and send 'em up to Ozzy.

Eat Up, Oz!!

Poor Ozzy! I'm glad it wasn't anything serious. Hope he likes the extra food and puts on some weight!

Well we found that Frosty Paws put the weight on Sequoia but that probably isn't a good option for Ozzy huh? :)

Denyce

whoops, somehow I missed this earlier. but I'm really happy that so far it's only a fast metabolism. :p Eat Ozzy, eat - have another helping! Hope the Satin balls will do the trick. Everyone else there will be howling with jealousy! ;)

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Originally Posted by Denyce

Frosty Paws put the weight on Sequoia,
but that probably isn't a good option for Ozzy huh? :)

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1 Frosty Paw for Ozzy ... :) (Mmmmm, GOOD!)

Then 23 MORE for the Gang, once the word gets out ...

:eek: Kinda an expensive way to bulk up one Pup!

:D

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Originally Posted by Denyce

Well we found that Frosty Paws put the weight on Sequoia but that probably isn't a good option for Ozzy huh? :)

Denyce

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It might be if I could get them up here! At least for a treat. I've never seen frosty paws around here.

This is Ozzy's new diet. Same brand as their usual food but even more fat and protien..Acana Extreme I was lucky to even get a bag. The feed store doesn't usually have any in the summer, since most sled dogs would get very fat eating this in the off season! I also bought him a bunch of chewies and all the stuff to make satin balls!

I have a dog with an insane metabolism too....let me know how those Satin Balls work for ya! I'm not too worried yet since my boy is still under 2 years...
Glad to hear Ozzy checked out okay! :) Dr. Jessica sounds like a good match for him...gentle vets can sometimes be hard to come by...

Oh Ozzy, if only I had your problem :) Come spend some time with Dasher and me. A lady saw him at the dog park and said "That dog looks underfed." She was being funny, of course. Dasher would be happy to share his home cooked food with you. Get well soon and eat!

Well, he's not a fan of the new food. Wouldn't touch it last night, but he did eat some this morning. Sundin really likes it though! Not that Sundin needs to gain any weight; he's about perfect where he is!

Ozzy is wolfing down the satin balls though!

Wow, 37% protein and 25% crude fat! I hope that he takes to liking the new food and starts to put some weight on. I've considered satin balls for Frankie and might give them a try. She eats 6-7 cups a day when she's hungry and loses weight where as Riley eats 2 cups of reduced cal and gains weight :rolleyes: .

Hopefully he won't have to go for the super expensive tests!

Tonight he loves his new food! He was just being a brat last night. They were all brats this afternoon!

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Originally Posted by Glacier

Tonight he loves his new food! He was just being a brat last night. They were all brats this afternoon!

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Aww mom, they are just keeping you on you toes. :) I'm glad Ozzy likes
the new grub. :) Just had a thought, do the pizza places deliver up there? My pups love that. :D

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Originally Posted by Glacier

It might be if I could get them up here! At least for a treat. I've never seen frosty paws around here.

This is Ozzy's new diet. Same brand as their usual food but even more fat and protien..Acana Extreme I was lucky to even get a bag. The feed store doesn't usually have any in the summer, since most sled dogs would get very fat eating this in the off season! I also bought him a bunch of chewies and all the stuff to make satin balls!

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The local Wiscoy has a homemade variety of them. I will look next time I am there for the recipe. Sequoia loves those which she gets at the Ice Cream socials in August and the ones in the grocery store frozen section. We have had to limit her to one a week to get some weight off her chubby butt. She got herself up to 63 pounds! She should be 50 cause she is large for a husky.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Denyce

The local Wiscoy has a homemade variety of them. I will look next time I am there for the recipe. Sequoia loves those which she gets at the Ice Cream socials in August and the ones in the grocery store frozen section. We have had to limit her to one a week to get some weight off her chubby butt. She got herself up to 63 pounds! She should be 50 cause she is large for a husky.

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That would be great. Thanks. Tell Sequoia to send her extra weight here! Ozzy will put it to good use!

Two week update:

Ozzy went in for his weekly weigh-in this morning, much to his dismay. I had to carry him into the clinic, but he dragged me right back out once he realized he didn't have to stay today!

In two weeks, Ozzy has gained 5.5 pounds! He looks much better, his spine doesn't stick out anymore! He's eating an unbelievable amount of food, but apparently that's what he needs. I'd like him to gain a couple more pounds and then I'll have to figure out what he needs to maintain his weight!

Great news!! :D

Yay Ozzy!

Good for you, Oz! :D Keep packing 'em on!

This is FANTASTIC news!

That's what I like to hear! :) 5.5 lbs in 2 weeks is great! :D

May we have a ten day report on weight gain, Ozzy?