Back home... finally 2300 $ short : (

[scrain2329]

aaaw thank you so much!
Its so easy to find info on over-weight dogs but so hard to find how to get them to gain it.

[Giselle]

Oh my goodness, I'm very sorry you had to go through all that! So what I'm guessing is that the vets couldn't give you a clear answer as to why she deteriorated like that, so I'm not saying that Satin Balls will necessarily help her gain weight because there very likely is an underlying issue. However, if you want to give it a try, here's the recipe: http://www.njboxers.com/satin-balls-recipe.htm

If you're uncomfortable feeding raw, lightly boil or sauté them. I'm glad she's getting better, though! The body is an amazing thing.

Also, what were/are you feeding her then and now?

[K9karen]

Kaysha is gorgeous! I'm so sorry she got so inexplicably ill. I was beside myself just reading about it!

Can't help with gaining weight. In my household, the humans and furry one fight to stay level and I don't think we even eat that much. It's too hot to run around, for sure.

Fingers crossed that your sweet pumpkin stays well and gains her weight. Please kiss and skritch those fuzzy ears for me!

[scrain2329]

SATIN BALLS! oh my goodness! our previous shorthair maddie, she had some real issues.. She ate so much food but couldn't keep on weight. She would eat and eat and eat and gain nothing, just lose it. UNTIL we fed her that. It worked wonders for her, only difference was no egg shells and we cooked it into a patty and crumbled it into the dry puppy food. She had something wrong with her, we spayed her so more calories and nutrients would go to her body rather than her uterus and also on a medication to slow acid production and the increase insulin and bam. worked. I was thinking that to be the next step for Kaysha but want to make sure again she is stable. I have fed her raw food before and she didn't react to it as well. She gave me the look like.. is this a joke mom its cold. haha. so warm and cooked will be the way to go. We will see and will for sure update everybody but we still have to talk to the specialist and see what is wrong maybe underlying so this doesn't happen again. Thank you for the recipe, my mom and i were recently trying to remember it!

oh , feeding now, natural choice dry food(the puppy small bites) and the awful food ceasers to get her started. Her weight that she does hold and put on when healthy is from the dry food. She just eats the ceasers to get her started and add flavor pretty much. She knows when she needs the nutrients and not. shes so so smart. Some days she pushes ceasers and its all dry some days its both. or i think shes way smarter than she is haha. I just wish she was before she got sick! uugh!

[CathyBogart]

My sister in law's dog came down with HGE as a puppy and it sounds very similar to your experience. We thought he had parvo at first, and the whole week was horrifying, made better only by the caring, professional vet taking care of him.

I don't have any more advice for you, but I'm really glad things are looking up and I hope little Kaysha is feeling 100% very soon.

[scrain2329]

we definitely haven't ruled out HGE. We are going to continue the tests for it as if it was suspected. Even if she does have it a sense of relieve will be with us knowing what it is, what to expect, look for, and treat. How old was the puppy? How is he/she now? Wondering is the worst part.

[Seravieve]

Wow.. That's one expensive trip... =) Good to hear she's doing better!

I'd recommend a better Kibble. I had weight issues when we fed Nutro Natural Choice. Bunny lost a lot of weight. And Eli didnt continue to gain weight as he should have at his puppy stage then... We switched to Nature's Recipe, which is about the same price as Natural Choice at Petsmart. Its better food, at least it seemed to end the weight issues here. Could get a better wet food too.. we use Ultra (Nutro product...) for Zeke... working on slowing him down while he eats. Its one of the only wet foods Petsmart had that didnt contain by products.. was the cheapest one always. Cant afford the Blue Buffalo that I'd love to feed my three.. shoot. We fed Eli cottage cheese with his kibble for a couple months too.. when he was 7-9 months or so. Helped add some weight.

Satin balls should help too tho. Good Luck!

[CathyBogart]

we definitely haven't ruled out HGE. We are going to continue the tests for it as if it was suspected. Even if she does have it a sense of relieve will be with us knowing what it is, what to expect, look for, and treat. How old was the puppy? How is he/she now? Wondering is the worst part.

Kumo is fine now, he was lethargic for a few days after being sick and then bounced back OK, but he's a much bigger dog. He was (if I recall correctly) between 6 and 8 months old. I'll see my SIL later tonight and ask her.

[king2005]

I don't know anything about the illness, but ask about allergies. I doubt it, but it wouldn't hurt to ask. Dogs react in different way to allergies, just like people do.

I do have tips for the eating issue. Digi was the same way. Wouldn't eat much & she was super skinny. I tried different methods over several months trying to find something that agreed with her, & I finally found it.

She wants her food left out 24/7 & will gobble down fish kibble. THis is the food I feed her
http://kingrattus.net/gallery/v/Pets...y+Smancy+Food/

This is a Canadian Only brand I think, but there are similar brands out there.

If you want to test to see if she LOVES fish, buy some fish, (tuna, salmon, Haddock, ect), make sure its cooked with no spices (if canned, no oil), & offer it to her warm, room temp, or cold. Digi doesn't care about the temp, she just wants her smelly fish kibble or some canned fish.

But I still need to leave it out 24/7, or she'll go days without eating anything or very little.