Unexplained weight loss in labrador - advice please!

S

Sandstone1

Well-Known Member
Joined
16 July 2010
Messages
8,234
Visit site
I hope you manage to get him sorted out. I would think it may be a food allergy which would explain his ear problems but it would be best to have some tests done so you know what you are dealing with. Good luck. I hope it turns out to be something not too serious.
 
skinnydipper

skinnydipper

Well-Known Member
Joined
11 February 2018
Messages
7,217
Visit site
B

Boulty

Well-Known Member
Joined
14 April 2011
Messages
2,336
Visit site
Would ask for a 2nd opinion either from a different vet at this practice or at a different practice entirely if you feel your concerns aren't being fully addressed.

Request swabs for culture are taken from both ears, don't take no for an answer as if this isn't sorted he's storing up serious problems for the future that could require operations on his ears & may also cost him his hearing. If he's not too sore this should be able to be done in the appointment with him awake. Once you've got an answer & treatment (& it could take MONTHS and several different treatments to sort) would also be tempted to change his regular ear cleaner as it doesn't sound like it's working for him (not all cleaners suit all ears... The really oily, thick ones made my cats gunky ears caused by ear mites as a kitten worse but a thinner, less gunky one (I think in his case it was easotic) cleared them up within a few weeks to the point I've not regularly cleaned them for years. (The same cleaner then gave the dog an allergic reaction when I tried it on his mild amount of wax although it may have been slightly OOD... I just leave well alone with him now!)

As for the weight loss at your second opinion would reccomend asking if they think an ultrasound scan & faecal testing would be worthwhile & get them to review the bloods as different eyes can sometimes see different information in the same results (values can be in the "normal" range but still indicate something suspicious sometimes)

If they really & honestly can find nothing wrong then I'd trial changing his food. Would maybe move to a totally different protein that is novel to him eg fish, lamb, venison in case the ear issue is being affected by diet. (Tbh whilst I'd probably avoid wheat with the skin issue being totally grain free doesn't seem to have helped this so maybe wouldn't be too fussed about being fully grain free if it limits your food options, especially as he seemed to hold his weight better on a diet that did contain grain)

If it wasn't for the ear issue (& I'm assuming you're wanting to see if changes of diet help with that as well) part of me would even be tempted to stick him back on the old diet at a similar amount to what you used to feed him for a month & see if he gains weight with the theory being that if he does then he's not getting on with current diet & if he doesn't it's more likely there's something going on with him.

Another very random thought is that Royal Canin are known to be a bit generous with their reccomended feeding amounts / for a body condition a bit on the chunky side. Might be interesting to see how many calories he was getting on their food before Vs what he's getting calorie wise now as an out of interest exercise.
 
Clodagh

Clodagh

Well-Known Member
Joined
17 August 2005
Messages
26,866
Location
Devon
Visit site
I have a skinny dog and if I feed him more than the recommended amount he just poos it out in great sloppy mounds. He actually does better on smaller amounts. I feed him three times a day and gets fed the recommended daily amount for a dog of 30kg, as ideally he should probably be more than that.
He still looks like a xylophone but at least his hips and spine are hidden.
But he is kennelled and works very hard. I don’t think a healthy dog should lose weight on any food really, without there being a problem.
My skinny min is on food that is 4000kcal/kg.
 
skinnydipper

skinnydipper

Well-Known Member
Joined
11 February 2018
Messages
7,217
Visit site
neighneigh said:
It’s about my lab, who has seemingly unexplained weight loss.

He is booked back in for a weight check and review at the vets next week but the vet dealing with him is very young/newly qualified and I’m wondering if any of you experienced dog owners might have any ideas for me!


The other thing is that he’s always struggled with his ears. They need cleaning every day but there’s still lots of brown greasy wax there and he shakes his head quite often.
We’ve asked the vets around 12 times (literally every visit, since he was a puppy) about his ears. They’ve always fobbed us off, saying it’s just a Labrador thing, until one vet finally said that his ears probably shouldn’t be like they are (if you rub the base of his ears, they are squelchy).
Click to expand...


How is your dog, OP? Did you find the cause of his problems? Is he now thriving?
 
Clodagh

Clodagh

Well-Known Member
Joined
17 August 2005
Messages
26,866
Location
Devon
Visit site
skinnydipper said:
I hope Scout is okay, C and his skinniness is due to nothing more than being a busy boy.
Click to expand...
Got the all clear, she said he was a 3/9 so a bit lighter than ideal but not critical. He’s had a bit of blood in his poo but it seems that he’s eaten something like wood that is hurting his bottom. May he learn from the experience!
 
some show

some show

Well-Known Member
Joined
5 September 2018
Messages
429
Visit site
skinnydipper said:
As others have said, I would think his ear problem likely due to food intolerance though not sure allergies/intolerance would cause weight loss.

Next thought was could weight loss be due to malabsorption which led me to think of EPI.
Click to expand...

I missed this thread the first time around but my greyhound has EPI, so it was my first thought reading through - and then saw skinnydipper suggesting it too. Any news, neighneigh?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top