Increase in weight

[jlaack]

Magnus is 4 and he has put on some weight over the last few months. I first noticed in February and then he was on the scale at the vets office in March. He had gained 8 pounds since his last visit late 2007. I know it doesn't seem like a lot but all of the added weight is right in front of his back legs. We did a full blood panel, CBC and everything was normal. Since March he has put on another 5 pounds. I had our vet test his thyroid and that came back normal. I am at a complete loss as to why he is putting on the weight. His food is measured and his exercise has stayed constant. Actually his physical activity has increased slightly over the last 2 months. I have cut his food intake twice (since March), yet his weight still increased. Aside from his food he gets a raw meaty bone for 45 minutes 1-2 times per week and very small handful of treats throughout the day (no change since he was an 8 mo). I am convinced there has to be a medical reason for this... Any suggestions?

[AngelBunny]

Is there anyone in your house who's feeding Magnus unbeknownst to you??

[jlaack]

No, I live with my husband, but I feed the dogs. He does give Magnus a few treats each day but I am aware of that in relationship to his total food intake. Other than that we have another dog Harley but they each have their own bowl and do not free feed. Both are voracious eaters and Harley also receives medication with his meal so I supervise their eating.

[Zumie05]

Maybe it is just like with people, the older a dog gets the metabolism slows down. A slight increase in exercise and slight reduction of food may do the trick if it turns out it really isn't anything medical.

[Terri Lambert]

If your vet has not tested him for cushings you may want to ask to have that done, as weight gain in the belly is the most apparent thing with that disease.

[jlaack]

If your vet has not tested him for cushings you may want to ask to have that done, as weight gain in the belly is the most apparent thing with that disease.

Thanks, no we haven't tested for this, but I will be sure to do so. The weight gain is clearly in front of his back legs... He has a harness with two straps, one at the girth and one at the shoulders. I haven't adjusted the one at the shoulders, but at the girth it is barely fitting. Our vet isn't overly concerned since many of her clients with large breed dogs are obese. But I cannot see his last rib and since the weight has increased not decreased even with a cut in food and increase in exercise I am concerned.

[jlaack]

I did a little research on Cushing's Disease and I don't think any symptom fits other than the weight. His blood work included tests that would have indicated Cushings including the white blood cell count, liver markers and glucose, all of which were very normal. He also doesn't eat or urinate excessively, pant excessively, have skin problems, isn't weak and is an energizer bunny (not lethargic). I will mention it to my vet since every case is different, but since only one symptom fits, I'm doubtful this is cause.

[Weily4Life]

Were his thyroid levels checked...could it by hypothyroidism?

[jlaack]

Yes, we recently tested the Thyroid and it came back normal. I don't routinely test the thyroid but since his weight had increased and continued to do so, that was my first step.

[observer]

Did you have the full thyroid panel done? I know in Missy's case, the initial test came back normal, but when nothing else worked, I asked that we do the full panel, and the other three tests of the four test panel were all abnormal. She's been on thyroid meds ever since.

[jlaack]

I saw your message and when I spoke to the vet tech she looked at his chart and said they performed the full panel: T4, TSH and TGAA and all was normal. Our vet isn't sure of any other medical causes as this is his only issues. I guess I will try to cut his food again. I already feel like his intake is small considering his level of exercise and energy, but perhaps his metabolisim is slowing...

[observer]

Even with the thyroid getting adjusted, I was having a hard time getting Missy's weight down to where I wanted it to be given her hip arthritis issues. We'd used different premium foods over the last few years. It's just hard to give a dog her age a lot of exercise, and she was only eating a cup twice a day.

I switched to one of the no grain dog foods (Innova Reduced Fat) and boy, is that working. I think I can actually start feeding her just a little more, as she doesn't need to lose more weight, I don't think. Maybe something to consider.

[jlaack]

Thanks Observer. He eats Nature's Variety Kibble for breakfast and then a raw home prepared diet for dinner. He's never had a problem with weight before, but maybe we should reevaluate his diet. He's eating 3 cups of a food a day right now, but we also run 6 miles a day, plus one walk and some ball time (this is a minimum daily exercise) so I'm a little nervous about reducing further...

Right now he eats the Nature's Variety Chicken Prairie Chicken Meal and Brown Rice Meal. They also make a grain free kibble, Raw Instinct. Do you think I should try switching to the grainless? For dinner he eats raw meat (usually quail, but occassionaly elk, bison, chicken, turkey) rotated veggies (zuchini, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, bok choy, carrots) cottage cheese, a hard boiled egg and either brown rice or quinoa and cod liver oil. I really don't want to cut out any of the ingredients of dinner (except maybe the grains which account for 1/8-1/4 c.) for fear of making his dinner unbalanced. Do you think I should have our holistic vet reevaluate his diet?

Obviously something has changed, but aside from the extra pounds he is a fine example of a healthy dog. But I'd rather he didn't have the extra pounds and am nervous about the upward trend continuing. Thanks again for any thoughts you have.

[observer]

I'm no expert on this, trust me! I'm just sharing what I decided to try, because I wanted to lighten my girl up a little. She does seem to do better on the no grain food, but that's just one dog who pretty much is confined to eating a processed diet.

It seems like your guy gets good exercise, I don't know what his daily calorie intake amounts to. He gets 3 cups of kibble in the am, and the other "custom" meal for dinner? If there's nothing medical going on, it wouldn't hurt to get any input the holistic vet has. Maybe some others with more experience will chime in here.

[jlaack]

I'm no expert on this, trust me! I'm just sharing what I decided to try, because I wanted to lighten my girl up a little. She does seem to do better on the no grain food, but that's just one dog who pretty much is confined to eating a processed diet.

It seems like your guy gets good exercise, I don't know what his daily calorie intake amounts to. He gets 3 cups of kibble in the am, and the other "custom" meal for dinner? If there's nothing medical going on, it wouldn't hurt to get any input the holistic vet has. Maybe some others with more experience will chime in here.

I am open to any suggestions here!! Actually 3 cups of food is his daily intake 1 1/2 c per meal. It is easy enough for me to completely eliminate the grains and I'm not worried about doing so since we view them as a filler anyhow. I'll try to get him in with the holistic vet too. Since he is slightly bigger than his ideal weight I know our regular vet isn't too concerned. I'd rather do something now than wait till he's really overweight. Before he was lean, now he could lose a good 6-7 pounds.

His dry food cal. intake is 391/cup so breakfast = 586 calories.

Dinner (from what I can find about his food, is approximately 695 calories on the high end):

cottage cheese: 30
brown rice:100
broccoli (feed most often): 20-45 (for 1 med. stalk!)
meat: 250-400 (depending on type)
egg: 75
cod liver oil: 45

I can easily modify his dinner caloric intake but discontinuing the rice, switching to a lower calorie veggie (like zuchini or kale vs. grated broccoli stalks which he eats often and has 3 times the calories) and decreasing his consumption of elk (much higher calories than quail). I think I might try this before decreasing the total amount. Observer, any thoughts on changing what he is eating for dinner rather than a reduction?