Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi,
Quick background...I adopted my 52 pound black lab 10 days ago. She is a tripawd and we took her to the vet for some shots right away--she didn't have rabies shot. They also gave her a 6 month wormer--she had already been wormed but it was to cover. They said she needed to gain about 8 pounds.
For the first week, she was ravenous and would wolf down her food within seconds. She ate a huge rawhide bone and had some other dog treats would give her. The rawhides seemed to give her crazy moosh poop so we tested and stopped, it would firm up a bit and then we'd give her something else and it'd go back to moosh. She pooped at least 2x per day. We were feeding her Iams puppy food (what the vet said) 2 cups in a.m. and 2 cups in p.m.
Also she has always peed numerous times every time we take her out. She is perfectly potty trained and has had no accidents. She drinks a lot of water--we probably fill her water bowl 2-3 times a day.
Yesterday she started leaving her food and only pooped once. She ate this morning although didn't ravenously eat it. Tonight we fed her and she hasn't touched it. She pooped just a little bit earlier today. (we did give her a small soft serve ice cream about an hour before we gave her dog food).
People have commented that she looks like she has put on a little weight and looks better. She has a weird little bit whiteness around her anus.
Anyway, I'm concerned that she's not wanting to eat like a 2 year old lab and not pooping as much, although I feel like last weeks poop was abnormal (a lot and moosh)...do you think I should be concerned? She is happy and not lethargic.
Anytime there is a change in eating or bathroom habits I would call the vet and at least ask.
My lab is 4 years old and 75lbs. He eats 2 cups of dry food (adult sensitive stomach) a day. I wonder if the 4 cups a day they told you to feed yours was intended to bring her weight up? Or maybe you're supposed to feed more of the "puppy" labeled food? I really don't know, but 4 cups sounds like a huge amount to me. Just a thought.
My pup also had a very, very sensitive stomach when we first adopted him. He was 6 months old and underweight (25 lbs, could see his hip bones clearly). He had mooshy poop (to put it lightly) a lot depending on what he was fed. We ended up having to put him on a sensitive stomach diet, he can't have table scraps at all, and only certain treats. He also has problems if he eats rawhides. For treats we don't give him a lot and it's mostly things similar to milk bones. He also gets greenies or dentastix frequently.
So if it were me, I wouldn't be worried but I would still call the vet ASAP just in case. I would rather call and be told it's OK than not call and find out there's something wrong.
Let us know what you find out!
I should also add that if there are ANY other changes in her behavior, it is cause for concern. Like if she's less happy (less tail wagging), less social, less energetic, throwing up etc. Then I would actually be worried. I say this having just gone through a very bad incident with my lab eating something he shouldn't have...but he quickly went from eating normal to eating nothing and throwing up, so it was pretty obvious something was wrong.
Thank you so much. After I wrote the post, I got to thinking about it and realized that he also ate an all beef hot dog last night night and we were at the campfire so she ate graham crackers too...Maybe she's just saving herself for the goodstuff and legitimately isn't hungry. Our old lab used to self feed and never got above 55 pounds (she was the runt) so feeding a certain amount daily is weird to me.
I'll definitely keep you posted.
Thanks!
Sarah
Hey Sarah,
There's often a big change in digestion issues when you bring a new dog into the pack, we went through that with Wyatt Ray . He was also undernourished and a total digestive mess for about 6 months.
Is she urinating?
I would take notes about how often and when she poops, and let your vet know what's going on. If she acts odd at all, like lethargic, drooly, unbalanced, take her in asap.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
If everything else is normal, inconsistently mooshy poop is a classic sign of overfeeding. If some of it is formed and some is soft or runny, her system isn't able to properly digest the quantity of food she is eating and it is pushing it out to make room for more. You can probably cut her food back, 4 cups a day sounds about twice what she would need for a dog her age and size based on Iams feeding guidelines. If you want to continue feeding her that quantity, split it up into three or four meals throughout the day instead of just two. Her system will be able to manage smaller quantities more frequently than two huge meals. You might also want to look at going to a higher quality, grain free food like Evo, Orijen, or Earthborn - they are more calorie dense than a lot of foods and because they are grain free , the nutrition is usually a little more accessible for dogs systems so you feed less, they poop less, and get easier to digest nutrition.
Keep a close eye on her though, like Rene said, and call your vet right away if things seem like they are getting any worse.
One last side note, feeding guidelines on dog food are almost always too high for house pets - even ones that are pretty active. If she is spayed, that will cut her metabolism by up to 25% but feeding guidelines are based on unaltered dogs. Underestimate and increase if necessary.
Allison
What was she eating before you got her? Did they tell yo? Sometimes, just changing their food can mess up digestion for a bit. I have a Border Collie mix that is allergic to wheat, corn and poultry. He gets red, itchy and his stomach gets upset. We feed grain free ( he can have rice) and poultry free. Just some thoughts. I was told to take away wheat first, then corn and finally we even took away chicken. Hope she feels better soon. Lori and Ty
TY GUY, Best Black Lab ever! Diagnosed and had amp in January, 2014. Kicked MRSA's butt. Earned his angel wings on April 16, 2014. Run Free my boy and don't forget a shoe. Ty is a proud member of the " April Angels". Ty sent us Daryl, a Tripawd rescue in Sept. of 2016. Daryl is 5 +or -. We are also Pawrents to Chandler, a Border Collie mix who is 15 and 1/2, Lucy, a Corgi who is 7, 2 minis, 2 horses, and a feisty cat named Zoe. Zoe had a non skeletal Osteosarcoma removed in July 2015. No Chemo, she was at least 16. She is going strong although she is now completely blind. She is now close to 20 and her hobbies are eating and sleeping in front of her personal heater.
I think they were feeding her whatever they had in the shelter. It was the vet that said 4 cups a day just to get her weight up. I think everyone is right though, I think I'll bring her food down to 3 cups a day. Also, I agree on the grain free food and as soon as Nia has eaten up this 50 pound bag of iams, I will switch her food to something healthier.
Thanks all!
Sarah
I agree it could be a combo of too much quantity and too rich a food (puppy food is higher in fat). I understand that she needed to gain weight but she would probably benefit more from a high protein food such as EVO so she can build more muscle. My 65 pound Pitbull runs with me and is super active but she only needs to eat 1 cup of EVO twice daily. You can also feed traditional dog food but add bland things such as boiled or baked chicken breast or cottage cheese to increase calories and protein without causing digestive upset.
Pam
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