Emaciated looking bulldog and underweight
Submitted by minnie1970 on October 29, 2011 - 2:13pmI have a question about my bulldog and am experiencing some of the same issues others have. My bulldog, Bubba, is on a Dehydrated Lamb Raw Diet. We have had him since early July and he had a significant yeast problem on his feet, ears and chin. We took Bubba to the vet and she prescribed Baytril to get rid of the yeast and he is soooo much better, however, Bubba has lost weight, 3 pounds since we took him to the vet 2 weeks ago. His food intake has not decreased, at all. Our other bulldog, Angus, we also rescued and had him for 4 years, passed away in June of cancer of the liver. We were devistated and he showed no signs until it was to late, the vet said there was no guarantee they could save him, so we had to make the toughest decision to have him put down. Angus was our LOVE and BABY and will never be forgotten. Needless to say, we want to help our new rescue, Bubba and are confused as to what to do...Bubba looks fabulous except he appears emaciated and acts hungry non-stop. Can anyone help? Thank you kindly.
Update: We have moved him back to Raw Food (Darwins) and he still seems very thin...only weighs about 45 pounds. Is there something we are missing? We have had his stool checked for worms (nothing) and he has gotten rid of the yeast (and know that this is a long process, but currently his paws look better than when we got him), but we are at a loss and very discouraged. Can anyone give me some suggestions or help? Thank you so much:)
Thank you
Steph
Breed Standard
The breed standard for bulldogs is around 40 pounds for a female and 50 pounds for the male yet nearly all the bulldogs I have met here in San Francisco-Oakland are typically larger and most look overweight to me. A bulldog should not be round in the hindquarters and most I see are.
My male bulldog is 14 months and around 41 pounds and I don't think he'll get much more than 50 maximum in another year or so yet people who don't know the breed sometimes ask me if he's a French Bulldog sometimes because he's not as big as other bulldogs.
As my vet would say, if the dog seems happy, is eating and drinking and no other signs of distress then don't worry about it. Keeping the weight down also helps with the respiratory issues.
Andrew Arnold
Thank you...
Our other English Bulldog, Angus was overweight-65 pounds when we got him and we worked hard to get his weight down, so looking at Bubba with his spine showing and his ribs almost seems odd. He loves the raw food and does eat, drink, go to the bathroom just fine. We don't want to seem paranoid and the vet said he is about 5 to 10 pounds under weight. We have doubled his raw food intake to about 2.5 pounds a day.
Thank you for your time...it helps to know that we may be overthinking it.
Thank you
Steph
no problem
You aren't necessarily supposed to see ribs but yes, keep it in perspective! Good luck.
Andrew Arnold
I agree - Rocco is only 52.6 lbs. I think he's small -
nm
Bubba
Has Bubba had a full blood panel done, thinking maybe a thyroid imbalance?
You shouldn't be able to see his ribs or spine, but feel them with slight pressure. I think most people, Vets included tend to think Bulldogs are overweight, even when they are at aperfect weight.
Blood Panel
Bubba had a Blood Panel done about a month ago when we were checking into his yeast problem. We specifically had his thyroid checked for possible Systematic Yeast. It came back normal. It is very different seeing his spine (according to his last home, his spine has always protruded) and ribs. We have asked the vet and she said increase his food and we have done that. Any other suggestions would be wonderful...thanks:)
Thank you
Steph
How much raw are you feeding
him?
The weight all depends on the dog and his substance (bone mass). The standard is an ideal of weight, but I can tell you there are very few males in the ring winning that are 50 lbs. You can't feed a dog by the number on paper...you have to feed by the dog itself.
If you can visually see his rib and spine then he is indeed too thin.
I have found that it is more difficult to get weight on a dog with a raw diet because there is no filler like in kibble. So I have had to feed more raw then the % they say of raw to ideal weight.
I fed Natures Variety prepackaged raw for about 2 years and the only way I could get/keep weight on (without costing me a small fortune) was to add kibble and as soon as I did that then the lbs went on. I now feed raw (BARF) not prepackaged and I do feed more then they advise which is about 2% of ideal body weight. I find I have to feed closer to 3% to keep weight on.
So if he is hungry and skinny then feed him more and if you are able feed him 3 x a day instead of twice.
Feeding
We have increased Bubba to about 1.5 pounds a day, and have wanted to incorporate kibble, but due to his yeast issue the vet has asked us not to change anything with his diet. The previous owner of Bubba told us that everytime she tried dry foods (Good Brands) his yeast would be out of control. I want to do what is best for Bubba but am unsure what to do...I hate seeing him look starved (if you will). He is a happy boy and has no medical issues that we are aware of. We have been to the vet numerous times with Bubba and had numerous checks. I don't want to be paranoid, but we love him greatly! If you have any other suggestions, we would be grateful. Thank you for your time and response.
Thank you
Steph
Doesn't seem like enough
Ester gets about 2 lbs a day, she is 50 lbs. MacKenzie gets about the same and he just weighed 54 lbs and Kohl gets about 2.75 lbs a day and he is a good sized boy with lots of substance and about 60-65 lbs.
RE: Doesn't seem like enough
I know, it seems like a very small amount.
We have made Bubba a vet appointment with a vet that has extensive experience with English Bulldogs. I am afraid to wait any longer...I don't know if I can go through what we had to do with our last English Bulldog, Angus. I hope that maybe the new vet will be able to give us some answers. Bubba loves his current vet, as we do also, but we aren't getting any answers and I can't wait. I need to know! I will keep you posted on the outcome, meanwhile I read your post and am very sorry to hear about Mackenzie. I will keep you all in my prayers. Best Wishes...hope to hear good news from you soon.
Thank you
Steph
a few ideas
endocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) http://www.asgvets.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=183&...
Pancreatitis
Some type of stomach or intestinal parasite (Giardia)?
What exactly is in the raw you are feeding?
I have a tiny girl, she is only 38 pounds. She eats about 13 oz of food a day. It's only meat and organs and a bit of bone. No veggies or grains at all.
She looks really thin if you look at her from the top, but from the side it's different.
from the side she looks very different. She actually doesn't look this small, for whatever reason she always looks thinner in pictures.
you can feel her ribcage, but not the individual ribs. you can not feel her hip bones.
Cathy and Audrey
RE: What exactly is in the raw you are feeding?
Hi and thank you for the pictures.
Bubba is thinner looking...you can see his ribs and his spine protrudes, you can count his vertebraes. I have made a vet appointment for this week. Bubba will be seeing a vet with an extensive background in English Bulldogs. I don't think I can continue with his current vet, even though we love her and so does Bubba.
We order Bubba's food from Darwin's Raw food...it does have veggies but NO grains. He really loves it, but I am getting extremely concerned that there may be a underlying health issue that has been overlooked. Oh no! I don't want to have to go through this again so soon.
Thank you
Steph
maybe you should feed meat only
until you know for sure why he is so skinny. And by that I mean animal only, organ and bone included. It sounds liek it's the one thing that hasn't been tried yet.
Also, I read somewhere but can NOT remember where, that fecal parasites tests are only minimally accurate. It may have been the Wolf Creek Ranch site where I get my diatomaceous earth, which is what I am going to suggest. It is not a harsh chemical wormer and there are no dangers or side effects. If he does have intestinal parasites the tests are just missing, it will get rid of them gently. If he doesn't, no harm done.
I wonder if there is enough fat in the pre-made. My suggestion would be to feed meat like beef or pork or lamb with organds he's used to and no veggies for a while. For bone, if he's not used to crunching up his own smash it up good! (Poor Mackenzie-how scary)
Cathy and Audrey
UPDATE: EMACIATED Bulldog
We lost Bubba today...he had a Cardiac Aneurysm and died in the Veternarian lobby. Bubba had just seen the vet due to his weight and the vet decided to incorporate some hypoallergenic food. Bubba was fine, acting normal and came back in from going potty, started acting like he was struggling to breathe (HE HAD NEVER ACTED LIKE THIS BEFORE), dropped to the ground and started urinating. I looked at the technicians and said "please go get Dr. Anderson"...we saw Bubba take his last breath and let out a cry sound...the vet took him back and a few minutes later came to tell us he was gone. Three and a half months ago on June 14 we lost our Angus and now this...its HORRIBLE! Thank you to ALL of you who provided me feedback. We sincerely appreciate your suggestions.
Thank you
Steph