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Old September 15th, 2009, 08:37 PM
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coppperbelle coppperbelle is offline
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Missing something in his diet?

Three weeks ago my daughter adopted an approximate 1 1/2 year old Golden from the SPCA. Cooper was neutered before they allowed him to leave for his new home and my daughter was told to expect him to get kennel cough.
Cooper was and is still very thin. He is eating well and drinking well but there are some issues which make me think he is lacking something.
He roams the house at night. At first I thought it was because he was in a new place and not sure of his surroundings but after three weeks this shouldn't be happening anymore. He gets into the garbage pail and seems to be looking for food during the night. He is eating his own poop also.
He did develop kennel cough and still has the occasional discharge from his nose. My daughter had him vet checked and a stool sample was done. They found something (my daughter doesn't remember what it was) and he was prescribed medication which he finished on Sunday. A stool sample done today came clear although something about finding mushrooms in his poop was mentioned. They asked my daughter if he ate dirt which he does. When he gets outside he grabs at the grass and earth and eats it.
It appears to me as if he has been deprived of food and never knew when his next meal would be so he devours anything and everything just in case.
After three weeks of getting regular meals I would think that he would let up a bit but he still roams all night, eats dirt and poop and inhales his food. He doesn't appear to be gaining any weight either. He is eating a good food Fromms 4 star Chicken which is what their other dog eats and they can afford.
Aside from the runny noise he has always had loose stools.

I think he may be missing an important nutrient in his diet but I don't know what it coudl be. Should my daughter be feeding him a beef based food?

Aside from these problems Cooper is doing very well. The poor guy was abandoned in a gas station bathroom.

Any ideas?
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Old September 15th, 2009, 08:54 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by coppperbelle View Post
Aside from these problems Cooper is doing very well. The poor guy was abandoned in a gas station bathroom.
a gas station bathroom ?

The only advice I have is to put a Kong in his dish. If he vacuums his food , and eats his poop , it may be because he eats so fast , kibble is still in his stool.

Also if your daughter is able to feed him 3 times a day instead of twice a day.

About eating soil .... I read something about something missing in their diet when they do that but can't remember what exactly
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Old September 15th, 2009, 09:11 PM
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I wonder if some enzymes or some probiotic might help him extract more nutrients out of his food?
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Old September 16th, 2009, 11:49 AM
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Goldens are notorious for food scrounging but it does sound like your guy does need something extra. I have my male Golden (who is a food scrounger) on Nupro Plus supplement - it is kelp-based and contains lactobacillus acidophilus. In addition to that supplement, he also gets a live algae supplement (from Simplexity Health). He is somewhat better about scrounging when we are outdoors.

Good luck!
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Old September 16th, 2009, 12:01 PM
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Sounds like he could benefit from increasing his meals from 2-3 for sure. My Rottie will also eat anything which is not tied down, so she has to be crated at night. If he is getting into everything, I am sure crate training will help. Keeping him in a crate at night will give him a secure space to feel at home- ease the transistion. He may just be wandering because he is stressed and feeling lost
My DDB was also abandoned and he feels much better in his crate at night.
Have you thought about switching the lab over to a RAW diet? The reason I ask is because it is only protein and may make him feel full for longer.
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Old September 16th, 2009, 12:05 PM
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I'm guessing it's more behavioural than nutritional...when Jaida came to us she attacked any and all food with a vengeance (probably because she had to fight off 10 siblings ) Gracie, too, was crazy over all food and a terrible resource-guarder (we don't know her whole history). They both settled down once they realized that food was a regular comfort in their new home but it took a month or so. He might also just be a poor "keeper", in terms of keeping the weight on. Jaida's a good eater now, but I have to feed her crazy amounts of food or else she turns into a skeleton very quickly.
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Old September 16th, 2009, 12:35 PM
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Poor Cooper, but to your daughter for taking him on. I like the idea of feeding hoover dogs from a cookie sheet so they have to pick the pieces up one by one and slow down a bit. My Lab eats very fast and has always been prone to soft stools due to food and seasonal type allergies, but lately I have been adding cooked chicken liver to her diet (as I have been supplementing the older girl who has a low Iron count). The plus side of the liver is it has significantly firmed up the stool on Halo. That's a bonus and the chicken liver is very inexpensive. Sorry I don't have any specific advice to offer for Cooper. I agree he should settle soon at night, but if not perhaps he should be crated or at least sleep in their room with the door closed so he doesn't have so much room to get antsy in. Good luck to them all.
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Old September 16th, 2009, 07:35 PM
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They have tried different things for the sleeping or non-sleeping issue. I suggested blocking him in their room and they are supposed to try that. They tried crating and he just flops around all night. They spoke to the vet again tonight and he suggested either probiotics or switching his food at least temporarily to one of those Medi-Cal foods. He suggested that the food they were food was too high in acidity.

I think they are going to try the probiotics first. Thank you everyone for your suggestions. One of them will eventually help solve the problem I hope.
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Old September 16th, 2009, 08:37 PM
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good luck
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