# Newly Adopted GS... very skinny, won't eat!! HELP ASAP



## DanielleV (Oct 1, 2012)

As you can probably tell from the title I'm freaking out a bit.

I recently acquired a German Shepard. When we picked him up he was very thin. you can see his bones through his skin. Its heartbreaking. I can send pictures if needed but I'd prefer not to in case any sickos try to look it up.

The few hours he was with me he had diarrhea three times. 

At night I gave him a little pepto (thats what the vet recommended I give my old dog) 

This morning he wouldn't eat! (I'll get to that in a minute) 

He went out shortly after breakfast and had a soft but solid dark brown poopy. Then this afternoon he had another extremely soft poop. It started dark brown and turned almost an orange-yellow. (this just happened)

Back to the food:
He won't eat!! 
For breakfast I tried giving him the food his owner sent me, but he didn't want anything to do with it. I had purchased replacement food (what I consider higher quality- it has more natural ingredients. I'm not getting into the brands unless you think it could be significant)
and i put some in my hand and he ate that. So I mixed some in with his old food (Especially since he already had diarrhea I didn't want to upset his stomach further by switching foods to fast.) He ate a little and then stopped. I proceeded to add some peanut butter to the food and he ate about half of if but then stopped again, so I waited a bit and when he wouldn't return I put the food away.

The total amount he ate was about 1 cups worth.

I tried introducing it again at lunch and he ate a couple bites and walked away. I will try again in a couple hours for dinner.


My dog is a 4 year old German Shepard Mix*. He has a slight flea issue and is on treatment for that (he has a flee collar and I applied ultra guard last night just before bed). 
*That is the information his previous owner told me, I'm waiting to visit the vet to help verify.


(PS I do have a visit to the vet scheduled, but it is not until tomorrow evening. That's the first available appointment.)


Please if you can give me advice for the next 24 hours that would be awesome! If you have any questions, please ask! I will answer then to the best of my abilities!


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

I would not worry about him not eating more than 1 cup. He's not going to wither away in a few hrs 

What brands are you giving him? Old brand? New brand?

He is probably not used to having a "lot" of food given to him at once, or his stomach shrunk? Was he neglected?

Don't give Peanut butter - I personally do not like Pepto Bismol either for a dog since it can cause their stomach to bleed. 

I would let his system clear and just feed smaller amounts of a good food until he is settled in.

Tonight you could try some white rice, cooked, with some boiled chicken, maybe mix that into the new food.

When we get in foster dogs (we have a rescue) we don't have the benefit of giving them some of the old mixed in their new (better, usually) food, and the tend to do just fine.


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## DanielleV (Oct 1, 2012)

The only reason I gave him peanut butter is to get him to eat some of the food I mixed about half a teaspoon in with his food to try to get him to eat it. I don't like to do it, but I'm just really concerned about him not eating.

His old brand is Ol' Roy complete nutrition, the new brand is Rachel Ray's just 6 dog food.

I don't think he was neglected, or not intentionally. His previous owners seemed to care a lot about him, and their other dog (I took one and my parents took the other) seems just fine. Nice plump and outwardly healthy. I think they may have just been feeding them the same quantities without considering the weight (the other one is a Jack Russel, they had the JR the longest)

I'll definitely make some white rice and chicken (I have tons of both at my house) tonight for dinner. 

I know he won't wither away I just want to make sure he doesn't get *worse*!


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Well, I hate to tell you but RR's dog food isn't much better.

Do you have a Costco nearby, or a feed store?
What state are you in?

If he ate 1 cup, that will most likely be fine until he can be seen tomorrow.
He doesn't sound like he's miserable, maybe just not real hungry right now, and has an irritated GI tract.

I'd skip both dog foods for tonight and try the bland rice/chicken mixture, offer him the RR food or mix both together again, for b-fast. 

BTW adult dogs do not need to eat lunch. 
Once this dog has been dewormed and/or declared healthy by a vet, two meals a day should be fine.

PS. I just looked up RR's food, and yes, it does appear the "Just 6" is much better as it has no wheat, soy, or by-products
http://nutrish.rachaelray.com/products/just6/just-6-lamb-and-rice-dog-food

http://nutrish.rachaelray.com/products/just6/just-6-lamb-dog-treats
Looking again, I do see it has a lot of grain vs. meat so I'd still opt at some point to change to something with more meat in it


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## PatchonGSD (Jun 27, 2012)

> I would not worry about him not eating more than 1 cup. He's not going to wither away in a few hrs


THIS plus his stomach is probably pretty small and cant hold much at one time.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Are you able to post a photo? The poster here, Patchon, had a starved dog when it arrived, it was skin and bones. He's gained nicely over this past month she's had him.

Nobody will think you did it yourself, trust me!

Also what some folks would consider "starved" or "skin and bones" sometimes isn't as bad as all that. I've had a few comments my own dogs who are very fit are "skinny" because you can see the last rib, and if they move a certain way, sometimes their hip bones a little, but they are all very toned, and lean/athletically built.

It's just that people are used to seeing fat dogs


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

so you have an emaciated dog with diarrhea and the other dog seemed just fine healthwise? I would be headed for the vet. First, fecal for parasites. Second, check for EPI. He may not be eating because his stomach doesn't feel well. I would get some slippery elm over pepto. Seems I read not to give that to a dog somewhere but can't remember for sure.


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## DanielleV (Oct 1, 2012)

Okay I'm skipping the pepto for tonight. I gave him some of the RR and rice (about three small spoons of rice per cup. He ate two servings. I stopped there because I didnt want to over feed, but he was back to diarrhea. But at least he ate!! 

He does seem otherwise happy and healthy. We exercised outside for a total of an hour today (in about 20 minute intervals). He's not aggressive or anything, mildly possessive but only of his toys. 

I think I uploaded a picture of his ribs. (not sure if it worked)

He currently weighs about 55lbs and is approximately 5'/5'4 standing.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

If you start feeding him too much too soon he_ will_ get diarrhea.
Remember, diarrhea in and of itself is not an illness. It's a symptom of an underlying illness, rather like a fever is a symptom of the flu. 

Glad you stopped pepto. It's not good for dogs at all. 

I'd need to see his whole body to accurately judge but just looking at that one pic, I've definitely seen worse in the way of ribs showing.
How tall is he from the floor to the top of his shoulders?

Also the way they act is more indicative of how they are actually doing than looking at them, although with GSDs they can have underlying illnesses that need to be addressed.
If he can get up and romp around and play/exercise, then he's not doing too badly


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## DanielleV (Oct 1, 2012)

He's probably just under3 feet floor to shoulder... He's my sons height (39inches) from floor to top of the head...

This is a horrible angle but you can kinda see where the ribs are in the back... It really does just look worse in person (yes i'm also paranoid)


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Oh that's really not that bad...but 39" is huge. Maybe you measured wrong?
GSDs males are usually 24" - 26" on up to 28" but even 30" is very large for a Shepherd.

I was thinking this thin...!









As a rescue we see a lot, and Autumn was wandering with her two puppies who were fat and sassy, she had obviously given her all to feed them.
Her eyes were sunken in so badly her lids turned in 









But within 12 days she was like this - 









And at 20 days - 









A lot of the problem you see with emaciated dogs is actually dehydration. Lack of body fat/subcutaneous tissue is that they have no tissue with which to hold in fluids so they are continually dehydrated. Autumn had next to no subcutanous tissue - her body had eaten all her fat stores and was working on the muscle (which is why her eyes were sunken in). 
From the looks of it, your boy doesn't have much body fat but hasn't lost a lot of muscle yet, so he ought to rebound quickly, with no more than about 2x what he ought to be eating.

Within a week - 10 days you'll see a big difference.

So like, if he should be eating 4 cups a day, try 6 cups a day split into two servings.
Although it's tempting to shove all the food you can down them, and I KNOW that feeling, try to just feed slow and steady for slow and steady weight gain.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

He doesn't look that bad. He has been on a junky food for a long time and it shows.
If he is in the clear for parasites and the vet says he is otherwise healthy, there are several things you can do.
Canned pumpkin works very well to firm up poops. Pure pumpkin, not the pie filling kind. One or two tablespoons with his food. 
Slippery elm and marshmallow root are great for soothing an irritated digestive tract.

Now makes a powder you can get at Amazon. Easier than emptying capsules. 
One heaping teaspoon added to a cup of boiling water. I also add a teaspoon of marshmallow root powder, but the elm only is fine, too. Stir, let cool, refrigerate, and put a couple of teaspoons of that at every meal, as well.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

He doesn't look that bad to me either. I'd do what Sunflower stated above. You could add some digestive enzymes if his stool doesn't firm up.


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## SueDoNimm (Jul 3, 2012)

He doesn't look too bad. Maybe 8-10 pounds underweight. My dog was about 20 pounds underweight when he came into the rescue and he's gained about 12 pounds now. He's just a few pounds away from not being able to see his ribs (I'd like to be able to just see the last rib). He's also 30 inches at the shoulder and is very long-legged and tall for a shepherd. He's currently 86 pounds. Maybe you can remeasure your dog? He definitely doesn't look like he's 3 feet at the shoulder and would be extremely thin at 55 pounds if he was that tall.

Try not to obsess over his weight and if he skips a meal or two! I know it's hard and at first I felt like people were thinking I starved my dog when I took him for walks, but he slowly gained weight. He's also picky and dealing with an ear infection, so he would skip a meal a day for a week or so at a time because of lack of appetite due to medications.

He's been with us almost three months and I think he looks amazing and is almost to where he needs to be, but it's taken a lot of patience. I'm happier about him building muscle tone than gaining weight.

I've found that he really loves "chicken milkshakes." I buy a 10 pound bag of chicken quarters and boil them, strip the meat off the bone, and then blend it in the blender with water. I keep it in a container in the fridge and mix about a cup in with his three cups of kibble morning and night. He loves it and it's just about the only thing that will get him to eat his food.

Definitely have him checked by the vet to determine that he doesn't have any parasites or other health problems. And don't worry if he skips a meal (or 3, if he's stubborn like my boy)! He won't starve and you'll get some weight on him as the weeks go by.


Sent from my iPhone using PG Free


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## vickip9 (Mar 28, 2012)

It sounds like his GI tract is pretty irritated right now. You need to take it back to the basics until you're able to get the GI system back on track. Take it from someone who just went through something similar.  Don't keep switching kibble *hoping* he'll like one of them and start eating. That's not going to work. He's not eating because he doesn't feel well. Not because he doesn't like the food. That was the mistake I made.  

So, in addition to the slippery elm and marshmallow root, I would also scale his food back to something very, very bland.. My boy recently had a bout of colitis and was not eating and had pure liquid diarrahea. The vet put him on a diet of cooked rice, boiled hamburger, and cottage cheese for a few weeks along with some probiotics and enzymes to get his GI tract back in order. No kibble. Just those 3 ingredients mixed together, twice a day, along with the probiotics/enzymes. That helped A LOT and he was back to eating again and his poops were firmed up within a couple of weeks. You will need to keep him on the bland food for at least 2 weeks, even if he does start to eat it all up each time. The bland diet, combined with the probiotics/enzymes/slippery elm/marshmallow root, will allow the GI system to even back out again. And then you can SLOWLY start to re-introduce kibble into the mix by adding 1/4 cup at a time and slowly working your way up until you've replaced the bland food with kibble. This will take a couple of additional weeks to transition back over to kibble. It's imperative that you don't keep switching things up too quickly though because that will just irritate his GI tract again. 

Also, you may want to drop off a poop sample at the vet's office so they can check it. You don't need an appointment to do this.. Just take in a sample of his poop and they can test it in a matter of minutes. That will help clear him of any organisms such as worms, etc. 

Hope your boy gets to feeling better soon!


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

He has an appointment, as a newly adopted dog, I'd say getting him to the vet for a check up is paramount.


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## PatchonGSD (Jun 27, 2012)

Just wanted to show you my boy Balen. The first pictures is his first day home, and the second is him after one month. He also had diarrhea for a couple days after I got him and nothing was wrong with him. I think it was just his body trying to adjust to the sudden intake of clean water and nutritious food. 

I dont think your boy is _that_ bad....he certainly isnt in the danger zone. 
He'll make it, lol. 

Talk to your vet about supplements. For Balen, in addition to a quality kibble, (I think RR JUST 6 is fine) I give him raw chicken, with bones, and things like sweet potato and bone stock. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.


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## DanielleV (Oct 1, 2012)

Thank you all!! Its refreshing knowing he's not in a severe case and there's still a way to turn it around!

As for his size, I didnt measure. I just guessed in relation to my son. My son is 39 inches, and Harley (my GS)'s head is level with my sons, but as far as the distance between the top of his head and his shoulders I guestimated. I'll let you all know what the vet measures tomorrow. 

His stools haven't been horrible, mostly extra soft. They're not watery but really soft like a milkshake (there's an image). He's not pooping any more than I would expect after each meal and he's only pooping outside, so I think his body is digesting some so for the sake of not changing too much I'll continue with the rice and RR (There's no way I'm giving him any more of the other food. It's as good as trash to me.) I'll run out to the store and pick up the pumpkin and enzymes or probiotics (whatever I can find). Would pure organic yogurt (like stonyfield) be a good substitute if I can't find anything straight probiotics since its loaded with natural bacteria?

I'll probably start adding chicken to the RR to protein it up a bit.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

We use yogurt on our dogs and puppies here and it seems to help :shrug:

After your bag of RR is gone, check out Diamond Naturals or Kirkland Signature (from Costco). I think you'll like the difference


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## m1953 (May 7, 2012)

When Nala was real young(6 1/2 months now) she was a major picky eater.. Vet gave me this suggestion and it worked great. Add some water to the kibble, a cup of plain canned pumpkin to help firm up soft stools, heat in microwave till warm not hot, about 22 seconds in my microwave and she finishes it off in no time. Every one in a while I still do this if she is being picky. Good luck.


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## DanielleV (Oct 1, 2012)

Hey update:
The vet said while he is very skinny he is perfectly healthy (pending stool check). He has been steadily eating 2 meals a day of about 2-2.5 cups of RR just 6. I will be continuing this and adding some meat in as needed. (we buy a lot of meat but neither me nor my son are big meat eaters so I always have a ton of excess. 

Thank you all for your help! It was comforting to hear about other dogs in similar and worse situations and many of your diet suggestions are the reason he started eating again.


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