# Underweight great dane in trouble



## sidescrollin (Apr 7, 2009)

My sister recently adopted a 5 year old dane and she is in bad shape.

Her back legs are very atrophied and she is very underweight. Because of her back legs she doesn't get up often to eat food which just makes everything worse.

To add to this she is very very picky, ignoring most human food that is given to her to make her gain weight. She was eating eggs for a while but has grown sick of them and no longer eats them.


I was thinking something high in protein like evo and glucosamine/msm supplement for her back legs? Just worried she wouldn't like the evo

another thing is i didn't want to give her some loaded up like puppy food and then have her get fat.


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## odiesmom (May 31, 2007)

You need to take her to the vet and get some tests done and see if any medical condition is contributing to the problems !!


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## sidescrollin (Apr 7, 2009)

Do you think it will be okay? I am afraid they wont believe me and think ive mistreated her or something


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## Loki Love (May 23, 2010)

sidescrollin said:


> Do you think it will be okay? I am afraid they wont believe me and think ive mistreated her or something


I would doubt it. Regardless, the poor dog needs to be seen and cleared of anything medical. If she's in pain, they will be able to give her something to ease that and may help with her mobility and thus eating. What is she currently eating?


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## odiesmom (May 31, 2007)

Not taking her in is more abuse !! There could be many things causig the problems and a vet is NOT going to think you abuse her if you are there looking for help !


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## Loki Love (May 23, 2010)

odiesmom said:


> Not taking her in is more abuse !!


Yup, exactly!


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## PatchworkRobot (Aug 24, 2010)

odiesmom said:


> Not taking her in is more abuse !!


You really need to take this dog to the vet.


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## Sibe (Nov 21, 2010)

Vet! Tell them the truth- she was just rescued and you need help. I'm assuming since you were thinking Evo that this is a no-brainer for you, but do not buy any Science Diet or whatever kind of crap the vet tries to insist upon. A dog in bad shape needs a healthier diet than that stuff.


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## Deaf Dogs (May 28, 2012)

Sibe said:


> Vet! Tell them the truth- she was just rescued and you need help. I'm assuming since you were thinking Evo that this is a no-brainer for you, *but do not buy any Science Diet or whatever kind of crap the vet tries to insist upon. A dog in bad shape needs a healthier diet than that stuff.*


^^^ This!!!


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

When I got Kabota, his back legs were so atrophied, he walked like he was drunk. His hips had no muscle, just fur over bone, and overall he was extremely thin. This was after 10 days of the foster fattening him up. I took him straight to the vet and they asked me what happened and listened to the answer. (He was a rescue, too.) They then gave me a strategy for helping him and an invitation to weigh him weekly for free and then after 2 months we saw the vet again to check progress. 

You can't do this alone. You need a trained professional on your side to help you out. Please go to the vet.


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## Damon'sMom (Aug 2, 2011)

Please take this dog to the vet. They will not think you were the one that mistreated this dog if you are asking for help. Just tell them that she is a rescue and explain to the vet what you told us. 
This dog needs help that only a vet can offer right now. I agree with Sibe, do not let the vet push you into buying Science Diet or another type of food like that. I have had a couple of dogs come to me that needed to be fattened up. I would look into TOTW, Earthborn primitive natural, or Eagel Pack dog kibbles. What kibble are you trying to feed her now?


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## gingerkid (Jul 11, 2012)

If you're just trying to find a food she'll eat, some specialty pet-stores have sample or trial-sized bags of some of the foods they sell. You might be able to find a food/variety she likes without a whole bunch of trips to the store, etc.


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## sidescrollin (Apr 7, 2009)

I would definitely like to take her to the vet and see what we can figure out and get bloodwork done.

Right now she has the pedigree she came with.............................................................

I was going to try to get some samples or just even buy small bags of food to see if she likes them.

Aside from her being picky any ideas on how "fattening" works? I don't want her to get FAT i want her to gain muscle, but will eating lots of protein without doing much exercise do this?


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## sidescrollin (Apr 7, 2009)

btw i know a decent amount about the foods, there are some i don't like earthborn because they don't have it in my area. Premium food PERIOD is better than grocery store crap but science diet, ians, euk, and even the top purina is stuff i steer away from. Oh and nutro...

science diet is one of the few "better" foods that still actually has corn in it.


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## Loki Love (May 23, 2010)

I'd suggest something like Orijen or Acana if it's in your budget. You can always top off her foods with some olive oil, or coconut oil - that will add some extra calories and is good for her as well.

I hope you can get her into the vet soon.


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## sidescrollin (Apr 7, 2009)

im feeding my puppy taste of the wild high prairie right now. The acana ingredients looked really similar and i was wondering if i should see if she likes that?? The thing is i would have to order orijen or acana as no local stores carry it.


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## Loki Love (May 23, 2010)

sidescrollin said:


> im feeding my puppy taste of the wild high prairie right now. The acana ingredients looked really similar and i was wondering if i should see if she likes that?? The thing is i would have to order orijen or acana as no local stores carry it.


You can definitely feed Taste of the Wild as well. I know some people are leary of feeding it because of the recall, but I wouldn't have any issues, personally. Can you post some pictures of the Dane? Are you still thinking of taking her to the vet?


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## sidescrollin (Apr 7, 2009)

Loki Love said:


> You can definitely feed Taste of the Wild as well. I know some people are leary of feeding it because of the recall, but I wouldn't have any issues, personally. Can you post some pictures of the Dane? Are you still thinking of taking her to the vet?


Should i feed her the regular stuff or maybe puppy to fatten her up?

ill post a pic soon so you can see how bad it is. I would like to take her to the vet but i don't know how much it is going to cost and i am worried.


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## Loki Love (May 23, 2010)

sidescrollin said:


> Should i feed her the regular stuff or maybe puppy to fatten her up?
> 
> ill post a pic soon so you can see how bad it is. I would like to take her to the vet but i don't know how much it is going to cost and i am worried.


Feed her the regular stuff. You don't want her gaining too quickly.

Please find a way to get her to the vet - borrow money if you have to. It really sounds like this girl needs to be seen by a vet, given your descriptions.


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## sidescrollin (Apr 7, 2009)

Loki Love said:


> Feed her the regular stuff. You don't want her gaining too quickly.
> 
> Please find a way to get her to the vet - borrow money if you have to. It really sounds like this girl needs to be seen by a vet, given your descriptions.


oh here is a really good question.

If she would eat TOTW do i feed her according to her current weight , what i would like her to weigh, or somewhere in between? I guess it can only go so far as she is used to not eating much so anything is good, but still.



Yes, she needs to see a vet, at least for recommendations and at the very least to see if she has worms.

my camera is dead but either way... Here is a pic i found of another great dane online. She looks similar but she has no muscle mass on her back legs as i said.


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## RedGermanPinscher (Jun 22, 2012)

sidescrollin said:


> oh here is a really good question.
> 
> If she would eat TOTW do i feed her according to her current weight , what i would like her to weigh, or somewhere in between? I guess it can only go so far as she is used to not eating much so anything is good, but still.
> 
> Hopefully, a vet has been contacted and an appointment made: That being said The Average weight for a Healthy female dane is usually around 100-120 or so depending on height and body structure I would feed the amount suggested on the bag for that weight. However, I would Start off by feeding it in several intrevals a day of approx. 1/4-1/2 cup per feed as oppose to say 2 cups 2x or 3x a day. You don't want to shock her system anymore than necessary. And feeding to much too fast can cause extreme digestive issues and potentially bloat. If she is already experiencing some digestive issues you may want to start off with some boiled chicken and rice for a couple of days before transitioning to the kibble.


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## sidescrollin (Apr 7, 2009)

thanks for the tip on smaller amounts at more intervals. I am not sure about the weight but ill aim high. My dad has had 2 female danes before and they only got to weigh about 85lbs. They were not underweight just much smaller than other danes i encountered. I don't know if this was from lack of exercise or bad food but i don't want to try and make her eat too much as 100lbs may not be possible.

EDIT: oh i meant to say she looks very similar in body size to them which is why i relate the two


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## RedGermanPinscher (Jun 22, 2012)

sidescrollin said:


> thanks for the tip on smaller amounts at more intervals. I am not sure about the weight but ill aim high. My dad has had 2 female danes before and they only got to weigh about 85lbs. They were not underweight just much smaller than other danes i encountered. I don't know if this was from lack of exercise or bad food but i don't want to try and make her eat too much as 100lbs may not be possible.
> 
> EDIT: oh i meant to say she looks very similar in body size to them which is why i relate the two


that's fine, right now it is more about getting her to eat properly and begin to gain some much needed weight than it is exact amounts. As her health improves and she is once again looking healthy ie: Ribs easily felt but not necessarily visible, spine n hips are covered and not protruding you'll be able to adjust according to body condition. Every dog is different some need more some need less. The bag is just a suggested amount based on an average.


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