For those of you who feed Sojos...

[entelekia]

Hi everyone,

A little background: Lego had an episode of "boxer colitis" (hate that term btw) and lost about 4-5 lbs. We were able to mostly control it using fiber (psyllium).

He was previously eating Wellness Core (fish formula) exclusively. 4 cups per day. After the colitis I introduced Sojos - the complete turkey formula. It all went good.

Fast forward to now, we're on our 3 large bag of Sojos and Lego has not gained any weight. Right now he is eating: 1 cup of Wellness mixed with 1.5 cups of (wet) Sojos twice a day. I started adding cooked rice for bulk a few days ago AND started giving him a small lunch consisting of 1/2 cup kibble + 1 cup (wet) Sojos.

He still won't gain weight. Another thing is that he poops AT LEAST 4 times a day. 5-6 times a day is not uncommon.

I just feel like he's not absorbing anything... the more we feed him, the more it comes out the other end. And he's starting to get the "soft serve" types of stool that I usually associate with over feeding, yet he won't gain any weight!
I tried upping the amount of kibble -- more stools, no weight gain. I tried upping the amount of Sojos, same thing. I am now trying the rice and adding a small lunchtime meal... but so far that's not working either.

Anyone have any suggestions? Thoughts? So frustrating.

Thanks in advance.

 

[whiskers]

I had a similar issue with Juno, and I don't know why, as she was still on kibble when she started losing weight (Canine Caviar, of all brands - like, the highest calorie food there is!).

I had then put her on Sojos and it didn't appear that she was losing any more weight, but she sure as heck wasn't gaining. Even though she was eating plenty, and I messed around with the meat:Sojos ratio to see if that would make a difference. Nothing.

I came to a point where I was just really really upset with her body condition. I like lean dogs - I keep her trim and muscled and a couple ribs visible. But she was starting to look almost emaciated to me. I ended up making a batch of Satin Balls (Put weight on your dog with "satin balls") in order to get her to put on weight quickly. It worked and within 2 weeks she was up to my ideal again - just NOTE that satin balls are very high in fat, as this is how they work... so I started slow to avoid GI upset or even pancreatitis, but luckily Juno handled them just fine.

After she had finished up our small batch of satin balls, I began adding a digestive enzyme to her food. I had the same thought as you - is she just not absorbing what she needs? She's been maintaining really well now, she's back up to her normal 50lbs whereas at her lowest, she was about 46-47lbs. I am not sure if we would have had the same results if I would have done JUST the enzymes and skipped the satin balls. She probably wouldn't have gained it back as quickly, at least, which would have just made me more frustrated.

This is the enzyme I have her on: BacPak Plus - Direct-Fed Microbials and Digestive Enzyme Blend | NZMES.COM - NZYMES.COM - a Division of Biopet Inc.
I kind of suspect that I'll just keep her on it forever.

 

[entelekia]

Thanks for the reply!

Lego's been on Prozyme for years (otherwise the gas is unbearable), so we got the enzyme part covered.

He seems to be gaining a little bit (I hope it's not just wishful thinking on my part) but his stools are awful. Large and soft and 4-5 times a day.

Maybe I should switch the kibble to a higher fat/higher calorie one? Although you said that didn't help you with Juno. I can definitely try the satin balls... but given that his stomach is already upset, I'm afraid of what it's going to do to him.

*sigh*

What a pain.

 

[luvmybxrs]

you could try honest kitchen, its great food and also higher in fat i believe. I was going to go with sojos but decided on honest kitchen since the length of experience is there aswell as a good solid history of producing a product.