This is really starting to upset me now..

[Lyn]

I literally feel like crying my eyes out and then doing horrible things to my neighbor. Although pms might have a 'little' to do with it. 

As most of you know Bubba's weight is a huge issue for me. He's still too thin.. although he has put some weight on it's not much. I'm still working with my vet on this and we are going to do some more tests shortly.

This whole weight thing stresses me enough.. but just a few minutes ago I was taking some pics of Bubba in the front yard and my nosy a-hole neighbour says that 'If you can't afford to feed your dog you shouldn't have him!! 'Look at him he's skin and bones, your starving him' Excuse me!! Well I lost my mind and threw a full cup of coffee, cup and all at his head and told him to go 'bleep' himself. Probably not the most mature thing to do but in the heat of the moment I did it.

Afterwards I started comparing pics from 2 and a half months ago to now and he does appear to have lost more weight but on the otherhand seems to have better muscle tone.

Here's at 12 months


And taken today 14.5 months


But the pic that really had me upset was this one. I don't know if it's the angle he's standing or what. His sides look like they are really sunken. 

I hope my vet can figure this out and soon.. cause I can't much more of this I'm abusing and starving my dog crap. 

[Blair]

First off Bubba is very handsome
I know how you feel. I have had the worst time getting and keeping weight on Grey. It got to the point where I didnt even take him out cause everytime I did I got the "Why are you starving your dog" comment  I had nights when I couldnt sleep cause all I could think about was Grey and how skinny he looks. Grey is now over a year, still pretty skinny, but he doesnt look as bad as he us to look. A couple of weeks ago he was looking great, nice and think. But now he is back to being thin, I think he is growing again [not that he needs to] It could be just the way he is growing, but if its a health issue I hope your vet finds the problem. With Grey it was just him growing and still growing. So I know how you are feeling.

[chaos270]

Yay Lyn for sticking up for yourself!!!

People are so stupid sometimes....i f you weren't taking care of him he'd look so much worse.  His haircoat looks really good so you're obviously taking good care of him. He does look a little thinner but you are doing all you can to fix it.  You should be proud of yourself many people would have given up ages ago.

[EllieAndBlu]

Hang in there, girl!

You are doing everything to help Bubba...

hmmmm..... perhaps the B-man just has a super high metabolism... something I wish I had! 

As for your neighbor. To h*** with him... It is none of his business and it doesn't matter one bit what he thinks or what anyone else thinks. Your neighbor is a miserable, ignorant,mean-spirited tool who doesn't have a clue what he is talking about!

What is important is YOU know you are doing the very best for Bubba and THAT is what matters!

Stay strong!


 

[PennyK]

I don't think he looks bad at all!

I think that sometimes people get "skinny" confused with "fit".  I think he looks fit - I don't see ribs or protruding hip bones!  He's also probably at that 'teenage' stage where he can eat and eat and never gain weight (like teen human boys do).

Maybe for your own peice of mind, you might like to see him gain a bit, but I do not think (from the pictures at least) that there is any threat to his health at this point. 

(And I think your neighbour deserved that cup of coffee!!! )

I can almost tell you now, that I'm going to have the same kind of trouble with Teddy.

[GreatDanz]

I agree with the previous post, he doesn't look too skinny!  My fawn dane didn't fill out until three, until then you could count his ribs. 

[sarnewfie]

i replied to your previous post will also reply to this the same and add something.
i have had several male newfoundlands that were this thin thru the growth stage, they were healthy, no loose poops, just how they grew, i would much rather they be thin, than overweight, esp for our breed.
now, on to the issue of diet, i mentioned that pork formula back to basic food is doing huge favors for GSD and Boxers with irritable bowel syndrome.
you might want to try that.
i had a GSD with Pancreatitis that was a rack of bones when she went thru her heat cycles, my parents dog, the vet wouldnt spay her thinking her to high risk, and the neighbors said the same thing to me, i went up to them, and politely explained, that, she has pancreatitis wich affects their weight and is why she is skinny, and, they were actually embarassed they accused me.
so maybe you could go and tell him you are dealing with health issues next time so it does not eat away at you and just makes you even more frustrated.

[Softhug]

I know how you feel.  Different breeds but I still feel like a bad owner.  If Tsu weren't fluffy people would think I was starving her to death.  I mean she is bony.  I hate it and I am trying everything to get her to gain weight, but the b%^&h won't eat!  She wants pressed rawhide and people food, no satin balls, very little canned food...I bet she eats 1c of puppy kibble a day and a can of food lasts her 2-3 days.  She gets her geriatriac bloodwork in about a month and we will see what that says.  Again, I am just lucky she is fluffy or people would think I was horrible. 

[Lyn]

Thanks everyone. You all helped put me at ease. 

I think I've just heard 'he's too thin' so many times that I feel guilty like I'm not doing enough, or I'm doing something wrong. I'm usually able to just shrug off any rude comments. But this just strikes a nerve. 

I even dread taking him to the vet because I get the 'Oh look at that poor dog he's so skinny. Saints are suppose to be 'thick' dogs. I just want to scream AHHHH Shut up! $$@!#@!%$%@#$ LOL

I have mentioned to this guy before that Bubba has some sort of problem that my vet hasen't been able to figure out and he says 'yeah right' and walks away.

Bubba is actually super lazy. I don't know how he's buring off all the calories I've been giving him. He must have a high metabolism or something. Or maybe not properly digesting his food? Hubby and I were talking last night about maybe switching him to yet another kibble.

Thanks Sar!! I will look for the Back to basics pork formula.

LOL Tina, if you ever need someone to throw a cup.. I'm your girl. I hit him square on the cheekbone and I wasn't even aiming. I feel like such a tool now.. I realllly shouldn't have done that. But this neighbor has really been nothing but an annoyance for me.

[GR8DAME]

Lyn, most of us that have had more than one giant in our lives have had at least one that just stayed thin as a youngster. If they were horses, you'd call them a "hard keeper". Merlin was mine.
If your nieghbor is stupid enough to comment again, I would invite him to call the local Humane Society or anti-cruelty society and file a complaintif he is so concerned. I would be happy to justify myself and my dog's wieght issues, complete with vet reports to them and get an all clear, preferrably in writing. What I would NOT do is justify it to some snooty jerk who has way too much time on their hands to try and live in my back pocket.That way the humane society can tell him to mind his own business and you won't keep losing coffee cups. LOL
Stella

[GreatDanz]

Innova is very high in calories and I hear dogs love it, their "Dog" formula has 557 Kcal/cup!

[Saint and Mal mom]

I asked my mom, who is a nurse, to look at the pictures and she said there's most likely something going on there. More than just metabolism. How much weight exactly has he lost? Could it be worms? If it's worms, he will eat everything you give him, but nutrition won't be getting to his body. A stool sample at the vet would answer that question. Otherwise, it has nothing to do with you! Remember that! Dogs get sick, like people do. Sometimes we lose weight, so dogs must too! And sometimes we are pigs and eat a ton and gain lots of weight, so dogs can too!

[Lyn]

Stella, The humane society/animal control here is useless. A little off topic but this same idiot neighbor just left his poor elderly dog outside in it's pen to die because he said he couldn't afford to euthanize it. I called the humane society and they sounded all concerned and said they would send someone out. Noone ever showed up and that poor dog suffered and died that night all alone. He doesn't give a crap about his own dogs yet acts so 'concerned' about mine. 

Saint and Mal mom, He's had at least 15 fecals done and been dewormed countless times. Plus had a blood test done around the time of the last deworming. Blood was normal.. but he did find tapeworms in the last fecal. Those are gone now though but he's has this problem since he was 9 weeks old. We are not exactly sure how much weight he has lost.. once we get into the vet I'll be able to weight him more accurately.

I was looking for Innova and Solid Gold 'bark at the moon' since both high in fat and calories. I just wanted to add some to Bubba's kibble, not completely switch him to it. But I can't find either one. I'm going to look for Back to Basics since Sar mentioned it and give it a try.

[sarnewfie]

Have you considered this to be irritable bowel syndrome?

[galaxybears]

We dog owners can't win. If your large breed is stockier then people will tell you it is fat, and if it is slender then you are not feeding it enough!

I remember being in town with one of my other Newfs when she was about 2 years old. Some guy said "I bet he eats a lot" so I replied "No not really" and he said "Then you are not feeding him properly!" . SHE was the right weight for her size, and a dog we had to keep an eye on as, just like me, she could pile on the pounds so easily!!

Think of it this way, if your St. is slender when it is young then it isn't going to be doing damage to it's joints

Hope you can sort things with your vet, may be he will pile on the weight when he is older