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BPO Medical Forum => Medical Conditions & Diseases => : devimama May 10, 2007, 07:23:07 AM

: Lethargy in 13 month old Giant Schnauzer
: devimama May 10, 2007, 07:23:07 AM
Hello all!

My 13 month-old (rescued) neutered Giant Schnauzer has been rather lethargic off and on for the past two months. When we got him (Christmas 2006) we gradually switched his food to Nutro Lamb and Rice since his coat was sparse and he had nearly constant eye boogers. The two conditions got better, but still not gone. We've switched him recently to Innova EVO red meat formula and we've been giving him Nupro since we got him.

He still licks and chews his paws daily and licks his genital area frequently. I've also noticed a strong musky smell on him and on his bedding--I don't know what causes it. When I asked my vet he found nothing. 

Has anyone else experienced this with your Giants? Should I be feeding him something else? What are we doing wrong? 

Thanks for your help--my Giant is the dearest thing to me in the world...I don't know what I'd do if he wasn't my constant shadow!
: Re: Lethargy in 13 month old Giant Schnauzer
: GoldenPyrs May 10, 2007, 08:38:29 AM
Hi, welcome to BPO.  I don't know what to suggest for lethargy, but I'm sure that someone will pop on in a moment with some help for you.  I just wanted to welcome you and say that I know how you feel about your "shadow".  My shadow is Daisy, our 8 yr old Golden mix and she's closely followed by Cassie & Sammy our Pyrs that we just adopted in February and early March.  I don't know what I'd do without my shadows either! 
: Re: Lethargy in 13 month old Giant Schnauzer
: devimama May 11, 2007, 08:11:53 AM
Thanks for the advice! I've been searching his food to see if there was a common ingredient, but I'm sure I'm missing something. He's got an appointment on Monday (different vet) and I'm going to see if they'll test him for allergies. Fingers crossed!
: Re: Lethargy in 13 month old Giant Schnauzer
: MommyOfSchnauzers May 11, 2007, 09:30:13 AM
Hi, welcome to BPO.  I'm Melissa, or Mel.  I have an almost 2 year old Giant Schnauzer girl, Dazy and a 5 year old Mini Schnauzer, Ladybug. 

I've never experienced that with Dazy, but Ladybug licks her paws and has hot spots off and on.  I think with her, it's partly habitual as well as environmental allergies.  I feed my girls Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul Adult Dog formula.  Dazy has always done extremely well on this and is anything but lethargic! lol  Ladybug has done better on this food than everything I had tried in the past.