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Back in January we went and had the dogs get their rabies shots. The vet at the time told us that Drake looked fairly healthy; his teeth were great, his eyes bright, nose wet, and muscle structure was excellent. She said he could benefit from gaining some pounds, but overall she gave us a clean bill of health. You see, we've always kind of struggled with Drake's weight. We've been told, "Oh, it's just the German Shorthair in him. They can be built petite." and "He's just going through growth spurts. He'll even out eventually." Which, yes, these are totally plausible explanations, and to be honest I still consider them a contributing factor to what is wrong with him in the big picture. Since the new year, I mentioned in a previous post, that Drake had not been acting himself. He started jumping up on counters to get to food, showing slight more aggression and lack of patience with Sarge, and literally acted starved all the time. Another thing we've always had an issue with is him consuming his food way too fast. He practically inhales his food and doesn't chew. I even got him a bowl that has the walls inside so he has to eat his way around them. But, unless there is wet food in there, he just sucks it all up and finishes two cups of food in under a minute. (Which this could be the result of being from a huge litter and also being weaned from his mother too soon, which I'll get to.)
So, we took him to the vet and explained everything that was going on. The vet seemed concerned. He looks emaciated, and he's starting to lose muscle by his spine. You guys, you can see every bone in my poor little guy's body. I've said before that Drake is very timid, he's shy around strangers. He's never bit, but he will growl, raise his hair, and bark. Which causes anyone to back off. They suggested to do some blood along with the regular wellness exam. They decided it would be best to muzzle him and take him away in a different room so he didn't feel the need as much to protect us. He came back in the room, and started to warm up with the vet and tech, which was nice to see. The vet explained to us a few things. To her, it seems that the enzymes in Drake's stomach aren't absorbing all of the food and nutrients he's getting. The food we feed him is high in calories and protein, so there is really no excuse for him not to be gaining weight, unless there is an underlying issue. Which is why they took the blood sample and sent it off to be tested. I got the call today, saying that all his blood work came back normal which was good and bad news, because that means they are going to have to do a gastrointestinal tract and pancreatic disease scan on him, and that should give them the answers. The problem with his enzymes could be due to the fact that he was taken from his mom almost four weeks too early. He wasn't able to get all the nutrients from her milk that he needed to build a strong, working system. This could also be where his fear-aggression comes into play since he didn't grow up with his litter, learning to create those social bonds and what is right and wrong. Basically, as much as we tried to socialize him as a puppy it will probably always be a slight issue. But, the best thing to do is keep at it.
The GI-Pan test will be pricey, so we are weighing our options on getting a Care Credit. We want our baby to get better. I feel so bad for him. I wish we would have acted sooner and gotten this taken care of faster. It's up to us now to fix this so he doesn't feel starved all the time. We thought this was a behavioral/growth spurt problem we were having. Turns out, we were very wrong.
Sarge on the other hand, they said he was completely healthy. At a perfect weight and was a great dog. Yes, he's great in public, but once you get him home.... Just kidding, he's actually a great dog. He's just a dog, and they all come with their not so great quirks. For his leg, they said he has some tearing and swelling in his knee. They said to limit exercise and maintain him at the weight he is now and it should be a self-healing injury.
So there is that. Have you had any problems recently with your animals health?
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