Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We have a two year old female chihuahua (currently intact) that has been having weight issues since late December / early January. Despite a very hearty appetite she stays underweight. We had blood / urine workup done about a month ago and the only definitive thing they found was a UTI. They put her on Clavamox for two weeks but still no weight gain. So they tested again and she had another (same?) UTI. Different bacteria this time and a much higher count (10,000 the first round 100,000 this round). She's now on Baytril and Cephalexin.

At this point I don't know if they have checked for stones / crystals. Called the vet this morning and haven't heard back.

In addition to our "regular" vet she's also seeing a holistic vet who specializes in NAET. She has Turtle on Standard Process Enteric Support.

Her bllodwork indicates she *might* be borderline pre-diabetic (glucose is at the highest possible OK value).

Other than eating and drinking copiously and having "off" days / times where her energy is low (and the weight issue) she is displaying no other symptoms.

Is there anything else we should be doing? Anything to help her? Anything we should be looking for / at?

Thanks so much.

If there is any risk that she may develop diabetes, take her off of dry food in order to eliminate all carbohydrates. If she is losing protein in her urine, this might account for the weight loss. In general, if she is taking in a lot of nutrients (eating a lot), digesting and absorbing it (normal stool, little or no gas), and losing protein in the urine, and is not excessively active, she should be putting on weight, for the calories she is consuming will be burnt up, excreted, or deposited. Nothing else is possible.

Thank you very much for your reply. We have some follow-up questions...

What diet would be best to put her on? Currently she is on Natural Balance Potato & Duck (dry) and Duck & Potato (canned). Can you recommend a low carbohydrate canned food for her?

We're a little confused as to what effect protein loss through urine has on weight. Should Turtle be gaining or losing weight if she is losing protein in her urine but otherwise acting normal (activity level, eating, digesting)?

How do we find out if she is losing protein in her urine? The vet took two urine samples via ultrasound. Is it routine procedure to check for protein in these samples or would that have to be done with separate tests?

Assuming we can figure out how to get a urine sample at home, is there a kit we can get to find out if her urine has protein in it?

What conditions could account for loss of protein in urine? And how do we test for those conditions?

Feed her fresh meat and bones. Try to collect some uring in a pie tin when she urinated and bring this to your vet. Ask for a urine analysis. He can tell you right away if there is any protein in the urine.