Hey everyone. My names emilie, I'm 23 years old. I'm new here but I have a big problem with my little man. After a vet visit today with mister Nemo his specialist and I both confirmed what we were worried about. Nemo isn't gaining weight properly and is small for his age/growth curve. Specifically because of his diet and life so far. A quick recap of the story of Nemo, Nemo is the runt of the litter a rescue dog of mine had. His mom was pregnant when I got her and gave birth 2 weeks later while she was only 7-8 months old. His mom was severely malnourished due to being rescued from a puppy mill situation. Before I realised his mom was giving birth (I was outside spraying down and cleaning the crates) she gave birth to nemos sister and Nemo on my couch. Except she buried Nemo into the cushions without breaking the sack and left him there. Immediately after she gave birth I was inside and making sure she was coping with the puppy that she had delivered, after around ten minutes of me helping her Nemo caught my eye in the couch and I rushed over to help him, literally ripping the sack open with my teeth because I knew he had next to no chance of survival past like 6 minutes. I worked on him for 12 minutes before he finally took his first breath. Once he was okai I went to pass him to his mom to clean and she immediately snarled and snapped at him, luckily I flipped my hand in time to have her bite the top of my hand rather than him who was just the size of my thumb with a severly bowed hind knee and ankle hence the name nemo. I bottle fed him from the second he was born meaning he never had any colostrum or milk from his mother who continued to try and go after him every chance she got, luckily my other dog who was a rescue Pitt from an attempted fight ring took Nemo in as her own and protected him. He was diagnosed with fading puppy and given 1 week to live, he developed puppy pnemonia twice ans had to be weaned early due to his tendancy to inhale his milk rather than drink it. Fast forward 2 months and after my Pitt had a litter of puppies her old owner walked into my house with his unvaccinated dog/coyote I'm an attempt to steal them and gave them all parvo.... they went from perfectly fine one night to me coming upstairs to let my kacey girl outside and her being dead on the ground..... I'm not going to go into that subject more tho because I'm already bawling thinking about it.... fast forward another month and a half and after round the clock care in the icu and at home nemos finally made it and is a parvo survivor, after he continued to be I'll after overcoming parvo his specialist after I discovered Nemo has many allergies. He is allergic to all proteins but fish, he is allergic to grains, grass, any soaps, cinnamon, potatoes and go figure cats. Which immediately ruled out any large breed food and any puppy food as they don't come in single protein options. Sure fire foods that don't bother him as of now are fish, raw eggs, lactose, goats milk (not sure on meat yet) and he likes to chew on paper lol Right now I have no idea how to boost his caloric intake when he's always been free fed to begin with so I can't add more kibble. Not sure if anyone's dealt with this before or has any tips but ANYTHING helps. Also sorry for the extremely long ezplenation. There's just a lot that goes into why Nemo is how he is
Unless I've missed it, you don't say what breed Nemo is, how old he is, or what he weighs. Does he still have a malformation of the hind leg? It sounds as if his mother knew that he was a fading puppy. Sometimes with the best of intentions we struggle a bit too hard to pull them through, and end up with a dog that has a lifetime of health problems. It is a pity that you didn't milk some colostrum from his mum, it might have given him some protection from parvovirus. I'm not sure why you are giving raw egg to your puppy, as raw egg white contains avidin which can cause a vitamin B deficiency, which could lead to further developmental problems. It would be better to lightly scramble the eggs and, as long as he isn't allergic to it, add a little cheese for flavour and added protein. We do have single protein grain free puppy foods in the UK, have you tried looking on one of the dog food advisory apps? Many firms are generous with their samples, so you could test some less common varieties like duck or pork. Alternatively, what about one of the ready prepared raw food diets that are available now - there are even fewer additives in these. They seem to be available as frozen nuggets, or in chilled vaccuum packs.
So Sorry, just spotted that this is a Bernese - and yes, you do give the age! I have never heard the term King Berner - so the title didn't register as it should have. Do you have any photos of the puppy?
When you say you ‘free feed’ are you sure he is eating the amount needed, does he eat it all in one go or throughout the day. Fat is higher in calories than carbohydrates, Fish oil, Breast of lamb, green tripe ect Have a good fat content.
He may be a little underweight, but he is nowhere near the sad picture of a dwarf puppy that I had built up in my mind! Nemo is handsome, and looks a happy, healthy dog, and that is the main thing. You can't be doing very much wrong. I wouldn't worry about finding a puppy food for him, he looks mature enough to move onto the adult varieties. This should give you a little more freedom to experiment, and find more foods that he can eat. Like @GsdSlave I am not a fan of free feeding, as there is no novelty and excitement about feeding times, but you know what is working best for your boy. I can only suggest that you garnish his meal with some highly flavoured toppings to encourage him to eat more, - tinned sardines, milk/cream, and cheese might suit him. Many dogs love ice cream, which contains calcium, fat and sugar, so it could be worth trying just a little of that to see whether he could tolerate it.
View attachment 5165 View attachment 5166 I just wanna make sure he is as strong as he needs to be and doesn't end up with any health or physical problems from nit getting enough food. He currently weighs 62lb but the vet estimated he should be close to 75+ He's my little prince and I love him as much as I do my kids. Mama bears don't mess around, especially mama Berner bears. Lol he's the happiest goofiest dog I've ever met. Expensive for sure, I've already spent 25,000$ on vet bills and medicine for him. But he's a tough little man who's just had some really bad luck so far. There wasn't even a split second where it crossed my mind to 'let nature take its course' nor one second that I thought he wasn't strong enough to make it. He's a really brilliant pup who at 6 months old already meet almost all the requirements to get his service license, who goes to the hospital to visit sick kids and help them cope, who is a almost fully trained guard dog with great tracking skills. He's also the pup who fell in love with Marshall from paw patrol and can only go to bed if he's got his Marshall teddy and gets tucked in. He literally has been at my side every second since he's been born asides the one night they wouldn't let me in icu. He's such an amazing special little prince and I want to make sure that he stays healthy and happy and goofy. We're in Canada b.c. and amazing far as I've found there is not one single protein puppy food or large breed food. He gets cottage cheese, eggs, pumpkin, fresh salmon, glucosamine supplements, salmon oil, coconut oil, coconut milk, tuna, rice, oats, etc on top of his dry food. But he still isn't gaining properly.
Gorgeous puppy Emilie and well done for managing to get him survive - especially with "failing puppy syndrome" and all the other things he had to cope with and get over. Nemo seems to be doing fine now, and as most Breedia members know that I am biased, have you tried raw feeding? You can also get all necessary supplements from the US and if you do decide to go the raw way I will help and advise you as much as I can. Juli [and the little horror Tikki Tikva who woke up early for a pee but then came in and went back to her crate giving me a chance to catch up on emails etc!]
Yeah! He's actually getting raw and kibble right now. I'm trying to find a dehydrated raw that's a fish protein but no luck so far.
How about looking at https://www.iandloveandyou.com/products/grain-free-salmon-trout-dog-food/ you should be able to get it from near you. I can only get two meat varieties from iHerb - for emergencies - but I trust those products so cannot think the fish one would be a no-no have no idea what the fish protein one is like, but it is sold in your area so might be worth a try. Juli [and a curled up in a blanki small Tikki on the couch now as it is cold and raining and it is all my fault]
Weight charts are a guide only, all dogs are different and grow at different rates, bone structure / genetics also play a part. You can get grain free single source protein from fish complete, though most contain potato which you said he was allergic to (or sweet potato) which might be ok.I would do as already suggested and get some samples or small bags to try, lamb may also be an option.
