Help Recommend BEST food 4 sudden weight loss in 8yrLab

My brother has a 8yr old lab. He was suffering from hot spots which developed slowly over the last few mths with no diet change. My lab had skin sensitivity too - they are very prone to them.

He was put on prescription diet - which led to a 25 lb loss. I'm not sure if my brother is to blame for not reading the food pkg and realizing the old amt might not be enough with the new food, if something else is going on or if the food simply is not great.

With the weight loss he went back to the vet, they noticed a lump on his side and did blood work/biopsy. It indicated cancer so they operated and removed the tumor. Except after all this they said it was not a tumor but fat deposits. I personally dont see how they messed that up. Anyways they said to up the food level to get the weight back on.

What food is good for a dog with very sensitive hotspots and needing to gain weight back? Should he stick with the prescription diet which I guarantee will be a Hill's product or can someone with experience recommend a good one.

Check the Library section for the recipe for Satin Balls. A longtime breeder recipe guaranteed to put on weight.

thanks - do you think something like Solid Gold Seameal or a fish capsule would also help? Or should it just be left alone for now?

ummm edit - duh do you realize I never in all this time scrolled down that far and realized the health library was there? :sl*p:

Eventually all that info will go to a main cavaliertalk site and the board will be part of the overall site. Very hard to organise info in a board format. That's the glorious plan anyway!

Sorry to hear about the biopsy etc but I know this is a frequent problem with labs -- they are prone to those lipid deposits. Friends had such a big one on their lab's spine (couldn;t see it though but found during surgery) that his hind legs collapsed and he had to have surgery -- for a while they didn't know if he'd have use of his legs again but he's pretty much OK now but can't go long distances. I know he had to have another mass biopsied more recently.

Karlin said:

Eventually all that info will go to a main cavaliertalk site and the board will be part of the overall site. Very hard to organise info in a board format. That's the glorious plan anyway!

Click to expand...

Plan B should be to take that main format and put into a book - there is information here to help any dog owner from nutrition - training. Sales could help your rescues and pay the cost to publish - when not slacking off, the other half of my day consists of marketing communications so my head just goes that way on its own.