My active 1-year-old dog is skinny and barely eats. What's wrong?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Being lean is not always a concern. A good body condition is based on muscle mass and palpation of the body, not a number on a scale. You should be able to feel her ribs while standing without pushing hard and she should have an hour glass waist from the sides and top of her body. She should also have good muscle definition in her chest and limbs. Make sure you are feeding what the bag of food says for her daily amount based on her weight. Make sure your vet tests for intestinal parasites so they are not consuming her calories. I hope this helps! Kisses to Soska!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Teddy! Since you are describing him as skinny I worry about medical causes for his anorexia. I would deworm him even if the stool is negative and have a stool sample checked. I have blood work ran to check his kidneys. If all the blood work comes back normal I would do a maldigestion/malabsorption profile (B12, folate, TLI, PLI), a bile acid to test liver function and test him for Addison's disease. Then I would ultrasound him to look for enlarged lymph nodes and thickened intestines that would suggest Inflammatory Bowel disease. I hope this helps and I wish you and Teddy the best!

I'm sorry to hear Sarabi is having issues. If her weight is a concern, there are multiple reasons that she could not be gaining weight, such as intestinal parasites, a malabsorption issue, or an underlying health issue. I would recommend taking Sarabi to her regular veterinarian to have her evaluated, have any testing done and get advice on a good quality food to start her on.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Dogs that are not eating and drinking and look very thin and suddenly very thin are very sick. The biggest concern would be a 'foreign body'- a sock/underwear/toy that is stuck in the gut, preventing any food from being taken in and absorbed. Other concerns would be severe gastritis, a high worm burden (parasite infection), cancer in the gut, lack of enzyme production in the pancrease, and some other causes. I recommend getting your girl to a vet right away however, as it sounds like she is very sick. Best of luck with her!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Loss of appetite can be observed with many conditions such as gastroenteritis, dietary indiscretion, kidney disease, pancreatitis, among many other possibilities. I recommend that you have Rambo evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They would be able to check for these possibilities and others depending on the findings on exam. Treatment would be based on findings. Good luck and have a great day! Hoping for a speedy recovery!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! From the pictures Jack doesn't look skinny, but if they are trying to make him gain weight and he isn't, I recommend taking him to a vet to rule out medical problems. Some possibilities are intestinal parasites, pancreatic problems, intestinal problems, and organ problems to name a few. Also, he may be on an inadequate diet. Once a vet performs a physical exam, they can discuss the testing recommendations. Good luck and kisses to Jack!

He definitely looks very thin. The biggest concern with a dog that eats well, but doesn't gain weight is that he has a disease or heavy parasite burden. There are some inherited diseases like liver shunts that can cause them to be unthrifty like this and there are some acquired infections like Babesiosis that can also cause them to look like this. The only way to know is to have him evaluated by a veterinarian. I recommend taking him soon, because he doesn't look like he has much left to lose. It's also good to bring a stool sample to the vet, so they can check for worms. I hope that helps and Wekko gets better soon.