My dog has bad breath & losing weight. Is his homemade diet to blame?

Poor Layz! If her breath smells terrible and is eating less than usual, I would suspect that she may have a dental problem. Dogs need regular dental care just like humans, and if they don't get it, they can develop severe gingivitis, a tooth root abscess, or a rotten tooth among other conditions. She would be eating less because it's painful for her to eat. I would give your vet a call today to set up an appointment for her. The vet can examine her mouth, and if they feel that there is a dental problem, will want to do a dental scaling, cleaning, and polishing. It's best for her health to have this checked out as soon as possible, as dental problems that are left untreated can lead to further health problems such as abscesses on the liver and heart infections. Best of luck!

I strongly recommend you arrange a full health check for Kikko to ivestigate medical reasons as to why he is not absorbing the nutrition he requires and also contact a nutritionist for advice on correct formulation of homecooked diets if you do not wish to feed a fully baalnced dog food. I would be concerned that uncooked rice, vegetables and meat may not be providing enough digestible nutrition for him at the moment.

Oh my. Poor guy. The weight loss and his body condition score is very concerning. Gradual weight loss in older pets is highly suspicous of cancer unfortunately. Other possible causes are intestinal parasites, diabetes mellitus, etc. There is also possible arthritis which is causing Blue to become debilitated and unable to move around well; however, generalized weakness could also be a cause. You can try to feed Blue a high calorie diet (ie puppy food) to help with his muscle tone and try over the counter joint supplements (ie Dasuquin) to help with his mobility. Here is a website link with more financial resources to help you get him seen by a vet for further care because he really needs medical attention and testing to determine if this is something serious or not, and to pursue medical treatment. http://m.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/trouble_affording_veterinary_care.html Best of luck to you and your pet Blue. I really hope he will be ok. Take care.

Homemade diets are usually unbalanced and lacking in appropriate amounts of nutrients. When diets found online were tested, 97% were found to be incomplete and this can cause adverse health effects long term. If you want to make a home made diet for Brinkley, you need to work with a board certified veterinary nutritionist. Many of these vets offer remote consultations but your own vet may have a recommendation. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

I recommend to have Panfilo examined by the veterinarian. A healthy dog is not expected to starve itself to the point of weight loss. They will eat when they get hungry enough. Weight loss is worrisome for things like kidney disease, cancer or heavy parasite burdens. Since he cannot talk and tell you what he is feeling, it's best to play it safe. Also, the diet you were feeding may not be balanced. Over time an unbalanced diet can lead to problems in the body. I recommend to discuss either having a balanced home made diet by a veterinary nutritionist or getting Panfilo on a fortified commercial dog kibble. I hope this helps.

I would recommend adding a supplement such as BalenceIT. Their website can walk you though creating a balanced diet using the foods you're already used to cooking for her. It's always important to have a balanced diet, but as she gets older her body will be less able to handle the stress of any imbalances. As far as her weight, I'd recommend decreasing the overall amount rather than cutting out a macronutrient (in this case carbs)

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I can see that Stone is a little thin from the photos, and the amount of weight he has lost in the past 3 weeks is definitely cause for concern. The next steps after checking for intestinal parasites include blood work to make sure that there isn't an underlying infection present and that organ function is normal. It can also determine that food is being digested and nutrients are absorbed appropriately. X-rays and an ultrasound can rule out masses, obstructions, and inflamed bowels. I hope this helps and am happy to answer any other questions you may have!