My dog's ribs are showing. Is he too thin after his illness?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It is hard to know without being able to see Timber. However, it is possible that this means that he needs to gain a bit of weight as usually ribs sticking out is one of the criteria veterinarians use to determine the body conditions score of a patient. Perhaps make sure that Timber is being fed the needed caloric intake based on his specific information which takes into account the breed, activity level, age, among other things. This is something your veterinarian can calculate for you with some additional information. Good luck and have a great day!

Hi and thank you for using PetCoach. From the pictures it appears that Hugo has a body condition score of 1-2/9. https://oregonvma.org/files/Purina-Dog-Condition-Chart.pdf This is too thin. Even dogs of slim breeds such as greyhounds or collies should not have their bones this prominent. I recommend having Hugo check by a veterinarian. Some issues such as parasites can cause malnutrition and are fairly easily diagnosed and treated. Some animals may have other congenital conditions or illness that prevents weight gain. And in some cases it may be higher metabolism requiring a specialized diet. The vet will perform an exam on Hugo and discuss his diet and activity at home. They may suggest testing for parasites or doing other diagnostics. I hope Hugo is back on track soon.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Thank you for posting pictures, these are helpful! Rocky is very thin, and you are right to be concerned. He should not be this thin. I would be very worried about some underlying disease condition that is preventing him from either being able to eat the food, or from being able to absorb the food. Possible causes are GI parasites (worms, giardia, coccidia, etc.), exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI), other GI absorbtive disorders (IBD, GI lymphoma, etc.), partial obstruction or foreign object in the gut, persistent right aortic arch or hiatal hernia causing vomiting/regurgitation, food allergies, etc. I would try feeding him boiled rice with boiled/boneless/skinless chicken breasts, as well as a high quality canned puppy food. I would also strongly recommend getting him to a vet where I would discuss a fecal test, a deworming trial, x-rays or preferably ultrasound, testing for EPI depending on the quality of his feces, and x-rays of the chest to look for congenital malforations there. Best of luck with Rocky, I hope he feels better soon!

If her ribs are really sticking out and there is no fat or muscle, then see your vet. There could be a medical cause for her condition. If your vet clears her, increase the amount of food offered until she is at an appropriate weight. Ask your vet how to perform a Body Condition Score (BCS) on your dog using the 9 point scale. Ideally, she should have a waist when looked at from above. Her ribs should be seen and easily felt under a layer of fat/muscle. From the side, her chest should tuck up into her abdomen.

I would agree that Thor is much thinner than he should be. There are many different reasons for weight loss and muscle wasting, including hormonal conditions, parasitic conditions, certain infectious / inflammatory conditions, simply not eating enough over a long period, and of course, certain cancers. My advise to you would be to have Thor examined by your regular veterinarian via physical exam. They will determine if there is a need for further diagnostic laboratory work or imaging. It is often very difficult to make a diagnosis via physical exam unless there is some obvious and palpable inside of or on the outside of the animal. Supportive information via lab work and imaging is very often needed. Hope this makes sense.

If your vet has deemed him underweight, then he could have intestinal parasites, Addison's disease or even cancer has to be considered if he is an older dog. I would recommend starting with a vet visit for a fecal exam and baseline bloodwork to get things checked out and determine his current health status. I hope this helps and I also hope that Teddy is overall ok. Here is a website link also for a guide on determining your pets body conditon score. https://www.wsava.org/sites/default/files/Body%20condition%20score%20chart%20dogs.pdf Best wishes and take care.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would have his stool checked for intestinal parasites and be sure he has been dewormed a few times. You can increase the volume of food at each meal by 25%. And see if that improves his weight in 2 weeks. Be sure he is seeing a vet for vaccines. Good luck!