My dog is too skinny and won't eat or drink. What should I do?

It could just be that you startled him while he was drinking which is why he tensed up. If you are concerned about his weight, having your vet take a look and perform a body condition score can let you know if he needs to gain some more or if he's good. Dogs should be lean, with a tuck to their waist and ribs visible but not bony. (A BCS of 3/5 or 5/9 depending on the scale is usually around ideal.)

I am sorry to hear about your concern for Luna. These symptoms are concerning and I would recommend an examination at a veterinarian as this is not normal healthy behavior. The vet will examine Luna and may recommend testing such as an fecal examination, bloodwork or x-rays based on their examination findings, and these tests will help to guide their treatment.

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!

If he is behaving normally otherwise, continue feeding a bland diet for a few days. He may just have some minor stomach upset. Afterwards, transition slowly to the regular diet. Monitor for extreme lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite or abdominal pain. These are symptoms that should be addressed by your veterinarian.

Kudos to you for being so concerned about Buddy! :-) As long as Buddy is at a healthy body weight, he is likely getting plenty to eat. To make sure he seems to be a healthy body weight, run your hands over his ribs to assure that you can easily feel (but not see) his ribs. You should also be able to see a "waistline" when looking down at him. I can't see Buddy well enough in the pictures to help you determine if his weight is appropriate. Some dogs are naturally picky or have been conditioned to eat less dog food because they know that treats or more appealing food is coming. I always recommend offering food twice daily as you are doing, but some dogs choose to only eat once a day. Avoid midday treats or snacks to try to train Buddy to eat at mealtimes and continue avoiding table scraps. Make sure that Buddy is being offered a high quality kibble (I generally recommend Science Diet, Purina ProPlan or Royal Canin foods) and if you choose to switch foods, be sure to do so by mixing old and new foods together over 5-7 days. If the canned diet seems to tempt him to eat, you can continue mixing a bit in with the kibble, but I would recommend avoiding Beneful and looking for a higher quality canned option. Feel free to request a consultation or post additional questions if you have further concerns! :-)

Lack of eating and drinking are often the first sign that something is amiss. Unfortunately, they are very non-specific signs of illness. I would recommend Honey be evaluated by a veterinarian ASAP if she is not eating or drinking.

Poor pup! It definitely sounds like something is wrong. There are many things that can cause dogs to lose weight, not eat or drink, and not want to move, so it's hard to say what might be wrong without being able to examine him and run some tests. He may have an infectious disease such as parvo, a systemic illness like liver or kidney disease, or may have ingested something toxic. This does sound quite serious, so I would recommend taking Boy to the vet for an exam as soon as possible. He/she can do blood work and x-rays if needed to help diagnose the problem and get him started on appropriate treatment.