Why is my dog so sleepy and losing weight even though he eats?

Poor Zoey. There are so many things that can cause weight loss, lack of appetite and lethragy like an infection, parasites, liver or kidney disease, a pyometra (infection if the uterus), cancer, and much more. I would have you vet take a look at her. Your vet will be able to do blood work and possible x-rays if needed. They will be able to get her started on the proper treatment plan to help her feel better. I hope this helps!

The best next steps would be more tests to help get to the bottom of her symptoms. Typically we start with xrays and ultrasound if bloodwork is normal. Mainly looking for any cause as lethargy and weight loss are non specific. If nothing is found on imaging then loss of nutrition via the GI tract is possible and so sometimes additonal testing is needed to assess this. If your family vet is stumped, some pets get referred to see a specialist (a veterinary internist) for additional help in diagnosis. Additionally medications can be tried to help with any nausea/stimulate the appetite but if an underlying cause can be found and treated that will always be better. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

If he has lost weight and is lethargic than he should be examined by a vet to determine the cause. He could have a dental problem, infection, parasite, metabolic/endocrine disease, etc. and your vet can run lab work and take an x-ray, if needed, to help determine the cause. If it caused by stress and anxiety from losing your other dog than your vet can prescribe an anti-anxiety medication, like Prozac or Trazodone to see if that helps.

Poor Zeus! It sounds like he should be examined by a vet to determine the cause. He could have an infections, parasite, metabolic/endocrine disease, musculoskeletal pain, etc. and your vet can run lab-work and take x-rays, if needed, to help diagnose and then determine the best way to treat his problem. Please call your vet and have him seen as soon as possible.

I would definitely recommend some blood work, if this hasn't been done recently. Older dogs are prone to a number of health issues that can cause decreased appetite along with being less active - chronic kidney disease and hypothyroidism are two possibilities that are both very common. In many cases, these issues are treatable (at least to some extent) once a diagnosis is made, so it's well worth checking for them if you can - hopefully, there are some things you can do to make him feel better for as long as possible, even though he's getting older.

Poor Tyson....he looks so thin! If the blood-work was normal then the next step would be abdominal and chest x-rays to look for organ enlargement and masses. Your vet can also submit a fecal panel to look for parasites and infections, as well as a TLI to make sure he doesn't have exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. If your vet is not able to diagnose then you could take him to a specialist for more advanced testing, like an ultrasound, etc. Hope he gets better soon!

Hello. I am sorry to hear that Bob is not doing well. Unexplained weight loss is always a concern and can be caused by many different factors including gastrointestinal diseases (worms, food allergies, IBD, absorption disorders), metabolic diseases (diabetes, liver disease, kidney disease), heart disease and airway disease. If he is getting dizzy this can be a sign of lack of either blood flow to the brain, or lack of oxygen to the brain. This can be the cause of either heart disease or lung disease. Dizziness can also be due to anemia which can be caused by kidney disease. Lethargy is a sign of all of these conditions. As you can see, Bob has very non-specific signs, but his condition sounds serious. I would strongly recommend that you see your veterinarian, and they will likely wish to pursue bloodwork and possibly an x-ray of the chest. I hope Bob gets better soon!