My dog is suddenly skinny and not eating. What could be wrong?

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!

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.

I am sorry to hear that Jengo isn’t feeling well. Being a young dog the possible causes that come to mind would be things like intestinal parasites, intestinal foreign objects, congenital organ disease such as the kidneys, diaphragmatic hernia, or even a liver shunt. I would highly encourage you to have him evaluated by your veterinarian soon. An x-ray, fecal exam, and blood work may be recommended to help determine the diagnosis and the best treatment plan. Best of luck and I hope he improves soon. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

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!

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.

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.

Poor guy. You absolutely need to get some testing done on this guy. I would start with some bloodwork and x-rays to evaluate his organs and intestines for abnormalities. Then go from there depending on the results. There could be a number of things going on here including: pancreas issues, an intestinal problem, kidney disease, etc. So many disease can cause these symptoms, which is why it is so important to start off with some diagnostic testing to narrow things down. Once we know what the underlying problem is, then we will know how to best help Khan moving forward. I do hope that Khan is able to stabilize soon! Best of luck and take care.