Why does my active dog look thin even though she eats a lot?

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.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It is definitely concerning that Sadie does not really want to eat and is thin. I recommend having her seen by a vet as she may have some chronic inflammation of her intestinal tract or a sensitivity to certain foods. Your vet can also recommend some diet changes that have more calories to help Sadie gain weight. If Sadie is eating bones, I recommend stopping as they are not nutritionally adequate and can cause chronic irritation to the intestinal tract. I hope this helps and am happy to answer any other questions you may have!

Hello. Genetics can be pretty tricky to interpret in dogs, especially if each parent was a combination of breeds. As long as Bella is eating & drinking well, active & engaged with all around her, I would not be too concerned about how she looks when compared to her litter mates. Is she up to date on her vaccines, wormed on a regular basis & on heartworm preventative? If she is well cared for, eats a name brand food & does not seem overly hungry, then changing her food will not probably change much. She is still young, & truthfully, staying a little thinner is actually healthier than being overweight. If you are concerned, a good evaluation by your veterinarian would confirm if there are any issues to be dealt with. But, all sounds pretty normal. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Losing weight could be a sign of many things and it could range from a poor quality dog food, to parasites to something unexpected in a young dog like kidney disease. I do recommend to be safe and have her examined by your veterinarian and have some basic lab work and a stool sample checked for worms. Pay close attention to her bowels for any loose stool, blood or any vomiting which could indicate something like IBD or pancreatic insufficiency. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Some young, growing, active dogs require more calories then other dogs. If she feel she is lean then i would up the amount of food you are feeding or add in another meal per day. I typically recommend increasing the amount fed by 25%. You can spread this extra amount over the meals. You can also try supplementing some extra protein sources like chicken or ground turkey. You can also look up the calories (kcal) in her diets to figure out if she is getting enough. The Ohio State University Veterinary Medical School has a good site about determining how many calories a pet needs. If you google Ohio State pet calorie calculator it should come up. This will allow you to figure out her energy requirement (kcal/day) and compare this to what she is eating. Keep in mind that she still may need more then what you calculate if she is not gaining weight as every dog is different. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

I agree with your vet. Only someone who doesn't know the meaning of emaciated would call this dog emaciated. Yes, she is very lean, but she is well muscled (including the back area you mentioned), which indicates that she is getting adequate nutrition and is not suffering from an illness. Body condition scoring is not an exact science, because if you look at the guide you may call her a 3/9. This is because you can see her ribs. However, knowing how lean this dog is, I would put her more around a 4/9. No matter the score, she is in perfect condition - really, she's a great looking dog. I'll also note that studies have shown that dogs with these lower body condition scores tend to be healthier and live longer. The truth is that most people are used to seeing fat dogs (obesity is just as big of a problem with pet dogs in the U.S. as it is people) and will usually balk at the site of a 4/9, or even a 5/9 dog. I know you are and will continue to get comments from people who think that she is too skinny, but hopefully you are now armed with enough veterinary advice and knowledge that can help let the concerned person know that all is OK. I hope that helps and all is well with Dejah.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Axel. He does not appear to be under weight based on the picture that you have attached. A dog should have a very thin covering over the ribs where you can see the last couple. He should have a defined waist from both the top and side views. However, if he is very active you can considering transitioning him to a performance diet such as Purina ProPlan Sport. It will contain more calories per cup. I hope this information helps!