Why is my dog gaining weight, tired, and struggling to breathe?

I am mostly concerned about the weight loss, lethargy (depression) and the labored breathing. This is certainly not normal for such a young dog. From the symptoms you are describing, a metabolic disorder seems most likely. Options are hyperadrenosorticism (Cushings), hypothyroidism (although this is not consistent with the weight loss), certain sex hormone disorders, and certain immune mediated disorders. Since this has been going on for such a long time, I would advise a consultation with a specialist at this point. You can find a veterinary internist in your area on www.acvim.org.

These are alarming symptoms indeed. For an older dog with coughing and lethargy, my top suspicions would be: heart disease, heartworm disease (if he is not current on heartworm prevention) primary lung cancer, pneumonia or a heart based tumor. He is at risk for all of these based on his breed. I would highly recommend taking him in to your vet for bloodwork analysis and chest radiographs to properly diagnose him based on the many possible causes stated above. Poor guy. He sounds very unstable for now and the quicker you can get him in to a vet the better. I hope that this is something you can treat for, but the odds of it being something major are high in an older large breed dog. I send you all my best in getting Casper well again. Take care and best wishes.

I am sorry to hear about Dex. It sounds like he could be sick and need veterinary care. If he is breathing strangely this could potentially be a sign of a respiratory (lung)infection or a problem with his upper airway (such as his nose or the back of his throat). Being dopey/down and sleepy can also be signs of an illness. I would recommend bringing Dex in to his vet for an exam. They can use a stethescope to listen to his heart and lungs to check for abnormalities, feel his neck and look in his nose and throat. Depending on their exam findings they may recommend testing such as an x-ray or blood work to check for a cause of his symptoms. Best of luck to you and Dex!

I wuld recmmend a full physical exam by your vet to rule out medical causes for the lethargy and weight gain - thyroid disease can commonly cause such signs and heart and liver disease can result in fluid retention (often with some muscle loss and weakness). Bullying and intimidation from a new, dominant dog may also cause her to be reluctant to walk and a calming supplement may help if this is the only reason

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. If you have been having difficulty in getting his weight down, it certainly could be from a disease such as hypothyroidism. If you have not had a veterinarian examine him and test his thyroid level, I would suggest doing so to rule this out as a cause. If his thyroid level is normal then you may want to enquire about Hills Metabolic Diet. The vet would need to provide you with a prescription for this food as well. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Daphne could have a slow metabolism or she could have hypothyroidism. I would recommend to make an appointment for a thyroid panel which is a blood test. This will tell you if she needs thyroid medication. Generally most dogs do well with treatment. If her thyroid is fine, then you may want to think about using a prescription diet dog food. Thank you so much for using Pet Coach.

Difficulty breathing and panting could be a sign of heart disease or respiratory disease. Congestive heart failure would be the most common heart problem, while pneumonia, bronchitis, pleural effusion/fluid in the lungs would be some common respiratory problems. I would recommend seeing an emergency veterinarian as soon as possible if you feel Rex is having trouble breathing.