My old dog is sleeping all day and won't eat. Should I worry?

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm sorry to hear that Gum seems to have a decreased appetite and is more lethargic. While these are vague clinical signs, these may be due to some sort of underlying disease of either the gastrointestinal tract, liver or kidney disease, and/or a possible neoplastic or cancerous process. Since he has had a decreased appetite long enough to lose weight, I recommend having him evaluated by your veterinarian at their next available appointment. Your vet can perform bloodwork to look for any evidence of systemic illness that may be contributing to his clinical signs. His clinical signs are unlikely due to behavioral changes alone. I hope this is helpful - best of luck with Gum!

If only Rubie could talk! I recommend to have Rubie examined by the veterinarian today. new behavior like this could indicate low blood sugar or liver problems causing ammonia levels to build up in the blood stream. Best to play it safe and rule out a medical cause. I hope this gets figured out quickly and please feel free to post any additional questions.

This sudden change in behavior is quite concerning that Fudge is not feeling well. I'm concerned that something serious may be going on. I would have him seen by a veterinarian as soon as possible for an exam and bloodwork.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I am sorry to hear that Whitey is not feeling well. I would recommend having a veterinarian examine her so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. She may be quite ill with these symptoms. I would recommend having her blood tested and having abdominal x-rays taken. I hope this helps and that Whitey gets better soon. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Loss of appetite, lethargy and pain can be observed with many conditions such as gastroenteritis, dietary indiscretion, kidney disease, pancreatitis, among many other possibilities. These are serious signs and a veterinary evaluation is needed to know what is causing these and what would be best to treat it with. I recommend that you have Oscar evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They would be able to check for these possibilities and others depending on the findings on exam. Treatment would be based on findings. Good luck and have a great day! Hoping for a speedy recovery!

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.

Your post got cut off due to character limit. The last thing that came through was "I feel like I have..." Based on the description that did come through your pet is exhibiting general signs of lethargy and lack of appetite which could indicate internal illness/disease. I would recommend having your older pet examined by your veterinarian and potentially bloodwork ran to get to a diagnosis here. Disease processes can be vague in symptoms initially but if caught early will give your pet the best chance at recovery and can limit the extent of treatment that is needed. Also making sure your pet is fed only dog food with no people food which can upset the pancreas and cause illness over time is recommended.