Is my overweight dog's lethargy and irritability caused by his weight?

Hello and thank you very much for your question. I am sure that you are extremely frustrated with what is going on with poor Brian. The symptoms you describe can be a part of many, many diseases that can occur in dogs Brian‘s age. When we see at two-year-old dog that is gaining weight and not wanting to move as much, we begin to think of certain diseases like hypothyroidism or an orthopedic disease that is causing him to feel pain and not wanting to move. But there are just so many diseases that can cause weight gain, lethargy, etc. I realize that you have been to many veterinarians, but are they general practice veterinarians? If they have been, and you have not gotten any answers this far, I believe you should ask one of your regular veterinarians to refer you to a internal medicine specialist. If you live in the city, there may be an internal medicine specialist nearby. If you do not live in the city, you may have to travel a few hours to a specialty hospital. At a veterinary specialty hospital, the vets concentrate on one specific area of practice and their hospital has more diverse testing and equipment then can be found at a general practice. I hope this has helped and I hope that you get Brian back on the road to recovery

I would recommend that Rex have a thorough checkup with a vet. Gaining weight and lethargy can be a symptom of hypothyroidism, which can be confirmed easily with a blood test. However, the shortness of breath has me a little concerned that there could be heart or lung disease also at play. Heart disease can cause fluid build-up in the lungs or abdomen, which can easily be confused for weight (fat) gain. After thorough examination, the vet may recommend bloodwork to check for internal medical illness, and x-rays or ultrasound to see what is going on inside the body. After your vet has a better idea of the cause of Rex's symptoms, then an appropriate treatment plan can be discussed.

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

I must say that I love the name of your pet. It is very unique. The question that needs to be answered is whether the getting tired is due to your dog possibly being overweight or if he has a medical condition that is causing him to get lethargic during the walks. So before you start decreasing the food or changing the food to a diet, I urge you to make an appointment with your regular veterinarian to have a complete physical examination performed. Things like cardiac disease, diabetes, hypothyroidism, etc. can all cause dogs that are similar in size and breed to exhibit the symptoms yours is displaying. The vet will probably need to run a few tests like a full CBC chemistry profile, thyroid hormone analysis, urinalysis, and possibly x-rays of the chest and abdomen. I realize that this may seem like a lot but trust me it is always better to error on the side of caution. And if all of these tests come back normal, you will have a great baseline to go by if he ever experiences any sickness in the future. Thanks for your question. I hope I have given you some help.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding your dogs. Hip and knee pain is a common cause of rear limb lameness in large breed dogs. Arthritis tends to develop in either or both joints making the animal reluctant to move. Over time they will lose muscle mass in the rear limbs as they bear more weight on the front end to compensate. This could be what you are recognizing in your dogs. Other causes of weight loss include increased activity levels, diet changes (dog food can vary drastically in the number of calories per cup) or hormonal or metabolic disorders. If the dogs are acting ill, they should go to the veterinarian for further testing. I hope this information helps!

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.

Hello, thank you for your question about Milo. I would not be too worried about the position of his tail, if he is able to move it freely and is non-painful this is likely not a problem. Lethargy and lack of weight gain are nonspecific signs that can be indicative of many different underlying disease conditions. If you are interested in looking into this matter further I would recommend having Milo seen by your veterinarian. They can examine him and discuss the need for additional diagnostics such as systemic bloodwork. Hope this helps, Milo is very cute!