# Weight loss in a senior dog



## Axel13 (Jun 23, 2014)

I was wondering if anyone else has experienced weight loss in a senior dog. My oldest boy is 11 years old and while grooming him today I noticed just how skinny he is. He was always an ideal weight and never over weight but he just feels very skinny now. His ribs can be felt individually and his spine is easily felt too. He is a long haired German Shepherd so it is not noticeable unless you feel it. He eats 4 cups of high value dry kibble a day mixed with half a can of wet food. This is split between two meals and he almost always eats all of his 1st meal but usually leaves half of the second. He is walked once a day for about an hour. He has arthritis and so these walks are leisurely on lead walks. Otherwise he is very healthy. Is this normal in a senior dog?


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

I have a senior that is 11(non GSD but long hair), she hasn't lost any weight and is very active when she wants to be. She has arthritis from an injury she had before I adopted her but I don't see any signs of it. She gets Tumeric, eats a raw diet(which she loves) and gets things like chicken feet, fish and trachea/gullet which give natural glucosamine and supply good anti inflammatory agents.


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## Axel13 (Jun 23, 2014)

llombardo said:


> I have a senior that is 11(non GSD but long hair), she hasn't lost any weight and is very active when she wants to be. She has arthritis from an injury she had before I adopted her but I don't see any signs of it. She gets Tumeric, eats a raw diet(which she loves) and gets things like chicken feet, fish and trachea/gullet which give natural glucosamine and supply good anti inflammatory agents.


Some dogs age better then others. My family had a Collie (who was older then me) who lived to 17 and only showed signs of ageing at about 14. He used to jump our 6ft wall into the neighbors garden to see their cat every morning until he was 12  My senior now at 11 is at the stage my Collie was at at about 15 even though he takes supplements, eats high value food and sleeps on an orthopedic bed. But I never remember any weight loss in my Collie if anything he put on weight as his exercise decreased in his later years!


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## Mary Beth (Apr 17, 2010)

This article Weight Loss In Older Dogs - What Causes It & When To Worry discusses weight loss in senior dogs and when to be concerned.


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

Oh, dear. When was his last thorough physical and bloodwork? I think it may be time for a vet check.

Unexplained weight loss can be an early indicator of cancer, as the cancer is "hungry" and demands the body "feed" it. That would be my biggest concern with a dog this old. Please take a look through this list:
Top Ten Signs of Cancer in Pets | petMD

I don't mean to scare you, just suggest it's worth having a conversation with a good vet.


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## MythicMut (May 22, 2015)

Having lost two dogs to hemangiosarcoma and one to transitional cell carcinoma, I agree with Magwort. While it’s not bad for an elderly dog with arthritis to be a bit underweight you might want to talk with your vet if the change is radical or happened quickly. Have you changed his food? Has he always left his second meal unfinished? Has his water consumption changed? Does he drink more, or less, water each day? Is he panting unusually heavily or breathing normally? Has he taken to pacing a lot?


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## Axel13 (Jun 23, 2014)

Magwart said:


> Oh, dear. When was his last thorough physical and bloodwork? I think it may be time for a vet check.
> 
> Unexplained weight loss can be an early indicator of cancer, as the cancer is "hungry" and demands the body "feed" it. That would be my biggest concern with a dog this old. Please take a look through this list:
> Top Ten Signs of Cancer in Pets | petMD
> ...


He had a health check a few weeks ago when he went in for his arthritis check up. Everything came back fine. He is in good health otherwise and hasn't shown any signs of anything else being wrong. I have had 2 dogs die from lymphoma one gsd at 4 years and a rescue pitbbullx at 10. I now that there are hundreds of illnesses but and symptoms are different for each but he just isn't showing any other signs. This weight loss has happened over the course of about a year I just hadn't noticed how much weight he had lost until I gave his a clip and brush out today. I just had a health scare with my other almost senior when I found 4 lumps but luckily after being removed and tested they all came back clear  I'm not ready to face anything like that again so soon so I think another trip to the vet is in order to rule anything out!


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

Good! Hopefully it's nothing serious. Best wishes for an uneventful visit.

(The beloved old dogs I lost to Hemangio and Osteo both couldn't maintain weight, so it's something that will forever make me nervous with seniors.)


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## Axel13 (Jun 23, 2014)

MythicMut said:


> Having lost two dogs to hemangiosarcoma and one to transitional cell carcinoma, I agree with Magwort. While it’s not bad for an elderly dog with arthritis to be a bit underweight you might want to talk with your vet if the change is radical or happened quickly. Have you changed his food? Has he always left his second meal unfinished? Has his water consumption changed? Does he drink more, or less, water each day? Is he panting unusually heavily or breathing normally? Has he taken to pacing a lot?


I am going to book him in for full health check in the morning. He had one a few weeks ago and it all came back clear but I have to be sure. His weight loss has happened over the course of about a year I just hadn't realized just how skinny he had gotten. I did change his food about 6 months ago and this change has had the opposite effect on my Sheltie who gained a lot of weight and so was switched to another food. It is normal for him to leave food and in his younger years he had to be encouraged to eat more food. He was on 3 cups a day when he was younger and I only upped it to 4 about 2 years ago. He is breathing normally, no change in water intake and no pacing. He has gotten a lot more affectionate if that counts. He is so in tune with my emotions it is unbelievable. He always seems to know what to do to make me feel better. He is a really special boy :hugs:


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## Axel13 (Jun 23, 2014)

Magwart said:


> Good! Hopefully it's nothing serious. Best wishes for an uneventful visit.
> 
> (The beloved old dogs I lost to Hemangio and Osteo both couldn't maintain weight, so it's something that will forever make me nervous with seniors.)


Thank you! I think a trip to the vet will be the best just to rule anything out. I know how you feel, once you lose a dog to an illness you worry that any similar sign in another dog will mean they are ill too. I'm constantly checking mine for lumps and bumps and paranoid if they seem lethargic.


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

My old guy is 13 and for the last couple of years he has dropped a lot of weight right as it starts to get colder. I'm not sure why. 
With seniors I always prefer to err on the side of caution but it seems to me that a lot of seniors, animal and human, start to have problems maintaining weight.


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## Axel13 (Jun 23, 2014)

An update on my senior dog  He was at the vet for tests etc and everything has come back clear. He is fit and healthy and the vet said the weight loss is normal and especially during the summer months when he is outside more often. He might put it back on over the winter or he might not


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