Why is My Dog Losing Weight

If your dog is losing weight unexpectedly, it can be concerning and puzzling. Weight loss in dogs often signals an underlying issue that may need immediate attention. From dietary factors to potential health conditions, various reasons could be at play. Understanding these causes can help you take the necessary steps to restore your dog’s health.

What Causes Dogs to Lose Weight?

1. Diet and Nutritional Problems

• Inadequate food intake: If your dog is not getting enough calories, it may cause weight loss. This may be due to insufficient feeding, poor food palatability or food spoilage.
• Unbalanced Nutrition: A lack of essential nutrients such as protein, fat, vitamins and minerals in dog food can also lead to weight loss. Feeding a single type of food or low-quality dog food for a long period of time may trigger this condition.

Picky eaters: Some dogs may have a preference for certain foods and are reluctant to eat others, which may lead to insufficient nutrient intake and consequently weight loss.

2. Parasitic infections

• Internal parasites: such as roundworms, hookworms, tapeworms and whipworms can absorb nutrients in the dog's body, leading to weight loss. These parasites can be contracted through food, water or contact.
• Extracorporeal parasites: such as fleas and ticks do not directly cause weight loss, but they may cause itching and inflammation of the skin, affecting your dog's comfort and appetite.

3. Health problems

• Digestive disorders: e.g. enteritis, gastritis, intestinal parasitic infections, etc., which can affect your dog's digestion and absorption of food, leading to weight loss.
• Endocrine disorders: e.g. hyperthyroidism will speed up the metabolism and lead to weight loss while the quality of the dog's coat decreases.

• Chronic diseases: such as diabetes mellitus, kidney disease, and liver disease can affect your dog's metabolic function, leading to weight loss.

  Related: Kidney Disease in Dogs

• Cancer: the presence of tumors may consume the dog's energy, leading to weight loss.

4. Environment and Lifestyle Habits

• Excessive Exercise: If a dog's exercise exceeds its calorie intake, it may lead to weight loss. This is especially common in active dogs.
• Environmental changes: such as moving house, new members joining the family, etc. may cause a stress reaction in the dog, leading to loss of appetite and hence weight loss.
• Psychological factors: dogs may lose their appetite due to loneliness, anxiety or depression, leading to weight loss.

5 Other factors

• Ageing: With age, the dog's body functions gradually decline and its ability to absorb nutrients deteriorates, leading to weight loss.
• Pregnant or Lactating: Pregnant bitches need extra nutrition to support the development of the fetus, and lactating bitches need more energy to produce milk. Inadequate nutritional intake may result in weight loss.

How to Know if Your Dog's Weight is Normal?

To determine if your dog is in the normal weight range, you can start with the following:

• Refer to the standard weight chart

Different breeds of dogs have their own standard weight ranges. For example, common dog breeds such as Poodle, Bichon Frise, Golden Retriever, Husky and Samoyed have corresponding standard weight and shoulder height. For example, the standard weight of a standard Poodle is 9~11.5kg and the height at shoulder is 38cm or above; the standard weight of a miniature Poodle is 6~9kg and the height at shoulder is 25.4~38cm; and the standard weight of a toy Poodle is 3~6kg and the height is 25.4cm or below.

• Observe the dog's body posture

Observe the dog's body posture to determine whether its weight is normal. In a normal weight dog, the ribs should be easily palpable but should not be too prominent. If the ribs are difficult to touch and the dog's belly is sagging, it may mean that the dog is overweight. Conversely, if the ribs are too prominent and the dog's waist and abdomen are noticeably sunken, it may mean that the dog is underweight.

• Regular checkups

Take your dog to the veterinarian for regular checkups. The veterinarian can use specialized equipment and experience to determine if your dog's weight is normal and give you advice accordingly. The veterinarian may conduct blood tests, fecal tests, urine tests, etc. to determine whether the dog has health problems causing abnormal weight.

• Consider the age and gender of the dog

A dog's age and gender can also affect its weight. For example, weight standards may differ between puppies and older dogs, and there may also be differences in weight between male and female dogs.

• Pay attention to your dog's diet and exercise

Your dog's diet and exercise habits have a direct impact on its weight. Make sure your dog is getting balanced nutrition and avoid overfeeding or feeding high calorie foods. Also, provide the right amount of exercise for your dog's breed and age to help maintain a healthy weight.

How to Deal with Weight Loss in Dogs?

I. Dietary adjustments

• Increase the amount of food

First check if the current feeding amount is meeting your dog's needs. For puppies, adult dogs and senior dogs, the feeding amount needs are different. If the feeding amount is insufficient, you can gradually increase the amount of food, but avoid increasing too much at one time resulting in indigestion. For example, if you were originally feeding one cup of dog food per day, you can start by increasing it to one and a half cups and observe your dog's reaction.
Increasing the number of feedings can also help your dog take in more calories. For example, go from two to three meals per day.

• Choose high calorie foods

Dog food: Pick a quality dog food rich in animal protein and fat. For example, some dog food specially designed for high-energy-demanding breeds (e.g. working dogs) are relatively high in protein and fat. You can check the nutrient content table of the dog food and prioritize those with a protein content of 25% or more and a fat content of around 15% - 20%.
Meat: Increase the amount of fresh meat fed, such as chicken, beef and lamb. These meats are rich in high quality protein and fat and are ideal for dogs to gain weight. Meat can be cooked and cut into small pieces and mixed into the dog food, can be fed 3 - 5 times a week, each time according to the size of the dog to give the right amount, for example, small dogs can be fed 50 - 100 grams each time, medium-sized dogs each time 100 - 200 grams, large dogs each time 200 - 500 grams.
Eggs: Eggs are a nutritious food containing high quality protein, fat, vitamins and minerals. You can feed your dog 2 - 3 eggs per week, either hard-boiled whole eggs (small dogs can be fed half an egg) or broken eggs mixed into the food.

Also Read: Are Raw Eggs Good For Dogs

• Increase the frequency of feeding

Go from two meals a day to three or four meals a day. This will allow your dog to consume more food throughout the day and will also help with better digestion and absorption. For example, feed once in the morning, once at noon, once in the evening and once before bedtime, with the amount of each feeding distributed wisely according to your dog's needs.

• Ensure balanced nutrition

While increasing calorie intake, it is also important to ensure balanced nutrition. In addition to protein and fat, dogs also need vitamins, minerals and other nutrients.
You can add some vegetables and fruits such as carrots, broccoli and apples (cored). Vegetables and fruits provide vitamins, fiber, and other nutrients that contribute to your dog's overall health. Cook and chop the vegetables and feed them mixed with other food, and fruits can be fed directly in small amounts.

II. Health check

• Oral examination

Check for problems in your dog's mouth, such as bad breath, red and swollen gums, loose or missing teeth. Oral pain may affect your dog's eating. If oral problems are found, take your dog to the veterinarian promptly for treatment.

• Internal Parasite Check

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Purchase deworming medication for internal worming. Common internal parasites such as roundworms and tapeworms can rob your dog of nutrients and cause weight loss. Follow the instructions on the deworming medication and deworm your dog every 3 - 6 months.

• Veterinary Checkup

If your dog's weight does not improve after dietary adjustments, or if you notice other abnormal symptoms (e.g. depression, vomiting, diarrhea, etc.), you should take your dog to the veterinarian as soon as possible for a thorough examination. The veterinarian may conduct blood tests, fecal tests, urine tests, etc. to determine whether the dog is suffering from diseases, such as endocrine disorders (e.g. hyperthyroidism), digestive disorders (e.g. enteritis) or other chronic diseases (e.g. diabetes mellitus).

III. Environment and Life Adjustment

• Exercise adjustment

Check whether the dog's exercise is too much. If the dog's daily exercise far exceeds its calorie intake, it will lead to weight loss. Reduce the amount of exercise appropriately, especially high-intensity exercise. For example, if the dog runs for long periods of time each day, shorten the running time or change it to a walk.

• Reduce stress

Environmental changes (e.g. moving house, new members joining the family) may cause stress to the dog and affect its appetite. Try to keep your dog's living environment as stable as possible, and provide a quiet and comfortable space for your dog to rest and live. If a new member joins, you can slowly guide your dog to adapt.

FAQs

Why has my dog lost weight but still eating?

• Inadequate food nutrition

Although the dog is eating, if the food is not nutritionally balanced, such as lacking sufficient protein, fat or certain important vitamins and minerals, it may lead to weight loss. For example, eating only a single low-quality dog food for a long period of time will not meet your dog's needs for growth and weight maintenance.

• Digestion and absorption problems

Even after ingesting food, a dog may have digestive or absorption disorders. For example, the dog may suffer from gastrointestinal diseases, like enteritis and gastritis, which can affect the digestion process of food in the gastrointestinal tract. Or an intestinal parasite infection, where a large number of parasites in the intestines can rob the dog of the nutrients it ingests, resulting in the nutrients not being absorbed efficiently by the dog, and thus weight loss.