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My senior dog is losing weight, weak legs, not eating. What to feed?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | American Staffordshire Terrier | Male | unneutered | 14 years and 7 months old

Hi, my partners American Staffordshire X is 13 years old & over the past few weeks has lost a lot of weight & strength in his back legs & does not eat as much as he should. I realise that he is quite old & i think he is missing his dad (my partner) quite a lot who is currently away from home & wont be back for at least another month. I am scared that due to his weight loss & age that he might not last to see his dad. Can you please tell me how & what i can feed him to put weight back on?

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Lauren Kennedy, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on August 2nd, 2017

I am very sorry to hear that Thor is not doing well. First, I would recommend taking him into your vet to have some blood work and x-rays performed to see if they can figure out what is going on. With such drastic weight loss I would be concerned that it is something more than just depression from his dad being away. In the meantime you can try offering him puppy food because this has more calories than regular dog food. You may want to also entice him to eat by adding some broth to his food or adding some plain boiled chicken to it. However, as mentioned before, I'm concerned that something more is going on and I would recommend getting him in to be seen as soon as you can.

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    Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    It sounds like Thor isn't doing well at the moment! Unfortunately this weight loss could be caused by a serious medical illness such as cancer, dental problems, kidney failure, liver failure, or diabetes among other causes. A change in diet to a specific food will not help put weight back on him if he's suffering from one of those. He really needs to see a vet first thing tomorrow for a physical exam, geriatric blood panel, and urinalysis for a start. These tests will help the vet diagnose what is causing his weight loss and if any treatment can be done to help him.

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