My small dog is losing weight. Is this a serious health issue?

Question

So my dog is losing weight the first time she was 8lb then months later ahe was 7lb now shes 6lb should i be worried. Pet's info: Dog | Yorkipoo | Female | unspayed | 2 years old | 6.2 lbs

Anna M., DVM · Accepted Answer

Hello, and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Yes, this unexplained weight loss in Mia definitely worries me. 2 lbs of loss in a large dog wouldn't be too alarming, but in Mia's case she's lost 25% of her original body weight and that should absolutely be investigated. It is never normal for a dog to lose this much weight and almost certainly indicates a medical problem. I recommend bringing Mia to the vet for evaluation. Anticipate that your vet will likely start with an exam, then will probably recommend checking a fecal sample and running bloodwork. Dramatic weight loss in young dogs can be due to problems with digestion (such as inflammatory bowel disease or pancreatic insufficiency), congenital issues (such as a liver shunt), intestinal parasites, and (less commonly) cancer, among other things. I hope this helps and you can get to the bottom of Mia's weight loss soon!

My small dog is losing weight. Is this a serious health issue?

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