My 14-year-old dog is losing weight and has diarrhea. What to do?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Dog | German Shorthaired Pointer (duplicate) | Male | neutered | 14 years and 3 months old | 55 lbs
14 year old german shorthair. He has dropped a lot of weight over the past several months and has started diarrhea for the past 12 hours.
3 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on September 12th, 2017
Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Dexter! I am concerned about the weight loss. I hate to see older animals lose weight. Possible causes are: kidney or liver disease, diabetes, cancer, pancreatic or intestinal disease that is causing poor absorption of nutrients. Now with the diarrhea starting a lot of the above still applies as causes. He could have just eaten something that is disagreeing with him, have a viral infection, or parasites. I highly recommend a physical by your Vet and have some blood and urine tests run to help figure out why he has lost so much weight. For the diarrhea you can start feeding a bland diet of boiled chicken or hamburger with rice. Feed 1 cup per 20lbs per day for 3-5 days. Your Vet can also start him on some medications for the diarrhea. I hope this helps and I wish you and Dexter the best!
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on August 3rd, 2018
Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Diarrhea can be observed with conditions such as colitis, gastroenteritis, dietary indiscretion, intestinal parasites, among many other possibilities. I would be suspicious of intestinal worms or a food sensitivity given they are all affected at the same time. I recommend that you have them evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They may choose to check for parasites and to start medications for diarrhea depending on the results. Good luck! Hoping for a speedy recovery!
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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Published on March 4th, 2019
I'm sorry to hear Chinook is loosing weight and having diarrhea. I would definitely be concerned about intestinal parasites. Ate 13 years old, I would also be concerned about something more serious, like inflammatory bowl disease or even cancer. I would recommend you take him in to your veterinarian to have him evaluated and his stool checked. He may need a probiotic or potentially an antibiotic to help decrease the bacterial load in his gut and help with inflammation that may be contributing to his diarrhea. Some dogs with diarrhea respond very nicely to supportive care and antibiotics. If he still isn't improving, your veterinarian may recommend some more testing like blood work or even an abdominal ultrasound to look at his organs to see what the underlying cause is. I am glad despite all of this Chinook is feeling okay. I hope he is back on track very soon!
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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