My dog has red gums, chews his bed, and seems too skinny. Is he okay?

Question

I’m worried about my dog. He is a 7 month year old kelpie, and I live in Darwin. He think his gums are really red and hot. He periodically eats. He won’t eat a whole meal, just go back to it again and again. He is chewing his bed constantly. Just numbing on it. I haven’t been taking him out much, he stays inside alot. I feel like he could have heat stroke. I’m not sure. He is skinny, and I’m thinking too skinny. I work from 7:30 am to 5pm I’ll leave food during the day there. Pet's info: Dog | Australian Kelpie | Male | 7 months and 7 days old | 30 lbs

Kevin Sanada, DVM · Accepted Answer

I am not too worried from what you are describing and what I'm seeing in the pictures. The gums do not appear overly red to me. They actually appear normal. Heat stress is possible in a warm climate like Darwin and red gums can be a sign of this. A preceding sign is excessive panting where the tongue hangs far out of the mouth. Signs of severe heat stress is diarrhea and behavior change. If any of these signs are noted, then it's best to cool Obi down with cool water as soon as possible. Obi looks like he is in good shape. We are often used to seeing fatter dogs, so he may appear too skinny, but is actual at an ideal body weight. The fact that he grazes her food rather than eating it all in one sitting is a good sign that he naturally maintains a lean body weight. This may seem odd, but it's actually very good that he maintains this lean body condition, because skinny dogs tend to be healthier and live longer. Below is a link to a body condition score chart that will give you an idea of where she is on the spectrum: https://www.wsava.org/sites/default/files/Body%20condition%20score%20chart%20dogs.pdf I hope that helps and all is well with Obi.

My dog has red gums, chews his bed, and seems too skinny. Is he okay?

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