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My dog is losing weight, has diarrhea, and vet suggests a specialist.

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | German Shepherd | Male | unneutered | 8 years old | 108 lbs

Extreme dehydration. Diarrhea, fecal test did have bacteria, heartworm negative.. Lost 30 lbs since last November, I knew he lost weight but not that much. Long hair covered it pretty we'll. Had blockage of hair/ grass stool size obstruction over weekend. Removed and what must have been three gallons of poop water came out..prescribed metronidazle, broad spectrum wormer.They said something is going on and want to send to specialist. Its t could be a million things. Is this accurate

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. B. DVM, DACVIM (Oncology)

Veterinarian

Published on July 2nd, 2018

It sounds like your vet is very worried about Jake and is recommending a referral to help figure this out as quickly as possible. Family vets are able to run some base line tests, as you describe above, but your pup likely needs some additional diagnostics that a specialist (likely an internal medicine specialist) can provide. They would be looking for causes of extreme weight loss, dehydration, diarrhea, the obstruction event you report, and any other symptoms you report at home. Your vet is right that there are many things this could be and some cases are complicated by more then one problem. A specialist will review all the tests performed, perform a thorough physical exam, and discuss with you what tests are recommended next to get this figured out for Jake. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

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