My dog isn't gaining weight. Is he too thin or naturally lean?

Question

This is my mother-in-law's dog Dusty he is a Great Pyrenees German Shepherd mix approximately about 2 years old and they have had a hard time getting him to gain weight he does not have worms not that would come out in his bowel movements they have tried feeding him regular dog food with soft dog food dog food with oil dog food with eggs table scraps but he's not gaining weight and I have lived with them for the past 6 months to notice that he's not gained what could be wrong what should we do? Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Large (61lb +) | Male | 65 lbs

Kevin Sanada, DVM · Accepted Answer

From what I can see, Dusty appears to be thin, but does not appear to be unhealthy. I'd have to examine him to be sure, but the biggest indication that he is not underweight is the fact that he appears to have well-developed muscles. Some dogs tend to be naturally lean and put more weight on their muscles rather than their ribs, or belly. If I was concerned that he was underweight, then I would first want to rule-out a disease, or parasite causing him to lose or not gain weight. It's best to have a veterinarian evaluate him, so you can ensure he's healthy and ensure that you are not going to feed him unnecessarily. Dog obesity is a big problem in the U.S., which means that the average person thinks a fat dog is at ideal weight; and a dog with an ideal body condition, or a lean body condition is thought to be starving. The truth is that the lean dogs are statistically healthier and live longer than overweight dogs. Some dogs (much like people) are able to naturally maintain a lean body condition. I suspect Dusty is one of those dogs, but would urge you to have a veterinarian examine him to make that call. Below is a link to a body condition scoring guide. This is what veterinarians use when assessing whether a dog is overweight or underweight. We prefer them to be at a BCS of 4 or 5, but some are naturally at a 3. https://www.wsava.org/sites/default/files/Body%20condition%20score%20chart%20dogs.pdf At this time, I recommend feeding him normally and would not recommend a diet change until he can be evaluated by a veterinarian. I hope that helps and all is well with Dusty.

My dog isn't gaining weight. Is he too thin or naturally lean?

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