My dog is eating less. Should I worry about her weight or see a vet?

Question

Hello, I have a 2yr old pitbull/lab mix (I think), she has been healthy but for the last few weeks she seems to have been eating less and less and won't eat her dry dog food unless I sit right next to her and encourage her to eat. I just got a weight gain supplement for her to help her regain some weight. Im wondering if there is anything I should do to get her to eat more often. Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Female | unspayed

Kevin Sanada, DVM · Accepted Answer

A decrease in appetite can indicate a medical problem, so it's best to have a vet examine her to make sure nothing is wrong. She actually doesn't appear to be underweight based on the pictures shown. I'd have to examine her to be sure, but the biggest indication that she is not underweight is the fact that she 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 she was underweight, then I would first want to rule-out a disease, or parasite causing her to lose or not gain weight. It's best to have a veterinarian evaluate her, so you can ensure she's healthy and ensure that you are not going to feed her 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 Amber is one of those dogs, but would urge you to have a veterinarian examine her 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 her normally and would not recommend a diet change or increase until she can be evaluated by a veterinarian. I hope that helps and all is well with Amber.

My dog is eating less. Should I worry about her weight or see a vet?

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