My puppy is too skinny and barely eats. Is he sick? What can I do?

Question

My puppy is too skinny I barely see him eat and if he eats it’s very little quantity of food. I am worried for his well being, what can I do? Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed | Male | unneutered | 6 months and 14 days old | 3 lbs

Ann Dion, DVM · Accepted Answer

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Thank you for posting pictures, these are helpful! Rocky is very thin, and you are right to be concerned. He should not be this thin. I would be very worried about some underlying disease condition that is preventing him from either being able to eat the food, or from being able to absorb the food. Possible causes are GI parasites (worms, giardia, coccidia, etc.), exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI), other GI absorbtive disorders (IBD, GI lymphoma, etc.), partial obstruction or foreign object in the gut, persistent right aortic arch or hiatal hernia causing vomiting/regurgitation, food allergies, etc. I would try feeding him boiled rice with boiled/boneless/skinless chicken breasts, as well as a high quality canned puppy food. I would also strongly recommend getting him to a vet where I would discuss a fecal test, a deworming trial, x-rays or preferably ultrasound, testing for EPI depending on the quality of his feces, and x-rays of the chest to look for congenital malforations there. Best of luck with Rocky, I hope he feels better soon!

My puppy is too skinny and barely eats. Is he sick? What can I do?

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