[Celt S]

I have an Italian greyhound who has become skinny (even for the breed). I weigh him weekly and there’s no weight loss (still 10.2#), but he looks and feels bonier (and lighter). He still energetic, playful, and happy. His coat is shiny and sleek. He eats and drinks normally, no poop or peeing problems. He is just getting skinnier. Are there any suggestions for or experiences with this kind of problem.

[anonymous]

How old is the dog? If he is a senior, has he had a vet checkup, lab work done?
Annual exam?
Important to rule out disease processes that are just beginning and identify treatment options early on when they will most likely be effective.

Some senior dogs tend to get skinny as they age. Just like people, some tend to get fat, but if you look around, a lot of elderly folks are thin, despite having good appetites and having an adequate diet.

What are you feeding him?

[Celt S]

He’s going to be 10 yrs the end of next month. There’s no “apparent” health issues. He’s fed a variety of foods: kibble (right now: Crave, Instict, science diet oral care, and royal canin), wet (Merricks, Crave, simply nourish, nutro), home cooked (usually whole chicken, carrot/sweet potato, oatmeal stew), and raw (chicken, beef, and pork).

[anonymous]

Did he have lab work done at his last checkup? Was it normal?
The vet can only tell so much just by physical exam.
I would go to the vet and see if he recommends any diagnostic testing
At age 10 he is a senior.

[Susan]

Hi Celt,
I have a Staffy who has problems keeping his weight at 18-19kgs kgs, he can look skinny over night, his vet said feed him more smaller meals a day & now I fed him 4 smaller meals a day, “finally” he’s keeping on the weight since I increased his food & added another 2 smaller meals to his diet, I added another 1/3 a cup per meal….
Start feeding him lunch & I do 2 dinners 5pm & 8pm but cause it’s winter now he eats 4.30pm- 1/2 a cup Wellness & 7.30pm-1/3 a cup Wellness Core kibble…

My Patch will be 10yrs old in Novemeber & he has had blood test etc & is very healthy..
I just needed to increase food & feed him more meals a day, they have a fast metabolism, where some dogs like humans have a slower metabolism…

[pitlove]

Hi Celt-

Do you by chance have any links to pictures of him at the condition you prefer him at vs the condition he’s in right now? This would help in evaluating if he is indeed too skinny.

Also is he getting a lot of exercise? He could possibly be losing fat and gaining muscle which makes him appear skinnier, but not actually be too skinny. Heres an image of an Iggy thats in really good shape; http://www.sighthound.net/dashlookgood.jpg
Does your boy look anything like this?

Also if he’s maintaining his same weight, not losing muscle tone, has a shiny healthy coat, eats well, has energy etc, I’d say it could be that your preception of what healthy weight looks like could possibly be skewed. I think we’re used to seeing overweight dogs now and some people believe this is healthy. It’s far better for a dog to be a couple pounds underweight than overweight.

Heres a great picture of another breed (Pit Bull) that people often think are too skinny and malnourished when infact a dog like this is in peak physical condition. https://k50.kn3.net/taringa/6/7/0/4/A/9/elieceradd/972.jpg

[Celt S]

He’s has a clean bill of health. There seems to be no reason for him thinning. My boy hasn’t lost weight, he’s just obviously thinner looking. He’s gone from a couple vertebrate, last 2 ribs and tips of his hipbones being visible to almost all of his ribs, the knobs of his hipbones, and 5 vertebrates being visible, but he’s still 10.2 pounds. I’m a bit focused on my pets, so believe me, I “know” quite a bit about the breed. My girl looks like the model for a healthy dog, but is a bit on the heavy side, my other boy is a good weight for their breed. I’ve had to explain, some “discrepancies” on blood work to the vet. Sighthounds are weird.

[pitlove]

Hi again Celt-

I think you misunderstood my post. I wasn’t suggesting you didn’t know your dogs or about the breed. If you can post some before and after pictures it would be really helpful.

Have you brought this concern up to your vet? What do they think about it?

[Author]

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