Heart Disease
Like with kidney disease, dogs with heart problems don’t start losing weight right away. In fact, early symptoms of heart disease in older dogs are so subtle that most owners ascribe them to the normal age-related slowing down.
Since heart disease can lead to congestive heart failure, it’s important that you know the symptoms so you can get your dog the help they need.
Dogs with early-stage heart disease may experience the following symptoms:
As heart disease progresses, your dog may develop more symptoms including:
Heart disease is a serious condition, so it’s crucial that you take your dog to the veterinarian as soon as you notice any of these symptoms. When diagnosed in the early stages, heart disease can be treated, and with proper care and regular checkups, your dog can live long and have a normal, happy life.
Kidney Disease
As your dog gets older, its organs can’t work as effectively as before. While weight loss can be a symptom of many conditions, dogs with kidney disease don’t start losing weight immediately. Instead, weight loss is typically associated with advanced forms of kidney disease.
Dogs can experience acute and chronic kidney failure. With the latter, the disease progresses slowly over the years and is usually diagnosed in older dogs. Chronic kidney disease is caused by an underlying illness, hereditary conditions, and dental disease.
The most common signs of kidney problems in dogs include:
Since kidney failure is a life-threatening condition, it is essential that you take your dog to the veterinarian if you notice any of these symptoms. The treatment for kidney failure depends on the severity of your dog’s symptoms and whether the condition is acute or chronic.
FAQs About Why Is My Dog Losing Weight But Still Eating
Weight loss in dogs is the result of a calorie deficit. This may be caused by high energy demands, poor quality food, or a number of health issues. A sudden weight loss can be caused by many different diseases including dental problems, intestinal parasites, diabetes, and cancer.
Dog Keeps Losing Weight Despite Eating | Animal in Crisis EP5
If you are a rescuer or a foster home and you’ve never cared for an emaciated dog, you will at some point, and I want you prepared.
If you just found an emaciated dog and have found this blog post, PLEASE, get your dog to a veterinarian quickly.
I am not a veterinarian nor an animal behaviorist. I present my understanding of health or behavior issues based on personal experience and research I’ve done. If you have a dog with a health or behavioral issue, seek professional guidance. I hope you find my post useful.
This is a lengthy blog post, so I’m including my headings so you can scroll a bit easier if needed.
Rescued by animal control in Saraland, Alabama, Florence was found in horrible condition: At 29 pounds, she weighed half of what she should weigh. Her entire skeleton was visible under sagging skin. Lifting her lips revealed a hint into her current health: her gums were beyond pale, so gray they were nearly blue. The coat was missing big chunks of fur and her skin was red and inflamed from infection. She had deep, oozing anal sores. Florence would not live much longer without swift intervention. There would be nothing swift about her recovery.
Restoring health to an emaciated dog requires thoughtful assessment, a tempered refeeding plan, and patience. Lots of patience.
As I was drafting this blog post, another set of horrific s came across my computer screen. A different dog, hours from dying. I knew of his rescuer, a woman who works hard to save the homeless and abandoned that cross her path. Her county of residence has no animal shelter, limited animal control services, and no funding.
“He was abandoned in an outdoor pen”, she recalls. He had no resources and no ability to hunt for his own food or water. He was trapped.
As she approached him, she could see the severity of muscle wasting. He struggled to stand and was unable to keep himself upright. “His body temperature was low, I knew he didn’t have long to live”. With no after-hours veterinarian available, Valerie took Chance home. They were on their own for the weekend.
Note: Going it alone is not advised for the inexperienced if you have any access to resources. Find a veterinarian or find a reputable rescue group that has access to veterinary care.
Chance had three urgent needs: warmth, the right amount of correct sustenance, and to be free of the million fleas that were no doubt contributing to his slow death.
Valerie made the difficult but correct decision – forgo the de-flea bath and keep him dry and warm. She picked fleas off of him for hours and fed him a liquid food, slightly warmed, to help keep his temperature up and rehydrate him.
Chance survived the next 36 hours and was hospitalized bright and early on Monday morning. He remained hospitalized for several days before being released to home care.
NEVER try and recover an emaciated dog without the guidance of a veterinarian. The content in this blog post is not intended for use in designing a refeeding plan for an emaciated dog. Only a veterinarian should provide treatment recommendations.
We want you to have a greater understanding of the effects of starvation, the risk of refeeding, and why a tempered refeeding plan is best. Please use your veterinarian’s guidance.
I began to read about the effects of starvation and am boggled at the complexity and in awe of the body’s ability to survive during starvation. The body systems are so intricate, so detailed, so interrelated and yet, so fragile.
So I turned to my friend and veterinarian Dr. Karen Ellis for a quick overview of canine nutrition, starvation, and what happens when a dog begins to eat again.