Anybody just have a skinny dog, no reason, just thin and there is nothing wrong?
We have a foster dog who has been with us for 3 months now. He was thin when we got him, and has gained maybe 2-3 pds. The people in the group think there is something wrong, that he is too skinny, should be putting weight on.
He is incredibly picky eater. I was instructed to take him to the vet to get him checked out. They checked him out, said he looked good(He is around 8 yrs old, give or take), they ran two sets of bloodtests, all came back within normal range. They ran 2 fecal tests, one then, one today, all normal.
Sometimes he picks at his food, sometimes he gobbles it up. I cant force him to eat LOL..
Anybody else have a dog who is just skinny, with no explanation???
I am glad they are concerned about his health and well being, but so far everything is AOK.

By Emily7 on Friday, January 19, 2007 - 09:50 am:

We rescued a Min Pin that was 3 years old, she was severly neglected & weighed 3 pounds when we got her. She got up to maybe 6 or 7 pounds, you could still see her ribs a little. She was a pig, ate everything put in front of her. The vet she was healthy & not to worry about it.

By Tayjar on Friday, January 19, 2007 - 09:52 am:

Is he eating soft or hard food? Maybe his teeth hurt.

By Tripletmom on Friday, January 19, 2007 - 10:28 am:

LOL-Yup our dog is skinny.He'll be 9 in a couple of weeks.He's a lab/shepperd.He's very lanky.The vet just says that's him.

By Jackie on Friday, January 19, 2007 - 10:38 am:

I mix can food with dry food, to give it some flavor. They do not want him getting use to all can food, though he would love it. I first thought maybe his teeth hurt. He has no trouble eating hard doggie treats, or what ever else he finds on the floor that Faith has dropped LOL
He is just a picky old guy

By Imamommyx4 on Friday, January 19, 2007 - 10:46 am:

My middle ds ate everything in sight when he was growing up and his ribs always stuck out. He was healthy though. I guess it could be the same with a dog. Some are slender and some are not so.

By Tripletmom on Friday, January 19, 2007 - 11:06 am:

Sometimes I make rice and mix it with his food for a treat for him or when he's not feeling well.He LOVES it. I also don't give canned food,he finds a way to eat the canned and leave the dry.

By Reds9298 on Friday, January 19, 2007 - 05:26 pm:

My younger Jack (now 5) has always been skinny. She's barely over 13lbs on any given day. She is VERY picky, some days doesn't eat much of anything, other days eats everything I give her, even though slowly. She's in good health. It's just the way she is, just like my other one is a pig and we have to watch his weight! LOL

I've tried a million kinds of food for Shelby to try to get her to eat more, as well as plain yogurt and cottage cheese mixed in (we only do dry dog food). Most often she will eat the new food for a couple of weeks like it's the greatest thing ever, then back to the same 'ol same 'ol...picky Eunice. I gave up changing food (and wasting the $ on them, from cheapo to expensive) and for 2 years now she eats what we have to give the other one...Science Diet Sensitive Stomach. I just stopped trying to please her because I decided it wasn't going to work anyway. Sometimes, she will lick every bite of cottage cheese off of every piece of dry dog food, she's such a stinker.

I usually only do the yogurt and cottage cheese after a round of shots. She's allergic to shots and occasionally will have vomiting/diahrea after shots if she doesn't get quite enough Benadryl.