Why is my senior dog getting bony?
Brandon Effertz
2025-07-30 13:47:09
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Just like humans, dogs can experience muscle atrophy as they age. This natural process can lead to noticeable weight loss, even if your dog maintains a healthy appetite. Dental issues, such as broken teeth, gum disease, or oral tumors, can make eating painful for senior dogs. This discomfort can result in reduced food intake and subsequent weight loss. Senior dogs often experience a decrease in appetite due to various factors, including sensory decline, medical conditions, or simply aging. Chronic illnesses like kidney disease, diabetes, or cancer are more prevalent in older dogs. These conditions can lead to significant weight loss and require immediate veterinary attention. Digestive problems such as inflammatory bowel disease or malabsorption syndromes can interfere with nutrient absorption, leading to weight loss in senior dogs.
Jed Mitchell
2025-07-30 12:34:13
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If you're wondering why your dog is losing weight, there are two possible explanations. It could be a symptom of an underlying condition, indicating a larger health issue, or simply due to changes in your dog's diet requirements as they age. Eight common issues could be the underlying cause of weight loss in elderly dogs. These include liver/gallbladder disease, dehydration, dental problems, kidney disease, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and arthritis. It is usually the case that weight loss is accompanied by other symptoms related to the root cause. The best thing you can do for your senior dog that is losing weight is to observe them for the other symptoms so you can inform the vet so they can diagnose your dog quicker.
Rachel Ernser
2025-07-30 09:45:57
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Aging dogs will often begin to suffer from atrophy of muscles, especially when they have a reduction of physical activity. They may be suffering from bone and joint pain from arthritis. Atrophy of muscles in dogs is very common in aging dogs, dogs that are ill or dogs that cannot exercise properly. Muscle atrophy is when there is a loss of muscle mass. It is noticeable when parts of your dog’s body appear weaker and thinner than usual. Generally, the hind legs, hips, face or neck will look noticeably thinner due to the loss of muscle mass. Simply not using their muscles can cause your dog to experience atrophy of muscles. Dogs that do not get much exercise or confined to small cages will not be able to develop muscle tone and their muscles will then atrophy from disuse. As dogs age, their nutritional needs change and they are not able to process protein in the same way.
Tia Hickle
2025-07-30 09:28:18
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When Your Older Dog is Losing Weight While it is more common for dogs to gain weight as they age, there are certain circumstances that may result in your dog actually losing weight. This may cause you to be concerned about your beloved companion and wonder what the cause of this weight loss may be. There are two categories that this answer can take either there is an underlying condition and it is a symptom of a more significant issue or your dog’s aging process requires a different balance in their diet. When weight loss occurs in older dogs there is a good chance that it is caused by an underlying health condition. These issues include liver/gallbladder disease, dehydration, dental, kidney disease, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and arthritis. Most of these root causes will present with other symptoms that accompany weight loss. If your vet can’t find any underlying cause for the weight loss it might be time to change your dog's diet. Consult with your veterinarian about their current diet and the amount of protein, fat, and fiber they are getting.