my dog eats every day and drinks alot of water but cannot gain weight. she is very skinny. what is wrong?

Answer 1

Has she been checked for worms? If she's been wormed, perhaps it's because of her age. Some breeds go through a gangly stage where they've reached their full height but have yet to fill out. If that's the case, just give her time.

Answer 2

Has she been checked for intestinal parasites? With her consuming alot of water you may also want to check her for diabetes as well.

Also what food are you feeding her? Some dogs can't eat enough of a lower quality foods to maintain daily functions and keep a healthy weight. I'd have her checked by the vet for the first two, and if everything is good there, definately switch her to a high quality food.

Nothing you find at a grocery store is going to be a good food. High quality foods can be found at large pet store chains, or online. A couple of foods I like are Nutro Natural, Innova, Innova Evo and Cannidae.

There are other high quality dog foods. Here's how to spot them:

A high quality food will have little or no fillers such as corn, wheat or soy. These aren't very digestable for dogs, and are common food related allergens. Since you were seeing corn meal in the first few ingredients, those are not high quality foods. Foods list ingredients by content, with the ingredient it contains most of at the top.

A high quality food will not contain BHT, BHA or Ethoxyquin, these are all chemical preservatives that have been linked to cancer.

A high quality food will not contain by-products of any kind. Meat meals are ok as long as the source of the meat is listed, such as Chicken Meal.

A high quality diet should have meat as at least the first ingredient., and be made from human grade ingredients. Foods that don't use human grade ingredients often get their ingredients from less than desirable sources, such as meat from animals that were diseased, or euthanized.

There is another diet option other than dog food. Some people choose to feed a raw diet. This involves feeding the dog raw meaty bones and organ meat. However it is not as simple as throwing a couple chicken bones in a bowl everyday. If you wish to feed this type of diet, do lots and lots of research first. Switching to this diet without knowing what your doing can lead to nutritional problems for your dog. I'll give you some links as a starting point in research if you are interested in this type of diet.

http://www.willowglen.com/barf.htm.........

http://www.bestfrisbeedogs.com/diets.htm...

http://www.rawlearning.com/rawfaq.html.....

http://www.rawfed.com/myths/index.html.....

http://www.rawdogranch.com

What's Really In Pet Food
http://www.api4animals.org/facts?p=359&m...

Answer 3

The first thing you need to do is take her to the Vet for a good check-up, specifically including a fecal float to see what, if any, intestinal worms she may have. You might want to also have her checked for heartworm at this time if you don't have her on h/w preventative. And, if you do have her on h/w preventative and even if it's the type that also protects against internal parasites, it is not effective against the tapeworm carried by fleas.

If all of those things show to be normal, then you should discuss with your vet what course of action you should take, if any, to determine why she is so thin.

You don't say what breed of dog she is, so maybe she's a breed that is just naturally slender?

Answer 4

She might have a type or worm most likely tape worm which I think (I am not exactly sure)takes the animal's nutrition it is hosting on so ..... it might be a other worm but I would feed wet dog food for a week and see if it gains weight, if not do to your local Vet hope it helps

Answer 5

How old is your dog?

If she's young, and she hasn't been wormed, that would be my first place to go.

If she's old, then it could be liver disease, kidney failure, heart disease, cancer, thyroid malfunction, or diabetes, most of which can be confirmed by a blood test and physical exam by a vet. All is not necessarily lost - some of those things are treatable, and for those that aren't, there are things that can be done to make your dog more comfortable.

Regardless, I'd still recommend that your dog be checked by a veterinarian.

Answer 6

It is a good idea to get her checked out by a vet first to make sure there's nothing wrong, and the vet can advise you on nutrition and diet. Also, dogs are like people; some are just skinnier than others.

Answer 7

your dog could have worms, or it could be diobetic if it drinks alot, see the vet for advice and a check over for your dog xx

Answer 8

Probably worms but take her to the vet for a check-up

Answer 9

how much are you feeding her what kind of breed is she how old. she may have tapeworm or another parasite. could be just old age maybe if you included a bit more info we would have more to answer you with. take her to the vet or acall your vet with concerns.

Answer 10

I would strongly recommend a vet visit for your dog