Hair loss, hard, flaky skin, underweight... need vet attention?

Question

My fiance's dog is getting quite old--13 years I think. He's always been thin but now you can't pet him without feeling his bones. Although we are feeding him senior dog food and making it appealing to him by adding wet food and sometimes even gravy (the human kind) but his weight remains fighteningly low. His skin around his face and neck is hard and flaky, and the hair is thinning. His breath could not be worse. I worry that these are symptoms of a bigger problem. He gets checkups at a vet but I am unconvinced. Should we take him to see a different vet or should we just attribute it to old age?

He does eat... about 1.5 cups of dry dog food (plus gravy or wet dog food like canine cuisine) two to three times a day. We even feed table scraps to him like hamburger, and he gets plenty of dog treats (mostly MeatyBones and Pupperoni). That's what's so enigmatic about the low weight... he's eating more than ever and he's not very active. He should be porking up by now (We've been trying to get this problem under control for months)

He is a mixed-breed. Not really sure. Has coloring and fur like a collie or a shepherd... body is shaped like a greyhound under the fur. Tail is held between legs at all times, regardless of mood... Is about as tall and long as a lab. Eyes were blue as a puppy but are now brown. A unique breed if I ever saw one.

Answer 1

He probably has underlying DM or cancer. Either way, at 13, he is nearing the end of his natural life span. I would choose treatments weighing that fact into the equation. Yes, go to a vet. But don't expect miracles.
It could be his teeth too. If he is in pain, he might not be eating well. Have you tried softer table foods to lure him to eat?

Answer 2

Unfortunately, the severe weight loss sounds like cancer. When a dog loses the nutrition he needs to be healthy, like in cancer, other things often crop up, like hair loss. The bad breath is usually a sign of bad teeth in an older dog. Your dog may have broken or worn down teeth, or even some abcesses in there. Definitely take the dog to a different vet, if your vet is doing nothing and saying nothing about the weight loss. He is not doing his job for the money you are paying him.
Your dog has lived a very long life in dog years, so please don't expect a vet to be able to fix this. You may need to judge his quality of life based on his condition and make a difficult decision here. Whatever happens, keep doing what you are doing with the special food-I am sure your dog appreciates that.

Answer 3

If he get checkups at a vet regularly and the vet does not tell u that there is anything wrong and ur still unconvinced then get a second opinion this way u r convinced ,and its better being save than sorry,also is better knowing that it is just old age and not something worse.

Answer 4

Sometimes an older dogs digestion becomes less efective with age. Senior dog food assumes they will be less active and is LOWER in energy. The combo may be the problem. Puppy food is high energy and highly digestible ingredients and many breeders have found it will keep/put weight on aging dogs. Oils (such as fish oil) may help the coat and add more calories..

Answer 5

You should switch vets! Thats an odd condition for any dog. I think it might be just old age with the weight but not the skin condition. he may have an infection or worse in his mouth that could account for the bad breath.

Answer 6

I would get a different vet opinion. It couldn't hurt. It sounds like he needs to be checked out by the vet.
Also make sure to take a stool sample with you.

Answer 7

when you buy a pet it means that your responsible so you need to bring your pet to the vet. or show him/her your love and feed him in balance diet it works.

Answer 8

most dogs do not live past age thirteen.. you did not say what breed this dog is.....