Older Dog

Question
Hi Patti, I have an 11 year old black lab. I have had her since she was a puppy. She has always been a little on the pudgy side, never really overweight just soft. She is not much into exercise and loves to lay in the sun. About a year ago she just starting looking really trim. I was concerned enough to take her to the vet 3 times because I was sure she had lost a lot of weight. She has only lost about 9 pounds.I was told that sometimes their bodies change as they get older. She is my 5th lab and none of my others seemed slimmer as they aged! Recently we have started to notice that she is hungry all the time. She ate a piece of turkey off a dinner plate the other night! She is very well behaved and in her 11 years with me has never done anything like that before. she has blood work done on a regular basis because she is on Deramaxx for her arthritis. Any ideas what may be wrong with her? other than that she acts the same way she always has.
Thank you,
Rebecca

Answer

Hi Rebecca,

It's normal for dogs to loose some muscle mass as they age. Perhaps that the reason your dog looks trimmer.

It's good you've taken your dog to the vet when you noticed her weight loss, and even better that nothing was found! Just the same, keep an eye out for symptoms like increased drinking and urine output, continued weight loss, or restlessness.

If your dog has been unable to exercise because of winter weather or because her age prohibits it, that can lead to "boredom-related eating". Increased companionship, family interactions, and exercise can all help with boredom-related eating.

Increased consumption of food can be the result of diabetes onset, because the body often can't assimilate blood sugar when diabetic conditions are present. Blood sugar levels can be lowered as a direct result of insulin related tumors that your dog may have developed, and this will also have a direct impact on her appetite.

It may be possible that your dog has developed poor absorption of her food within the gastrointestinal system, leading to weight loss for reasons such as inflammatory bowel problems, insulin deficiencies, or intestinal cancer.

Some dogs have an increase in appetite with certain cancers and often have weight loss despite an increase in appetite. More common though, would be to rule out diabetes and Cushing's disease (Hyperadrenocorticism). Cushings is probably the most common cause of increased appetite in dogs over 9 years of age, so it is worth doing the labwork necessary to rule out both Cushings and diabetes.

Basically, keep watching your dog. A repeat trip to the vet might be called for.

Best of luck,
Patti