My 9 yr old spaniel is not looking to good these days.  She has went from being quite a bit over-weight to being so skinny that I can easily feel her bones under her hair.  I have upped her feeding over the last couple of weeks which hasn't made any difference.  She isn't as muscly as she used to be either as she was a very fit active dog in her prime.  I don't want to start taking her to the vet for loads of testing as it really stresses her out but I was wondering could it be as simple as worms?  She got advantage(flea and wormer) in May and rather than regularly dose them, I comb with a flea comb and check for ticks.  I haven't had a flea outbreak for about 3 yrs but regularly get ticks(which I whip off).  If she has worms, wouldn't all the dogs have them too?  Or should I worm her and try that before a vet appointment?  Any advice welcome, thanks!!

I would be seriously concerned over such a weight loss.  She really has to be seen by a vet.

It sounds a bit too drastic to be simply worms. Could be her thyroid... overactive causes weight loss and muscle weakness but there are usually other symptoms as well. Is she drinking more than normal?? I would certainly take any sudden weight loss to the vets to investigate.

Could also be a symptom of Kidney failure.  Definitely a Vet visit.

She has no other symptoms at all.  She's still really keen to eat and in fact will steal food.  she is still very active and nothing bothers her at all(I mean touching her all over).  She still has loads of pink in her gums and shiny eyes.  She just seems to have aged and slimmed in a matter of months.  Hence I though a worm burden.  Oh well, if needs must I will take her for a check up but I hate doing it to her and I really dread it being something awful I don't feel ready to deal with.  I can contimplate losing my old lady.

> She's still really keen to eat and in fact will steal food. 

That is why the weight loss is so concerning.  I know it can be a huge worry but if it is to be something serious the sooner it is addressed the better chance of getting it sorted. 

> I can contimplate losing my old lady.

At 9 she ought to be in her prine, and certainly not an old lady, so soonest sorted soonest mended.

I was shocked at you talking about your 9 year old spaniel as being elderly, we have had several spaniels over my life time, they lived till at least 14 yrs old and the last one was 16.5yrs old when he passed away suddenly one evening.

There could be several treatable conditions to blame for the weight loss so a trip to the vets is called for ASAP.

Significant weight loss can even indicate cancer or it could be something like addinsons...
To be honest you are better off going to your vet, especially if you have upped her food
and still not seen any increase in weight.

I changed all my lot onto raw meat a few months ago and this was the start of the weight loss.  My vet is of the opinion that it just might not be agreeing with Ruby after all these years of complete and he thinks it could be affecting her metabolism.  I have to put her back onto complete and feed her little and often over the next week and then she will go back to get weighed and see if that is making any difference.  He said with the wrong food and change of temp(autumn), she may just be losing fat that way and the muscle tone could just be the aging process.   If their is no change in her, they are going to start blood work next week.(just don't tell Rubes!)

9 years old is really nothing when it comes to changing from complete to raw, I really doubt that is the reason, although I'm no expert. I changed a 13 and a half year old with no problems at all, along with the others ranging from 6 months to 7 years old. Could it be that you're just not feeding enough of the raw food?

I agree with Pedlee, I doubt it's the raw food per se but I would look again at portions and the type of meat/s you're feeding. However, if you are thinking of reintroducing kibble why not feed it alongside raw for a while.  One kibble and one raw meal might be an option or add a handful of kibble to each meal.

Hope all is ok with her soon

> I changed all my lot onto raw meat a few months ago and this was the start of the weight loss.

I agree with your vet - put her back on the kibble she was on before, I don't think doing a 50:50 kibble:raw is any good, the vet is looking to identify/eliminate causes, not to balance her weight. If a switch back to kibble does the trick and you still want to feed raw, then you can look again at the raw diet and adjust it according to her individual needs (depending on vets advice/conclusions etc.)

By the way, if you 'google weight loss on a raw diet', there are heaps of articles promoting raw food as a 'magic' weight-loss diet ;) (mostly for humans, to be species specific add 'in dogs' to the end of the phrase)

Hi cracar
I have had exactly the same symptoms with my 15 and a half yr old springer - I took him to vets after a recent haircut because this highlighted how much weight he had lost - our vet initially suspected diabetes as he was drinking vast amounts of water but not passing much more - she did blood tests and ruled out diabetes - she diagnosed something called 'canine cushings disease' which is apparently quite common.  She has not recommended treating him at his age as the treatment can have side effects and she feels this is extra stress on him that at his age is unneccessary.  She advised that he is not suffering or in pain and left untreated he will very slowly get worse.  She recommended 3 weekly check-ups to monitor his weight loss and so she can establish if and when it becomes detrimental to his wellbeing.  Aside from the weight loss and excessive drinking he has no other symptoms and is full of life still and although he cannot jump around the way he used to, he still is as active as ever.  My vet did say that if he had been younger, she would have definately recommended treatment so it may be worth looking into the possibility she has the same condition.  I know it is stressful for them to be poked and prodded but it was only a simple blood test initially.  Good luck with getting to the bottom of it xx

Thanks for all your opinions, guys.  It really helps to hear different views.  I switched my lot onto raw because we got a Bullmastiff rescue that is allergic to complete.  We worked out a great deal at my local butcher and I go 3 times weekly and get bucket loads of meat, mostly beef but some chicken too.  I started adding the meat to the spaniels tea too for a treat and they loved it so much and started leaving the complete so I just bit the bullet and switched them all over, even the cat!!  I've now switched the spaniels back but with a bit of meat added and That's been 2 days and Ruby is allready putting on weight again.  She has lost muscle so I will take her back just for bloods to check her all over sort of but I am delighted with her progress allready.
Funny, the raw diet has put the'beef' onto that huge bullie but wasn't enough for my little cocker.  I wonder if it's anything to do with the energy levels?  Bullie sleeps 23 hours of the day and the cocker never stops.  But the bullie is slightly podgy on the raw diet and the cocker was getting loads(talking bowls full!) and it couldn't sustain the little whirlwind!!  Who knew?

Good to hear she's putting on weight again, I agree with the others that a vet visit would be worthwhile just to rule out anything. My Yankee is 9.5 years old and still bounding around like a young 'un, he just won a fun agility competition at our local village fete at the weekend, so you shouldn't be thinking of your girl as too much of an oldie yet, I hope you'll have her for many years to come! :-)