Our 6 year old Golden Retriever bitch is painfully thin, she has no depth where her stomach is.  She is being looked after by a kind friend as my wife has had a stroke.  The friend has an elderly Goldy herself and also looks after our 8 year old bitch.  They have both been speyed in the last few months.  Both recovered very well from the op.  The Vet thinks the younger one is fine at her weight but she doesn't look right.  Our friend exercises them 2 or 3 times a day and allows them to free run.  The thin bitch has always runs almost excessively but was normal weight when we looked after her.  The 2 girls are fed on Eukanuba Professional.  For a few weeks they have had extra amounts of Terrier meal to add carbohydrate to the diet,  so far without any result.  Could anyone offer us some advice please.

How easy is it to feel her ribs when you gently stroke her sides?

Have a look at this chart; a dog should have a visible waist when viewed from above and from the side.

A couple of questions - first of all - has she lost weight recently?  If so - then I would definitely investigate this with the vet as there is something going on.

If she hasn't lost weight recently - are you sure she is too thin?  I believe a dog's ribs should feel as if a blanket has been thrown over them.  Ie; covered - but not padded.  Do the knobbles of her spine stick out?  If her ribs feel as if they are only covered by thin skin and you can feel all of her spine then she is too thin.

Many Golden Retrievers are too fat - she may just be the right weight.  She certainly sounds like she has plenty of energy - perhaps she is getting a bit too much exercise.  It tends to make them stressy & restless and difficult to keep weight on - esp. with the excitement/stimulation of being with another dog.

Dog's don't really need carbohydrate by the way - they need fat & protein.   If you Google for a recipe for Satin Balls these are apparently a really good way to get weight on a dog.

Thanks for the chart.  Think she is really thin rather than emaciated.

John

Thanks for your reply.  Her weight loss probably stems from when her carer took her over. We have thought that she gets too much exercise especially as she has always been a frantic runner.  Will suggest the Satin Balls and a reduction in the amount of free running.

John

A lot of the Golden Retrievers I see are actually overweight so a lean GR of the correct weight can appear to be too thin :-) I have a GR myself who competes in agility. He weighs 32kg and is lean and very fit but if I put him along side some of the other GR's I see out and about on walks he  looks very much slimmer than an awful lot of them. Lean GR's seem to be in the minority in my neck of the woods but IMHO it is far better to have a lean dog than an overweight one.

My vet says my GR is an ideal weight and always comments on how fit he is and how unusual it is to see one who is not overweight. If you run your hands over your dog's ribs it should feel as though they are covered by a thin blanket rather than a duvet :-) The breed can have a problem with hips and elbows and carrying too much weight won't help.

A fit GR should be able to work all day so I don't think she will be having too much exercise - my dog is capable of being out all day with me and still has plenty of energy to run and run and run when the fancy takes him.

Do you know how much she actually weighs as it may give us Goldie owners a better idea? My 4 1/2 year old girl was weighed only last week at the vets at 29kg and is in good hard condition, likewise my old boy is 34kg.

Dogs have different metabolisms, (just like people) this dog obviously burns up resources very quickly. Two dogs can eat the same have the same amount of exercise but one will be thinner than another.

If my dog was at a normal weight then went to a carer and became thin, I would be unhappy too, so see where you are coming from, if she had always been a thin dog, ate well and was active so be it, but myself if I couldn't see the ribs before (although feel them) and now I could, I would not be happy.

As this dog obviously has a faster metabolism and is being exercised more, I would add some Barf food to the diet as well as Eukanuba is a great food has everything needed but is made to make sure a dog will not put on weight (unless grossly overfed) and stay healthy, if you have a very active dog having lots of exercise it will burn this foods proteins off very quickly.

So, I would probably throw in a few chicken wings or something similar as well if the dog is having more exercise. :-)

Do you know how much she weighs? As others have said a lot of Goldens are overweight if not grossly overweight. We're so used to seeing them this way a lot of people don't realise what a fit golden looks like.

I have a big Golden boy here, who's fighting weight is around 40 kg. Recently I noticed he looked slimmer. I started worrying about him, but eventually realised it was probably because we have a youngster here too (17 months) and our boy has been bombing round the fields much more playing with her. He's running more so burning off more energy. I've just been increasing his food slightly.

Try not to worry too much, I'm sure your girl is having a great time, although if you are seriously worried, I would probably take her to the vets for weighing, then re-weigh every few weeks to see if there is really a weight loss.

As others have said, Goldens should be able to work all day, so a dog which has free running regularly is building up muscle and improving fitness. At her age, it will do her more good than harm imo. A slim and fit Golden is much less likely to be afflicted with painful joints. Salmon oil is excellent as a supplement and all my dogs get it from time to time.

Good luck with your girl, it sounds like she's in safe hands during what must be a difficult time for you all.