Hi i have a two year old miniature schnauzer bitch, (clipped) who is loosing weight, she lost weight at this time last year and i took her to the vet who told me that shes not skinny has a nice covering over her rib cage, but i did see a difference in her, and we seem to be going the same route again i didn't know what it was last year and vet assured me that she was OK, i have noticed with her this past few days that while laying up beside me on she sofa she is curling up into a tiny ball and also laying in front of the fire for heat (something she didn't normally do) though i know the temperature has dropped quite a bit these past few weeks i really think this is why she is loosing weight, the house is not freezing , its OK for me to sit comfortably, i have added an extra blanket to her bed, ( she sleeps with my other two dogs so has there body heat) she seems fine in her self she doesnt seem sick at all. but like i said looks like she is loosing weight, i have offered her more food but shes not a greedy dog, and isn't eating this little extra helping that she is getting, i think it has to do with her being cold going by her actions this past few days.
what am asking do you think i should supplement her food? . i have some dog coats should i put one of these on her while shes at home? tho i wouldn't be able to leave her with it on at night, my other two dogs are doing fine, wish now i hadn't had her clipped, if i knew this was going to happen again i would have left her with her coat.

i have added the extra food, turned the heating up a bit and added an extra blanket to her bed in the last few days ,may take a few days to see some changes in her again .tho the weight seems to be fallen off her fast.
Any suggestions would be gratefully received. has anyone else experienced anything like this before, do you think i should take her back to the vet as it maybe something more serious underlying
Thanks Lisa

PS she is on jameswellbeloved and up until now was doing well. She is also wormed regularly.

>i have some dog coats should i put one of these on her while shes at home? tho i wouldn't be able to leave her with it on at night,

I would definitely put a coat on her.Why cant she have it on overnight? This is the most crucial time for a dog coat as obviously it's when it gets the coldest. The only time one of my dogs, who feels the cold,has to wear a coat is at night/bed time.

As for fattening her up,you could add a Tbs of olive oil to her food daily,green tripe is a good body builder as is Lamb breast,and egg a day added,great for their coat too. I've always fed my dogs puppy food,which has the benefits of higher fat/protein.

the reason i was thinking i couldnt leave her at night is,she sleeps with my other two dogs and one of them being 6 months and i think he would tug on the coat all night , in saying that i have one's with velcro. so i shall try that with her thank you for your help .

I agree with adding some oil to her diet - extra virgin olive oil is good.  Perhaps you could also feed her in more sessions and add a few tasty snacks to her diet if she can only eat so much in one sitting. I also think that you should take her to the vets.

Hi lisacur77

Some dogs can lose body condition along with a moult - in my breed it's not unusual to find that some seem to go off food a little when the coat loosens, however as there is a pattern to follow (i.e. less food taken in so weight loss likely anyway) this doesn't mean to say that it is normal in general and may have no bearing whatsoever on your girl.

Personally,  I'd ask the vet to run some bloods and check a stool sample in case there is an underlying medical cause.  I'd do that before including any additives to her diet as some disorders will be exacerbated by increasing fat for eg.  By all means increase her meal sizes or add in an extra meal of her usual diet, but until investigated further by the vet it may not be an ideal solution to simply up the fat content by adding foods which healthy dogs would cope well with but less healthy not so.

Apologies if this seems a little on the bleak side but it's better safe than sorry - especially with reduced surgery hours looming over the holiday period.  One less thing to worry about and hopefully she will get the all clear anyway

Best wishes, Teri

Definately get her checked by a vet, but if all's well...

Personally, I'd ask the groomer to strip her out instead of clipping her.  It will leave her with a more natural coat and then she'd be able to keep herself warm (the combination of topcoat and undercoat is what keeps them warm and weatherproof)  You could learn to do this yourself, it isn't difficult and you could then leave the coat a little thicker/longer in the winter to allow for cold and wet weather

For now tho, a little oil on her food sounds like a good idea

Ditto the stripping advice - it may be shes just feeling the cold a little and is loosing what is really, excess weight.

I would double check with vets and blood tests etc, but id go with the simplest solutions first.

the reason you shouldn't sleep in a coat (animals and humans!) is that your body regulates your core-temp when you sleep. if you have a jacket on, it is distorted, so you will feel the same temp, just feel colder when you take it off (if you know what i mean?! )

I have a 6 year old cockapoo who went from 35lbs to 29lbs.  He also was unusually cold.  He used to like to lie on the stone floor, but stopped doing that and only snuggled on the sofa.  I found out that it was the result of an exhausted adrenal gland.  I bought Adrenal Glandular Support at this US website: http://bestforyourpet.com/prod/1080.html. 

I also bought this very expensive homeopathic thyroid gland formula, Thyroid Balance Support Formula 100C, at this us website:  http://www.holisticvetpetcare.net/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=THY1&Category_Code=, which is supposed to balance your thyroid whether over or under active.  He gained all his weight back, and stopped being unusually cold (even before the weight came back).

Try researching adrenal glands and weightloss on the internet.

Hope this helps.