3 yr old Female Shih Tzu - TOO THIN!
I have a 3 yr old Female Shih Tzu. She has not yet been spayed, however, she is scheduled for such having never been bred nor wanting to in the future. She is current on all vaccinations and all her tests are negative for heart worm, etc.
In recent months she has taken to losing a bit of weight. She weighs 9.75 lbs and although the vet said she is healthy, I tend to disagree with him because her ribs show and I can now feel EVERY disk in her spine not to mention her little hip bones are protruding. She still has decent muscle mass and she's not yet emaciated but she's well on her way if the weight loss continues.
Although she's a smaller/petite dog, she has never been so thin and I'm beginning to worry.
I've tried Puppy Chow, sprinkle on supplements, free feeding, cooked ground beef and cooked chicken with rice, gravies, and peanut butter. The peanut butter did help with her ribs not sticking out so much but still... she's too thin. While she does and will eat, she doesn't eat much. I've tried the psychological route of praising her for eating, etc. But she just doesn't feel the need to eat, I guess...
We live a rather sedate life as I am disabled. She gets to exercise for about 30 minutes per day in the back yard and she spends an additional 30 minutes or so playing indoors (running, prancing, etc.) She has plenty of energy and doesn't exhibit any lethargy.
On top of her losing weight, her coat seems a bit drier than normal. This makes me wonder if she's missing some sort of vital oils in her diet...
While I realize she is a smaller, more petite dog for the standard and that the Shih Tzu should not be overweight as it is very difficult on their small bodies, I also realize she is definitely too thin for her frame and could stand to gain about 0.5 to 1 pound.
Is it possible, due to our sedate lifestyle, that she is not expending enough energy in order to get hungry enough to want to eat? Or..? Any ideas or advice for psychological practices and exercises, training, foods, etc. that will get a pound on her would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance for you help.
Misty