My Labrador Retriever will be 8 in July next year and I have noticed you can feel his spine more that I used to. He has lost a small amount of weight as we have cut his kibble back as the vet said he was a little overweight. Has anyone else noticed changes like this as their dog gets a bit older? His ribs don't stick out and he was checked by vet a few months ago. He eats well and takes Yumove supplement and walks well Thank you for any help
If he's been on a diet you would find his spine easier to feel and more visible . If you have any worries though I would speak to a vet.
If you can feel his spine more I’d say that points to muscle loss. A dog shouldn’t be losing muscle along his back just as a function of age. Might be good to have a chat to your vet about the quality of protein in his diet and any other possible causes of muscle loss.
I agree with others that a chat with the vet again would be a good idea, I think it's really difficult to know without seeing them. I have Cassie who is 20 mnoths, my vet surgery is really hot on keeping them slim and from the time Cass had her first injection they've given advice. The senior vet said she had too much on her lumbar spine and had to lose a kilo - at that point I could see all her ribs. In order to keep the weight off that area, I can also see and feel her spine, which I don't like, but the minute she puts weight on it goes on the lumbar area. They want that off before spay, so it's one long juggling act! So I think let them look at him again.
I was thinking along the same lines as @Oberon. Has he had a blood panel recently? Just to check kidney function. Echo thoughts on quality/percentage of protein in the diet, with our older dog, 8 nearly 9 years old now, we have increased the protein levels and decreased the fat levels, this was after checking all was good on his senior check up
You might also ask your vet to check for spondylosis. My dog's spine became significantly "bumpier" feeling with older age with no noticeable weight change and that was about the time he was diagnosed. In his case, the little bone spurs that can be present with spondylosis caused that bumpy feel.
