My 15 yr. old dog has lost weight, about 15 lbs., in the past year, so can you give me some advice?

Cancer....I won't say anything more outside of the fact that all things living WILL die, and suffering is not a good thing. You'll do the right and ethical thing when you figure it out. Better 2 weeks too soon than a week too late. Her life IS in your hands, as it has been for almost 15 years.

15? Excellent, you've got it easy. At 15 your metabolism is quite high, so you don't really have to do much to lose weight. Here's some tips: Cut out the extra carbs. That's number one. Do that and you'll have most of it licked. That includes grains, things make from grain, and sugar. Keep to protein and vegetables, but yeah you can have some fruit every now and then, but don't go overboard. Good protein includes meat, eggs, and milk. The vegetables are there to give you the extra vitamines. You might even stuff a multi-vitamine in there somewhere. Spread you meals out. Eat five or more small meals per day. that way your body will always be working on something (automatic exercise) and you'll get more out of the food. Mind power is extremely powerful! Think about 'thin' and 'lean' and always imagine you're already there /while/ you're working on it and your body will respond! ...and just be active. I guess, do what 15-year-olds normally do. Ride a bike, walk around everywhere, dance, swim, you know, that kind of stuff. You don't have to make it a chore at all. If it's fun your body will be quite happy with it and you won't lose interest!

You didn't tell us the breed, smaller dogs live longer. but based on the half blind and hard of hearing I'm guessing a bigger dog. . It's us to you to decide when the quality of life is not there. I'm going to guess cancer (in some form) as the weight loss cause.

My advice is take to the vet, see if there is anything you can do reasonably, then let the dog go.

Keep in mind that a veterinary practice has a lot of bills for those treatments, and furthermore that your veterinarian does not want to see your animals suffer. Treatments cost what they cost, depending on overhead, and you should be able to have a frank discussion with your vet about your dog's quality of life.

If she's truly gone from obese to skinny in just 1 year's time, then yes, likely something is pretty wrong internally. If your dog isn't in pain, then let her live until you see that her life is more misery than happiness.

There are some alternatives available for people who can't afford vets these days.

I would check with your local humane society and ask if there are any free clinics available to low income people with pets.

You can also give your vet a call, sometimes they'll at least advise you over the phone at no charge and that could be very helpful.

Best of luck.

How often has thisdog been to the vet in the last year since she's been losing weight?

She needs to be taken to the vet now. Surely you can pay for a consultation with a vet. Free advice on her won't help your dog.

Keep fruits and veggies in the fridge to use for snaks

Add extra 10 or 15 mins to your cardio routine

sorry but I would be taking her to the Vet. It is not normal for a dog to loose that much weight. She needs to have bloodwork done to see what is going on with her.

Hitting the gym is important for weight loss