My athletic dog is skinny. How can he gain healthy weight safely?

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Bruno. If you veterinarian has found him to be healthy, then I recommend feeding a high energy food. Purina ProPlan Performance diet is formulated for athletic dogs. This or something similar should help him gain and maintain weight. I hope this information helps!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Yukon. It can be difficult to keep weight on some young very active dogs. First, he should see his veterinarian for blood and urine testing to ensure there is no underlying disease that is affecting him. If he is deemed healthy, then you can consider another brand of food. Some dogs will respond better to one brand over another. I would stay within the performance line of foods though with the 30:20 ratio you are using. You can feed more than the bag recommends if necessary and supplement with canned food. Your goal is to be able to easily feel all of his ribs and see the last few for him to be at a healthy weight. He needs a defined waist from the top and side views as well. Lastly, neutering him will slow his metabolism and result in weight gain. I hope this information helps!

Increase the amount of food being fed by about 50% until he reaches an appropriate weight and body condition. You can also switch to a "performance" diet which will typically be higher in protein, carbs and fat for active or sporting dogs.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Axel. He does not appear to be under weight based on the picture that you have attached. A dog should have a very thin covering over the ribs where you can see the last couple. He should have a defined waist from both the top and side views. However, if he is very active you can considering transitioning him to a performance diet such as Purina ProPlan Sport. It will contain more calories per cup. I hope this information helps!

If Loki is super active you could look into feeding a working dog diet (these usually have a higher protein/carbohydrate level than regular dog foods) or even add in a bit of a puppy formula to his daily meals for the nutrient boost. I would, however, recommend a fecal test and exam for Loki prior to switching his food to rule out any issues such as parasites, allergies, etc which can affect weight gain and may cause a normally active and healthy-eating dog to not put on weight or lose it. If he checks out healthy, then adding to his diet may help. Your vet can also monitor his Body Condition Score to let you know if he's in a healthy weight ranger currently, or where you may need to tweak it to. Most people may think their dog is "too skinny", but many breeds are naturally slim/muscular as a healthy weight and it could just be that Loki is healthy for his body type.

Getting her spayed would definitely be the most effective and easiest way, if this isn't something you would consider then i would recommend switching to a better quality food such as Orijen, Acana or Taste of the wild.

If you can’t increase the volume of food the pups will eat, try to increase the calorie content. Also making sure you feed a high quality food will ensure that the pups absorb the nutrients appropriately. I like Royal Canin and Purina Pro Plan. You will find information about the calories on the side of the package. They are called Kcalories in dog food. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.