My dog with IBS needs to gain weight. Is her Nutro food enough?

First, I think it is important to determine Malia's ideal weight for her size. If your vet says she is underweight, then you may need to make some changes. But if she a good weight at 32 pounds, then eating a couple cups of food a day should be adequate for her weight. My 30 pound dog only eats about 1 cup per day. Don't forget that it is much healthier for a dog to be a little lean. If Malia is underweight, then you may need to look at foods that are more dense in calories. You can consider some of the super premium foods like Natural Balance, Wellness Core or Orijen which tend to have more bio-available calories in each cup. You may also consider The Honest Kitchen which is a dehydrated food and dense in calories. https://www.thehonestkitchen.com/ Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Without knowing her breed of dog, I can't say if 17 pounds is a good weight or not for her. Some dogs do need to eat less based on their activity level, as they may be less active than others. With on a 17 pound dog, 2/3 cup of food per day is fine, especially if it's within her daily caloric range. I feed my Chow, who is 50.6 pounds, 1.5 cups of food per day, and she's a healthy weight. If she needs to lose weight, it sounds like you are doing it in a healthy and safe way, and I would keep going. Typically, dogs are affected by hypothyroidism, so if there was a problem with her thyroid, she would be gaining weight, not losing it.

Unless I am putting a dog on a strict weight loss diet, I rarely calculate calories needed. If you feel like Peanut is underweight, start by adding 1/4-1/2 cup to her bowl twice a day for a few weeks and judge how she looks. If she isn't wanting to eat more food, then you can try changing her to a higher energy diet.

Some young, growing, active dogs require more calories then other dogs. If she feel she is lean then i would up the amount of food you are feeding or add in another meal per day. I typically recommend increasing the amount fed by 25%. You can spread this extra amount over the meals. You can also try supplementing some extra protein sources like chicken or ground turkey. You can also look up the calories (kcal) in her diets to figure out if she is getting enough. The Ohio State University Veterinary Medical School has a good site about determining how many calories a pet needs. If you google Ohio State pet calorie calculator it should come up. This will allow you to figure out her energy requirement (kcal/day) and compare this to what she is eating. Keep in mind that she still may need more then what you calculate if she is not gaining weight as every dog is different. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Hi the amount of calories or energy requirement needed for a dog like Isabell on daily basis will vary according to her age and life style. For example an adult dog with a normal lifestyle will need roughy 485 kcal per day, whilst a puppy with an active lifestyle will need about 100 kcal more per day. With this in mind, you need then to look at the particular food you want to feed her, for example https://www.hillspet.co.uk/dog-food/sp-canine-science-plan-adult-small-and-miniature-chicken-turkey-dry Hope this helps ! Thank you for using PetCoach.

Hello. This is a great question! She should be eating about 500 -550 calories PER DAY which includes all food and treats. She can eat any food as long as she stays inside that calorie window. If you feed her a lower calorie diet then she will get to eat more food and be less hungry. Purina ProPlan Weight Management Dry Food is 337 calories per cup so if you feed her this food she can eat 1.5 cups per day with a little left over for a treat or two. http://www.petsmart.com/dog/food/dry-food/purina-pro-plan-weight-management-formula-adult-dog-food-5148013.html?gclid=CKrvp4aRkdQCFZBgfgodPccMzA If you don't like this food you can use any diet. Just check the bag, it will tell you how many calories per cup. Take the 525 (using the middle of her calorie range) and divide it by the number of calories in each cup of food and that will tell you how many cups of that food she can have PER DAY. Example as above 525 / 337 = 1.55 cups I hope this helps. Best wishes. Dr. Amber

Based on the photos e does not appear under weight. Most dogs are over weight so in comparison the fit dogs actually look thin For him to stay the same weight as he is you an feed 1.5 cups of food twice a day and still mix in the canned food he likes, about 1/4-1/3 a can at a time. If he does not finish the meal the. You may have to divide it into 3-4 feedings a day to get him to eat enough. If he is very active and he is using all these calories the. You can increase it. If he gets too. Big then decrease the canned food portion