My dog is too skinny, his ribs show. How can I help him gain weight?

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.

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!

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!

Weigh loss causes are multiple: insufficient food intake, increased exercise, anorexia, diseases affecting the intestine/pancreas/liver, infections, tumors....To exclude all the health related causes of weight loss a vet check up would be needed. If everything health wise is in order I would recommend to check if the amount of food he is getting is enough for his weight; consider to adjust the dose if needed and/or change the diet completely. Good quality commercial diets (Hill's, Royal Canin) are definitively the best choice to make sure you provide all the nutrients Pancake needs. Please post again on the forum if you would like to discuss it further. I hope my answer was helpful.

First you want to make sure that Teddy is parasite free as parasites will rob his body of nutrients. Secondly, some breeds are naturally thin at his age. When he goes in for his next veterinary visit, make sure to ask the doctor about his weight. Lastly, don’t be in a hurry to put weight on Teddy. Rapid changes in body condition are not good. Instead feed a high-quality, small breed puppy food. Brands like Royal Canin and Science Diet have additional calories in their small breed formula which is different than a normal puppy food. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Most puppies should be proper weight if they are getting fed puppy food, and in his case large breed puppy food. If you are concerned about his weight, then I would recommend getting him checked to ensure he isn't losing nutrition due to intestinal parasites, which is the #`1 cause for weight loss in puppies. Otherwise, he may just be naturally lean. I can see his ribs there but he is laying down, if he stands and his ribs are still readily pronounced, then he may be a tad bit underweight. Also if he has any loose stool, this can indicate other internal organ issues that should be checked by your vet. If he has an underlying issue that is not treated, then no matter what you feed him, he will continue to be undersized. I hope that things work out well for your pet Thunder and that his weight normalizes soon! Best wishes and take care.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would be sure he is on a good quality large breed puppy food. I like Purina Proplan or the Royal Canin or Hill's Science diet puppy foods. Feed him more than the recommended amount on the bag. At 11 weeks old he should be seeing your Vet for vaccinations. Be sure he has had his stool tested for intestinal parasites and has been dewormed a few times. Parasites are a huge issues in all puppies. Good luck!