My dog is skinny and won't eat. How can I help him gain weight?

Hi and thanks for posting. You shouldn't need to change the food frequently- in fact doing so can create a very picking and finicky eater. Ceaser's is lower quality food. You might opt for something a little more higher quality such as Purina Pro Plan, Hill's Science diet or Wellness brand formula. However, there are causes for decreased eating such as tooth infections or periodontal disease that can make eating painful. Other causes can include kidney or liver disease, pancreatic diseases, and endocrine disorders among others that can lead to decreased appetite and/or weight loss. I would recommend an exam with your veterinarian soon along with some basic blood work to start to determine if there are any underlying issues. I hope this helps!

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.

Royal Canin is an excellent quality food! I would feed Ceasar according to package instructions, and that will help him gain weight in a slow and safe manner. You can supplement his diet by giving him hard boiled eggs as a treat once or twice a week (no egg shells), and some boiled white meat chicken (no bones) and white rice in small amounts a few times a week as a treat.

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.

Hi, thank you for using PetCoach. I would work on weaning Cherokee off of the Cesars as soon as you can. That food is very high in fat and not a very healthy food. You don't say how old she is now. If under a year, I would suggest a puppy or growth formula. If adult, feed an adult maintenance food. Purina ProPlan, Science Diet or Iams are all very good brands. Start slowly transitioning her by mixing 75% current food and 25% new diet and switch very slowly to the new food over the course of several weeks. If she is otherwise healthy, a healthy dog is not going to starve themselves to death. But in the long run she will be much healthier on a high quality dog food. Do not give people food or table food at all either. A mix of canned and dry is fine, but it needs to be a good quality food. http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2471 Good luck.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would recommend another of the Purina pro Plan diets which is the Purina Pro Plan shredded blends. This is easily found at a pet store for an affordable price and it is of very good quality. Good luck and have a good night!

You can do a combination of things to help Caesar lose weight. It's just like losing weight in people, increase activity and lower caloric intake. That being said, you can't do it all at one time. Gradually increase activity by going on longer walks, introduce a little jogging from time to time once he's gotten a little more fit, play fetch with him, arrange playtime with other dogs he gets along with, whatever you can do to help him get up and get moving. Also, the best food I've seen for gradual, healthy weight loss is a Science Diet product called Metabolic. Take your dog to your vet and ask them to do measurements and weight for you. If they aren't familiar with the program, everything is explained on the Hill's website. By entering your dog's measurements and weight into the Hill's website, you will get a customized feeding schedule for your dog that tells you exactly how much to feed for him to gradually lose the weight he needs to. Also consider getting him a slow feeder or puzzle feeder to slow him down when he eats and help keep him mentally stimulated as well.