My 7-month-old Lab is underweight. What should I feed for weight gain?

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!

Make sure Ruby is properly dewormed and feed her a high-quality large breed puppy food such as Royal Canin or Purina pro plan. Don’t be in a rush to put weight on her, she will gain it naturally. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

A Labrador puppy should be on a large breed puppy food until 15months. A starter food can be used from 2-8weeks as it can be easier to soften and can be fed slightly warm. Be sure to keep up to date with deworming medication and offer additional meals of scrambled egg, canned puppy food or boiled chicken to increase energy intake until stronger

Hi there and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! 3/8 of a cup twice daily for a growing labrador sounds a little under the calories he should be getting daily. He should be consuming closer to 2 cups of the royal canin maxi food daily. Chicken stew and rice are not good sources of nutrients for a growing dog and should not replace eating his regular puppy food and should be discontinued. Just feeding more of his puppy food will help him grow and put on healthy weight. Thanks again for posting!

He should be ideally around 6kgs. 2.3 kgs is underweight and should be ideally checked by your local veterinarian to determine if there is any underlying health problem impairing his growth rate. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Labradors are large breed dogs and thus they should eat a large breed puppy food to help correct growth and development. The large breed puppy formula will make sure growth is slow and consistent which is best for development. Large breed dogs are prone to a variety of growth abnormalities and the appropriate diet helps to prevent them. Additionally, most veterinarians do not recommend grain free diets. The research is not fully complete but there appears to be a link between grain free diets and heart disease. Not every pet who eats a grain free diet will develop heart disease but more dogs do on these diets than dogs who eat grains. There is likely a genetic predisposition that the diet affects. I recommend to change your food to a commercial diet that is formulated for large breed puppies. I recommend the brand Royal Canin. They even have a formula for Labrador puppies. This diet is easy to digest and is formulated for appropriate growth. This diet is complete and balanced and you do not supplement protein or vitamins/minerals. It is also important to make sure that Pom is dewormed appropriately as parasites will cause dogs to be thin. He will gain the weight once he is on an appropriate diet and eating the correct amounts. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Puppies, and Labradors especially, tend to be food motives and some of them can be food obsessed. May sure your puppy is not too thin, if he is then increase the food. Purina 1 is a good diet but if you are looking to change, Royal Canin makes a diet specifically for Labs and it addresses their healthy appetites! They make a puppy and an adult formula and the pets tend to do really well on this diet. Adding canned veggies can also help him to feel full. Get the no salt added variety and watch for any diarrhea as it increases his fiber. Stick to peas, carrots or green beans. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.