My dog lost weight on homecooked food. What can I add for weight gain?

I would recommend adding a supplement such as BalenceIT. Their website can walk you though creating a balanced diet using the foods you're already used to cooking for her. It's always important to have a balanced diet, but as she gets older her body will be less able to handle the stress of any imbalances. As far as her weight, I'd recommend decreasing the overall amount rather than cutting out a macronutrient (in this case carbs)

Before changing food I would actually recommend going to the veterinary visit you have scheduled. I would recommend getting some blood work done to make sure there is nothing systemically causing the weight loss. Once we determine there is nothing else going on with him then I would discuss what type of food he is currently on and seeing if a change in diet is ideal. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi there! If you want to do a home-cooked diet for Temperance, I would highly recommend using the site www.balanceit.com. It was founded by a veterinary nutritionist, and will walk you through the step-by-step process of creating a balanced diet using the ingredients you choose, including any necessary additives or supplements :)

If you are looking to formulate your own homemade diet, check out www.balanceit.com to create your own diet for weight loss. This website is easy to use and I send my clients to this site quite often if they want to make a homemade diet. Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. I am also available via consultation as sometimes it is much easier to talk over the phone about advice.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Teddy! Since you are describing him as skinny I worry about medical causes for his anorexia. I would deworm him even if the stool is negative and have a stool sample checked. I have blood work ran to check his kidneys. If all the blood work comes back normal I would do a maldigestion/malabsorption profile (B12, folate, TLI, PLI), a bile acid to test liver function and test him for Addison's disease. Then I would ultrasound him to look for enlarged lymph nodes and thickened intestines that would suggest Inflammatory Bowel disease. I hope this helps and I wish you and Teddy the best!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would recommend just changing to a lower calorie diet such as the one you mentioned. Other low fat or weight loss diets that I have had a very good experience with are Hills metabolic weight management diet and the Royal canin GI low fat diet. Good luck!

Provide food that is high in calories, like puppy food or a food that’s designed for active, athletic, or working dogs. Higher protein and fat pet foods are best. Underweight pets should be eating foods that are around 30% protein and 20% fat if they’re eating dry kibble; 7% protein and 5% fat (or higher) if you’re feeding a wet food. Intersperse your pet’s diet with small amounts of high-calorie supplemental canned food or canned products made of 100% meat sources. These will have a high protein and fat content, like 100% pheasant or bison, for example. They won’t say “complete and balanced” but rather “for intermittent or supplemental use” because they’re not meant to replace regular feeding. Some moist foods may be easier to digest, so your pet may retain more nutrients, and more importantly these products tend to be more palatable and tempting to a pet who isn’t eating enough. Any diet changes should be done gradually over a week's time as to not cause any GI upset. Hope this helps. Best wishes.