My dog won't eat enough food to gain weight. What should I try?

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.

A little information may be helpful like how old is your dog and what breed. Also, is he too thin? A photograph will help as well if possible. Make sure he is up to date on his deworming and that he has had his stool checked recently for other parasites which may steal nutrients and cause poor body weight. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Gentle feeding with a high quality, high calorie food such as royal canin gastrointestinal is very effective in regaining body weight and muscle mass. Ensure she is wormed regularly and monitor for any vomiting and diarrhea which may indicate bowel issues

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.

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.

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!

I would recommend having her body condition score figured out first to determine if she is indeed underweight. Some pets are just leaner than others but are not considered to be underweight at all. https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&hl=en-us&ei=3essWYH8BcWXjwT5u4agBg&q=canine+body+condition+score&oq=aaha+body+condition+score&gs_l=mobile-gws-serp.1.0.0i71k1l5.0.0.0.53939.1.1.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0....0...1..64.mobile-gws-serp..1.0.0.tM15jVEPrL8#imgrc=D5srd2kpWBMU1M: If she is considered to still be underweight then I would try to find out what is causing her weight loss and treating that directly. If there are loose stools then it's best to check her stools for intestinal parasites through your vet. If her stools are normal, then she may be going through a transient period of not gaining proper weight due to a previous illness. Increasing her current food amount can help. You can also try mixing in a high calorie puppy food for a few weeks. I wouldn't suggest this unless she is otherwise healthy and nothing else seems to help, because a consistent high calorie diet can do more harm (i.e. Pancreatitis) than good in some cases. Best of luck with your pet Layla.