Rescued a malnourished puppy. What food will make her healthy?

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Gaining weight after malnutrition should be a slow and steady process. I would suggest getting a good quality puppy food, and feeding him about 75% of the amount recommended on the bag/day for about 3 days, and then increasing to 100% of the amount recommended for about 1 week, and then 125% for a couple weeks until she is proper size. At that point you can cut back to the normal recommended amount. Also, I would recommend deworming her, as this is often a cause of malnutrition, and also make sure she is treated for fleas, and vaccinated. Best of luck with Pluto.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Adorable picture! Lucy should be eating puppy food. Any brand is fine, I like Purina, Hill's and Royal Canin, You can feed her dry, dry mixed with canned or all canned. Whatever she will eat. Be sure she is feeling ok and doesn't have a fever or abnormal vaginal discharge. If she is refusing to eat she should see a vet to be sure she doesn't have an infection. I hope this helps and I wish Lucy the best!

Awww. It's very nice of you to take on this type of responsibility. The first thing you should do is to take him into the vet for an initial examination. They will be able to make sure there is nothing seriously wrong, versus simply malnutrition and dehydration. If this is the case, Champ will likely require something to eliminate gastrointestinal parasites. He belly looks very round in that picture, which in young dogs is usually associated with worms. This can be a very common cause of weakness and malnutrition, and the nutrients that he is consuming will not be properly absorbed until the parasites are eradicated. The veterinarian will also probably want to give some fluids, either subcutaneously or directly into the bloodstream. The method of delivery will ultimately be decided based upon the level of dehydration the vet detects. Champ will require a healthy, high quality large breed puppy food eventually. However, in the meantime, I would provide something like a Purina Critical Nutrition or HIll's A/D. These are prescription diets that are very high in fat and high calorie, and are typically not easily turned down by even the sickest of pets. Lastly, Champ probably needs your love, warmth and support. I am sure you have plenty of this.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! First of all, thanks for rescuing! As you have probably noted there are plenty of diets out there. I prefer the Purina Pro Plan diets as well as the Science Diet foods. Any of these would be great for her. Good luck!

I would recommend to feed Royal Canin Puppy food. Its an easy to digest food that should be less likely to cause upset stomach. Wash her and make sure to pick off any fleas you see. If you decide to keep her, take her into a vet as soon as you can to get a deworming done and start vaccines if she is old enough. The doctor can also estimate her age. I hope this helps!

The best thing you can do for her at this point is to feed her a high quality diet, start any needed training and start a gentle exercise routine. I recommend a diet like Royal Canin because it has high quality, easy to digest protein and most pets love the taste. Your veterinarian will need to do the rest. Oreo will need to be checked for worms, checked for heartworms and have a general physical exam. You can also discuss any needed care or testing to make sure she is healthy. I also recommend to discuss having her spayed as this has significant health benefits. Congrats on adding Oreo to your family!

Any food that has an AAFCO certification label on the bag has been tested to be well balanced. And any food that is labeled for puppies is designed to support growth. So I would go with a small breed, puppy dog food with an AAFCO label. I really like the following brands: Royal Canin, Hill's Science diet, Evo, and Eukanuba. Best wishes taking care of your new puppy. And don't forget that vaccinations usually start around 8 weeks of age, so schedule an appt with your veterinarian soon if you haven't done so already. Take care.