My puppy is malnourished. How can I help her gain weight and grow?

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It's great that you are adopting a dog, congratulations and have fun with her! Start by feeding a bland diet (boiled/boneless/skinless chicken breast and boiled rice) in small frequent meals. Do that for 2-3 days, and then introduce puppy kibble to her. The puppy food is higher in fat and energy that she needs. Transition to this puppy food over about 2 weeks. Keep her on the puppy food for about 2 months, and then slowly transition her over to adult food. Best of luck with Macy!

Hello, and thank you for rescuing the puppy. You can feed any national puppy food & do very well with it. My favorites are Hills Science Diet, Royal Canin & even Purina. They are all excellent without being gimmicky. Have her seen by your vet soon for parasite protection & vaccinations & she should grow healthy & well. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Be sure that Noora has been dewormed and stool samples have been checked. Intestinal parasites can cause poor weight gain. I would deworm her even if the stool was negative. Also get her on heartworm prevention as that is also a monthly dewormer. If she eats well I would increase her food volume gradually, spread it out over 3-4 meals. If she is still not gaining consider changing brands of puppy food. I wish you the best!

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!

There is not much you can do other than to ensure good nutrition and health from this moment forward. I would recommend starting a high quality puppy food. In addition you want to make sure that they are up to date on vaccines per your veterinarian. They should be dewormed at least twice. Finally, you should endure they are on flea prevention and heartwo preventative if endemic in your area. All of these things should improve their overall condition. I also recommend neutering between 6-8 months. Good luck!

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.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would have his stool checked for intestinal parasites and be sure he has been dewormed a few times. You can increase the volume of food at each meal by 25%. And see if that improves his weight in 2 weeks. Be sure he is seeing a vet for vaccines. Good luck!