How to help my puppy gain weight, strengthen bones, and be healthy?

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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

First, I would make sure you feed Dio a puppy food, not an adult food. Second, make sure you are feeding him enough cups of food. Third, make sure to feed a high quality large breed puppy food. A grain free brand like Merrick or Wellness or Taste of the Wild would be great. Even Science Diet Large Breed puppy would be ok. Last, make sure your puppy has had a fecal test run to make sure he doesn’t have worms. A monthly heartworm prevention, like Heartgard or Interceptor, treats parasites too. If your dog is still not gaining, they may need further testing or work up. In addition, adding a probiotic may help as well. I like Animal Essentials Plant Enzymes and Probiotics.

Finn is a very cute boy! At this point I would recommend to feed a high-quality and easy to digest dog food brand such as Royal Canin, Science Diet or Purina Pro Plan. Since he is not yet one year old, make sure to buy the large breed puppy formula. I would also recommend to increase his food intake to 4 cups a day and monitor him closely that he does not get too much weight gain. Once he is an adult dog, you can change him to an adult large breed formula. Make sure he’s up-to-date on his deworming as well. I think at this point, give him time to gain weight with a high-quality food and an increase food content. Then go from there if needed. I hope this helps and please post again with any further questions.