Why can I see my 10-week Pit Bull puppy's ribs when she eats?

No, you should not be able to see every bone. A normal healthy weight dog should not appear boney. You should be able to feel the ribs with your hands, but not see them. I'm not sure the age of this puppy, but reasons for poor weight gain can be improper amount of food, poor quality food or parasite problems.

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 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!

Sorry to hear Daisy is unwell! If Daisy is losing weight despite having a good appetite it suggests something is going wrong in her digestive tract meaning she can't get the goodness from her food. Because she is a young dog there could be a condition from birth causing this or a problem she has developed. However what I suspect is the problem is a high worm burden. You say she passed a lot in her faeces, so she will have many inside. Because she is weak and has lost a lot of weight I would take her to the vet because it may not be a case of simply worming her, she may need more treatment if her gut is damaged by the worms. The vet will also be able to give you a good worming product which you should use regularly.

He is quite thin in this picture. Poor guy. Bully is still a puppy and should be eating at least twice a day at this age, around 3-4 cups daily of a high quality puppy food like Hills Science diet, Wellness, Natural Balance, Evo, or Eukanuba. If after 1-3 months he still is not gaining weight, or if he has abnormal consistency to his stool at any point, then he needs to see your local vet to explore other possible causes to him being underweight besides malnutrition, such as intestinal parasites, an underlying malabsorption disorder or even exocrine pancreatic insufficiency just to name a few. Intestinal parasites is still a possibility if he has not have a proper fecal exam, because there are many parasite possibilities and not every dewormer will kill all the possible worms out there. I hope this helps and best wishes with getting Bully to a healthy weight soon. Take care.

You should have Zena examined by your veterinarian to make sure she is healthy. At the same time you can get her wormed (worms could be a reason for not gaining weight), and vaccinated. You say her dam and sire did not look healthy....there could be a congenital problem that could keep her from gaining weight. Feed her a good quality complete puppy food for medium to large dogs and feed her according to the instructions on the bag.

If her ribs are really sticking out and there is no fat or muscle, then see your vet. There could be a medical cause for her condition. If your vet clears her, increase the amount of food offered until she is at an appropriate weight. Ask your vet how to perform a Body Condition Score (BCS) on your dog using the 9 point scale. Ideally, she should have a waist when looked at from above. Her ribs should be seen and easily felt under a layer of fat/muscle. From the side, her chest should tuck up into her abdomen.