My rescue dog is skinny and I can see her ribs. How to help her gain weight?

Hi and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If he is rescue, he may not have been eating as much every day as he should which is why is a little thin. Now that he is in good hands, feeding him a good quality dog food formula (I'd go with Hill's, Science Diet, or Royal Canin) will help put weight on him. It is hard to say what Eddie's ideal weight should be without seeing Eddie in person. I would have him evaluated by his veterinarian to assess how many calories he should be receiving every day so you know how many cups to give per day. I hope this helps!

Well done on making such progress! Be sure to keep him dewormed monthly for at least 3 months and feed him up gradually, I would tend to feed at the feeding guideline for his actual weight plus 15-20%, reassessed every 14days in order to encourage gradual weight gain and strength whilst allowing his system to adjust. A probiotic/fiber supplement such as fortiflora can be helpful to promote healthy digestive balance also

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!

You should treat him for intestinal worms to start with as this condition can prevent him from gaining any weight, if this doesn't help try feeding him 3 times a day with a high quality food such as Acana for example.

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.

I recommend googling Purina body condition scoring chart and determining if the the degree to which you can see and feel her ribs is consistent with the lower body condition scores. If so, increasing her daily food ration slightly and re-assessing her body condition score in 2-4 weeks is advised. Good luck!

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!