If your dog has lost significant weight, you need to know how to make him gain weight properly. The trick is to feed him little and often, giving him supplements to make up for any dietary deficiencies and making sure he is properly dewormed. However, if you notice that he has little appetite, diarrhea or seems to be feeling unwell in any case and you can't explain the weight loss to yourself, you should take him to the vet for a check-up. Whatever the cause, it is important to keep your dog at his ideal weight to ensure his health and a long life.
Steps
Method 1 of 4: Understanding the Cause of Dog Weight Loss
Step 1. Find out if there is a logical reason your dog is underweight
If you know the reason, for example a female who has just given birth to many strong and hungry puppies, or a dog recovered from the kennel that has been mistreated, getting him to gain weight will be relatively simple.
Monitor the underweight dog so you can find any problems that are easy to fix. For example, if you have several specimens, the causes could be other animals that steal food from the weakest
Step 2. Assess the health of the dog
All diseases can interfere with the body's ability to process food, assimilate nutrients and consequently lead to weight loss. If this is the case, the animal most likely exhibits some symptoms, including a reduced appetite, increased thirst, lack of energy, vomiting, diarrhea, or changes in body shape.
- Pathologies that can cause weight loss are a lack of pancreatic enzymes, diabetes mellitus, liver or kidney disease, cancer and inflammatory bowel disease.
- Again, if you notice the presence of one of these symptoms, it is advisable to take the animal to the veterinarian for a thorough examination.
Step 3. Have the dog examined by the vet
If you are concerned that you are sick, or if you notice unexplained weight loss, it is best to see your doctor. If your four-legged friend suddenly has a poor appetite for no apparent reason, it is advisable to consult a professional before the problem can become more serious. When your vet reassures you of his health and tells you that he is simply a fussy dog, you can implement a number of strategies that can help improve his appetite.
Method 2 of 4: Change the Calorie Amount to Give to Your Dog
Step 1. Check the dog's actual weight in relation to the ideal weight of its breed
You could easily be led to think that your faithful friend is underweight, while simply weighing less than an obese dog of the same breed you have come to know. Perhaps your pet is more than healthy while the other is too fat!
Step 2. Check the nutritional information you find on the food label in relation to the dog's ideal weight
For dogs that are rather thin, but full of energy and producing regular stools, the first thing to do is to check if they are getting enough calories at each meal. In fact, one cause of weight loss could be because it burns more calories than it absorbs from eating. This could be glaring, such as when he is not being fed enough food. If this is your case, you can solve the problem by simply increasing the portions.
- The easiest way to do this is to compare your dog's ideal weight with the recommended doses on the food label.
- If it is a specific breed, you can find tons of information online on this topic. Aim for the weight you want it to reach rather than your current weight. For example, if you have a male Labrador, the ideal average weight should be up to 40kg.
Step 3. Compare the amount of food you are providing to the dog versus the recommended amount
He weighs the typical ration you are giving him each day. Write down this value and compare it with the recommended amount shown on the food packaging.
- Interestingly, some of these recommendations are actually 25% higher than the dog's true needs (in fact they tend to be quite abundant).
- For example, if you are giving your Labrador 400 g of kibble per day, while 500 g is recommended on the package, then the dog is eating 20% fewer calories than recommended, so he tends to lose weight. In this case, the problem is easily solved by increasing the daily amount of food.
Step 4. Determine how much you need to increase your pet's food ration
This can be a difficult decision because each food contains different amounts of calories and dogs vary a lot in size and weight. As a rule of thumb, you should increase his food no more than 10% of the initial ration.
- So, if you were feeding it 400g per day, increasing it by 10% means adding 40g, to be divided into 2 meals, thus complementing each daily meal of 20g.
- Feed him like this for 2-3 days and check that he doesn't have diarrhea, at this point you can add another 10% and so on.
Step 5. Gradually increase the amount of food you feed your dog
If you increase it dramatically and suddenly, know that you will almost certainly upset the balance of the intestine and cause diarrhea. It is much safer to gradually increase portions and check stools to make sure your dog is responding well to the new amount.
- If the difference in the ration is small, divide it between the two meals. If, on the other hand, it is considerable, it is better to insert an additional meal (rather than exaggerating the quantities of the two existing ones), so that the impact on the intestine is more distributed.
- If the dog were to suffer from diarrhea he would lose all the added nutrients and all your efforts would be nullified.
Method 3 of 4: Changing the Dog's Diet
Step 1. Feed your furry friend foods rich in vitamin B
Liver is one of the best foods from this point of view. You can feed him beef or chicken liver 2-3 times a week as a snack between meals.
- For example, if your pet weighs 10kg, you can give him 50-70g servings of cooked liver.
- Eggs are also rich in vitamin B12, and they also contain a lot of vitamin A, riboflavin, folic acid, iron, selenium and fatty acids. You can give your dog raw eggs by adding one egg three times a week to his kibble.
- Remember to gradually integrate these foods into your diet so as not to disturb her digestive system.
Step 2. Gradually change your diet by replacing it with high-energy dog food
This type of food has a high calorie content and is easily absorbed and assimilated in the body. This prevents your pet from losing weight and going underweight, while giving him some help by making him gain weight if he is already thin.
- Good products on the market that you can include in his diet are Hills® and Royal Canin brands.
- You can also change their food by focusing on puppy food. This in fact contains more calories than regular food for adult dogs, because it has been specifically designed to meet the nutritional needs of growing puppies that consume more energy. The downside to this choice is that puppy food tends to be very rich and can alter the normal digestive functions of some dogs.
- Introduce this food gradually, adding a spoonful to the current food, and gradually increase the quantity over 4-5 days. Monitor the dog's feces, and if you see that he has diarrhea, stop taking the new food.
Step 3. Switch from wet to dry food, or vice versa
Try to think if you had to eat the same dry food or the same cereals or soup, day after day: surely you would be bored already. The same goes for dogs, they too can get tired of eating the same food over and over again. Sometimes switching from kibble to wetter canned food, or vice versa, is a simple way to restore your dog's appetite and the taste of eating.
However, keep in mind that canned food contains far fewer calories than kibble. For the same volume of food, wet food contains only a quarter of the amount of dry food, so a few dry kibble equals a lot of wet food. This is because wet food contains 60-80% water; therefore, although it may be more appetizing, there is the risk of filling the dog's stomach with water without providing it with an adequate amount of calories
Step 4. Feed your pet with veterinarian approved home-cooked food
By giving him home-cooked food, you allow him to follow a varied diet, thus making his meals more interesting.
- An example of a recipe for your dog comes from the Veterinary Clinic in Brea, California. This is designed for a 10kg dog, but you can cut the doses in half if the dog weighs 5kg or double if they weigh 20kg. This meal consists of 100g of skinless cooked chicken; 200 g of cooked rice; 140 g of peas and carrots; 1 tablespoon of seed oil and 1/4 teaspoon of a salt substitute. Cook all these ingredients together and mix them to blend them.
- Try other recipes like chicken and rice or a raw food diet.
Method 4 of 4: Managing Your Dog's Basic Health
Step 1. Give him some vitamin supplements
B vitamins are the most involved in the enzyme system, which in turn stimulates the dog's appetite and energy metabolism of fats, proteins and carbohydrates. Basically, they help the conversion of energy sources such as fats, proteins and carbohydrates into available energy, which is essential for the animal for its growth and sustenance. Excess energy, induced by increased appetite and increased food consumption, will be converted into fat and will prevent the dog from muscle catabolism.
- Among the best vitamins of the B complex for dogs on the market are Attivo Tabs® and Stimulfos®. Make sure you follow the instructions on the package.
- For puppies, you should use liquid multivitamins such as Idroplurivit®.
- Another possible solution is to take the dog to the vet to give him an injection of B-complex vitamins, if you don't have time to give him supplements every day. Treatment involves one injection once a week for four weeks. If the dog's appetite does not improve at the end of this period, it is unlikely that other injections will bring positive results.
Step 2. Have your dog undergo worm medication
It is advisable to deworm it regularly, as the parasites absorb the food in its intestine, depriving it of nutritional values and consequently physically weakening it, silently "sucking" all the nourishment it needs. Paradoxically, a dog with a severe worm infestation might have a nice belly, but the rib bones and hips could lose fat and reveal wasting.
- You can choose from several worm products that are effective for all types of intestinal parasites. A common broad spectrum drug is Praziquantel.
- You can give him the specific drug for medium-sized dogs in a dose of 1 tablet per 10 kg of body weight. The specific drug for large dogs, on the other hand, can be given at a dose of 1 tablet for every 20 kg of body weight. If your dog is smaller you can give him half a tablet of those for medium sized dogs.
- If this is your first time giving him the deworming treatment, you can have him follow the therapy three times with an interval of two weeks. After the first time, you can have it treated every 6-12 months.
Step 3. Give your faithful friend some energy supplements
If the dog is particularly active, he exercises, if he is a lactating female, if you take him often on trips or if he has to settle in a new home, he tends to lose weight and lose his appetite. In this case, you can give him energy supplements that are rich in easily absorbed carbohydrates and vitamins.
A good example of an energy supplement is Nutri-Plus Gel®. You can give the dog 1-2 teaspoons for every 5 kg of body weight or 10 cm of gel per day (using the plastic applicator or dispenser provided)
Warnings
- Be careful not to overfeed your pet. Overweight dogs typically have major health problems.
- If even after following all these tips the dog does not gain weight, take him to the vet right away for a thorough examination.
