Content

• Steps
• Warning

When you have a dog, you need to help your dog maintain a healthy weight. Healthy dogs can also be underweight or overweight, but care should be taken when your dog has lost weight due to illness or injury. You should take your dog to the vet to rule out the possibility of potential diseases, and then change his diet and lifestyle to help him gain weight.

Steps

Method 1 of 2: Diagnose your dog underweight

1. 

   Keep track of your dog's weight. If you suspect that your dog is underweight, you need to monitor the weight to facilitate weight loss monitoring as well as calculate the weight gain after you apply weight gain measures. You should give your dog's weight tracking information to your veterinarian.

2. 

   
   
   Consult with a veterinarian. Make sure that the cause of your dog's weight loss is not related to the disease. If your dog is sick or infected with parasites, you cannot immediately detect it, so you need to get your dog diagnosed at the vet.
   • Diseases like diabetes, cancer, hepatitis and enteritis can cause your dog to lose weight and require additional treatment and medication. Dogs with undiagnosed illness will not be able to recover with food alone. The dog's condition will even get worse if not treated properly.

3. 

   
   
   Determine the ideal weight for your dog. Talk to your doctor about the health score (BCS) to assess your dog's weight (too thin, too fat or normal). BCS is represented through a sample chart. After you've relied on a condom and determined that your dog is underweight, talk to your veterinarian about how to help your dog gain weight.
   • In general, you will know if your dog's weight is healthy when he looks, caresses his hips and feels his ribs. In addition, the dog's belly should be arched and raised to cover the hips.
   • If you can feel your dog's ribs, spine or hip easily, he is likely to become severely underweight.
   • Some breeds like Greyhound and hunting and shepherd breeds like the Border Collie and Pointer tend to be thinner than others such as the Clam and Labrador Retriever.

4. 

   
   
   Worm the dog. It's best to have your veterinarian test for intestinal parasites. On the other hand, you can also diagnose and worm your dog at home.
   • Dogs with intestinal parasites can become underweight because the parasite can eat all the nutrients in the food before it can be ingested and absorbed.

5. 

   Get your dog to do proper activities. Weight is related to the dog's overall health, and light exercise will partly improve his health.
   • You should consult with your veterinarian before starting a rigorous exercise plan for your dog. Dogs with arthritis, neurological or metabolic disorders can experience muscle atrophy, so special treatment is required according to the vet's instructions to improve health and avoid further injury.
   • To reduce the risk of injury to your dog, tie the leash to the dog's neck to control and walk the dog with increasing frequency. Swimming is also a sport that does not put much pressure if the dog is not afraid to get wet. You should monitor when your dog is swimming in a lake (river) or ashore to prevent injury.
   advertisement

Method 2 of 2: Increase your dog's calorie consumption

1. 

   Feed the dog 1 more times a day. If you feed your dog once a day, you can give it one more time. If your dog is fed every morning and evening, you can feed your dog an extra lunch. It is not necessary to change the dog's diet, instead just feed the dog once a day to add more calories.
   • When you feed your dog one more meal, you should also change your bathing habits as well as the schedule to take the dog for a walk.

2. 

   Evaluate the dog's food quality. The quality of your dog's food is often different, so make sure you feed your dog a calorie-balanced, nutrient-balanced diet.
   • Check the protein and fat content of food on the package.
   • The caloric content / cup of food is often not clearly printed on the package so you can find out the information on the website or call the manufacturer directly.
   • Look for an ingredient list on the side of the product packaging. Look for top-notch protein foods like "beef", "chicken" or "lamb" instead of carbohydrates like corn or wheat.
   • You can check the quality of food ingredients on websites that provide product information.
   • Talk to your veterinarian about your dog's nutritional needs, such as recommended daily calorie requirements.

3. 

   Give your dog the right human food. You can feed your dog more food that is delicious and safe for the dog. Dogs often love vegetable broths or broth from nonfat, unsalted, and heated beef or chicken. To save money, you can find unsalted and fat-free juices at your grocery store. A few teaspoons of the juice will help your dog eat his appetite.
   • Regularly feeding your dog a few tablespoons of roasted chicken without skin, boiled eggs or slippery sardines (or mackerel) will provide more protein and calories and stimulate the dog's appetite.
   • Dogs can get sick if they eat too much fat, so supplement with protein with carbohydrates to provide a healthy source of calories for your dog.
   • You can add canned tuna juice, fat-free cheese, fat-free yogurt, or canned pumpkin.
   • Avoid foods that are dangerous to dogs like chocolates, raisins, grapes, onions, garlic, and moldy foods.

4. 

   Try giving your dog a different type of food. If your dog refuses to eat, you can give him dry (high quality), high quality canned (wet) foods, or homemade foods. High-quality foods often have protein-based ingredients such as "beef" or "chicken".
   • If you cook for your dog for a long time at home, you should have a full and balanced intake of nutrients. You should consult your veterinarian's formulas to choose reputable food sources. Make sure not to leave out any ingredients when cooking.
   • There is no such thing as a "perfect" diet for every dog. Therefore, you should do research in consultation with your veterinarian before following a home dog diet. You can find research information in Andi Brown and Dr.'s The Whole Pet Diet. Becker's Real Food for Healthy Dogs and Cats by Beth Taylor.

5. 

   Add water to your dog's dry food. If your dog does not like to eat dry food, you can add hot water. Cool until soft, then feed it to your dog. This will help your dog find the food more attractive. advertisement

Warning

• Excessive changes in diet can cause stomach upset. Talk to your veterinarian about changing a safe diet for your dog.
• If your dog's droppings become soft after eating more human foods like pumpkin, you should limit your dog's intake of human food.
• If your dog is not used to heavy activities, do not force him to exercise every day. Your dog needs a gentle start to gradually adapt.
• You should calm the dog to eat and not push him.