How to Fatten Up Your Dog

If your dog is exceptionally thin, it's important to know how to help it gain weight. The key to successful weight gain for your dog is feeding it small, frequent meals, and using supplements to make up for any nutritional deficiencies in its diet while ensuring proper deworming. However, if your dog is refusing food, losing weight for no clear reason, experiencing diarrhea, or seems unwell, you should take it to the vet. Regardless of the cause, maintaining a healthy weight is essential for your dog's overall well-being and longevity.

Assess whether the reason for your dog's underweight condition makes sense. If you know the exact cause, such as a recently birthed healthy litter of puppies or a dog rescued from abuse, you can proceed with a targeted weight-gaining plan.

• Ensure you monitor an underweight dog closely to identify the problem, making it easier to address. For example, if you're caring for multiple dogs, the underweight dog might be losing food to others.

Assessing the overall health of a dog. Illness can interfere with the body's ability to process food and absorb nutrients, which can result in weight loss. When a dog is unwell, various signs may appear, such as loss of appetite, excessive thirst, lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, and changes in body shape.

• Common diseases that cause weight loss in dogs include pancreatic enzyme deficiency, diabetes, liver disease, kidney disease, cancer, and inflammatory bowel disease.
• If you observe any of these symptoms, it is crucial to take your dog to the veterinarian.

Take your dog to the vet for a checkup. If you suspect your dog is sick or losing weight for no apparent reason, you should take them to the vet. If your dog suddenly refuses to eat without any clear cause, it’s best to consult a veterinarian before the problem escalates. Once the vet provides a clear explanation and you discover your dog is simply a picky eater, you can try different methods to encourage your dog to eat again.

Compare your dog’s actual weight with the ideal weight for its breed. You might assume your dog is underweight when, in fact, it is just lighter than another dog of the same breed that may be overweight. Your dog might be at a healthy weight, while other dogs may be obese.

Check the food packaging relative to your dog’s ideal weight. If your dog is underweight but energetic with normal bowel movements, you should check whether it is receiving enough calories in each meal. Weight loss can occur if the dog is burning more calories than it is consuming. This may be a straightforward issue, as the dog might simply not be eating enough. In such a case, you can easily help your dog gain weight.

• The simplest method is to compare your dog’s ideal weight with the recommended food portion on the packaging.
• If your dog belongs to a specific breed, you can research the ideal weight for that breed online. It is helpful to start with the target weight you want for your dog, rather than focusing solely on its current weight. For example, if you own a male Labrador, aim for a weight of about 40 kg.

Compare your dog's food with the recommended portion size. It's important to measure your dog's daily food intake based on its weight. You can record the amount of food and compare it with the recommended portion on the packaging.

• Keep in mind that the recommendations on the packaging often overestimate the actual needs of your dog by about 25% (they tend to be higher than necessary).
• If you are feeding your Labrador 400 grams of food daily but the packaging recommends 500 grams, the dog's caloric intake will be 20% lower than suggested, causing weight loss. You can easily fix this by increasing your dog's portion size.

Decide how much extra food to feed your dog. This can be a tricky decision, as each type of food has a different caloric content and it also depends on your dog's size. A general rule is to add 10% to the original portion.

• If you’re feeding your dog 400 grams per day, you can add 10% more (40 grams) and divide it into two meals (adding 20 grams per meal).
• Feed the dog this extra food for 2-3 days and check for diarrhea. If everything is fine, you can increase the food by another 10% and continue.

Gradually increase your dog's food intake. Suddenly increasing your dog's food can upset their stomach and lead to diarrhea. To ensure safety, gradually increase the portion size while monitoring the dog’s stool to make sure their digestive system is still functioning properly.

• If the portion difference is not too large, you can split the extra food into two meals. If the change is significant, consider adding an additional meal instead of giving one large meal to soothe the stomach.
• Diarrhea can cause a nutrient deficiency, wasting all your efforts.

Feed your dog vitamin B-rich foods. Liver is one of the richest sources of vitamin B12. You can cook beef or chicken liver and give it to your dog 2-3 times a week between meals.

• For example, you can feed a 10 kg dog 50-70 grams of cooked liver.
• Eggs are also rich in vitamin B12. In addition, eggs provide vitamin A, riboflavin, folate, iron, selenium, and fatty acids. You can add one egg to your dog's food and feed it three times a week.
• Make sure to introduce these foods gradually to avoid upsetting your dog’s stomach.

Slowly transition your dog to high-energy foods. High-energy foods are those with a high calorie content that are easily absorbed and metabolized by the body. These foods help prevent weight loss and can aid in gaining weight for your dog.

• The most reputable brands for high-energy foods are Hill’s Science Diet Energy® and Royal Canin Veterinary Diet High Energy.
• You might also try switching to puppy food. Puppy food typically contains more calories than regular food, designed to meet the higher energy needs of growing puppies. However, puppy food tends to be fattier, which could upset your dog’s stomach.
• Make the transition gradually by adding a spoonful of high-energy food to your dog’s regular food, then gradually increase the amount over 4-5 days. Monitor your dog’s stool and stop if diarrhea occurs.

Switch between wet and dry food. Imagine how boring it would be to eat the same dry food or the same cereal or soup every day. Dogs feel the same way about their meals. Sometimes, switching from dry food to canned wet food, or vice versa, can be a trick to get your dog to enjoy eating again.

• However, it’s important to note that canned food usually has far fewer calories than dry food. For the same weight, wet food contains only ¼ of the calories of dry food, so dry food has a higher nutritional value. Wet food contains 60-80% water, which can be tastier but may fill your dog’s stomach with water, resulting in a calorie deficit.

Feed your dog homemade food based on a veterinarian-approved recipe. Homemade food often provides more variety and may be more enjoyable for your dog.

• A typical recipe recommended by the Founder’s Veterinary Clinic of Brea (California) is for a 10 kg dog. You can divide it into two meals for a 5 kg dog or double the amount for a 20 kg dog. The recipe includes 100g of cooked skinless chicken, 1 cup of brown rice, 1 cup of peas and carrots, 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, and ¼ teaspoon of salt substitute. Cook all the ingredients and mix them together.
• You can also try other recipes like chicken rice or raw food.

Give your dog supplements. B vitamins primarily support the enzyme system, helping stimulate your dog's appetite as well as the metabolism of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. Generally, B vitamins help convert sources of energy like fats, proteins, and carbohydrates into the energy needed for your dog's growth and maintenance. Extra energy from a tasty diet can be converted into fat, helping to prevent catabolism or muscle loss.

• The best B vitamin supplements include Pet-Tabs® and LC-Vit®. Follow the instructions on the packaging.
• You can give puppies liquid multivitamins like LC-Vit® (3 ml per day).
• Alternatively, you can take your dog to the vet for a B vitamin injection if you don’t have time to supplement daily. Dogs can receive a B vitamin injection once a week for four weeks. If your dog doesn’t show improvement in appetite after the final injection, additional shots may be needed.

Worming Your Dog with Deworming Pills. Regular deworming is essential for dogs as worms can consume all the food in their intestines, causing the dog to become underweight by silently absorbing all its nutrients. In severe cases, a dog with worms may experience a bloated belly, but its ribs and hips become visible due to the loss of fat.

• You should select a deworming pill that targets various types of worms, such as Praziquantel (Canex®).
• The recommended dosage for an average-sized dog is 1 Canex® tablet per 10 kg of body weight. For large dogs, administer 1 tablet per 20 kg of weight. Small dogs may require you to split the Canex® tablet in half.
• If this is the first time you're deworming your dog, you might need to administer the treatment three times within two weeks. Afterward, you can deworm your dog every 6 months or once a year.

Providing Dogs with Nutritional Supplements for Energy Boost. Dogs that are active, nursing, moving around frequently, or adjusting to a new home may lose weight and refuse to eat. You can supplement their diet with energy-boosting supplements rich in carbohydrates and easily absorbable vitamins.

• Nutri-Plus Gel® is a suitable energy supplement you can consider. The recommended dose is 1-2 teaspoons per 5 kg of body weight or 10 cm of gel daily (use a plastic applicator or measuring tool).

• Be cautious not to overfeed your dog to avoid excessive weight gain that could affect their health.
• If your dog does not gain weight after following these steps, take them to the vet immediately.