Here’s what you can do if your dog is underweight:
Provide Food That Is High In Calories: Feeding underweight pets like a puppy or kitten food that is high in calorie count helps the dog to bulk up the muscle gain and improve the overall weight to the ideal weight of dog breed.
This list narrows down the list of the best dog food you can feed your dog who is underweight, so she can fatten up to the ideal weight.
Apart from choosing the best dog food for underweight dogs, make a habit of using a dog feeding chart. Charts for dog feeding shows you how much food you should feed your dog, and that dog chart food is predominantly based on key factors:
- The Dog Breed
- The Dog Size ( Small dog breeds, Medium dog breeds, Large dog breeds)
- Bodyweight
- Nursing /breeding dog,
Once you know which factors your dog falls under, you now can use the dog feeding chart to determine how much food you should feed your dog specifically designed for active, athletic, or working dogs.
Your best dog food for Underweight pets should be the selection of either dry dog food or wet canned dog food as long as the food you feed the dog, has around 30% protein and 20% fat for those dogs on a dry kibble only food diet.
And if your dog if on a wet dog food diet only, make sure that the dog food you buy for her is at least 7% protein and 5% fat at their minimum but you should always aim to go higher on protein content if you’re feeding your dog, wet canned pet food.
What can I feed my dog to help her gain weight?
Here’s the list of the best dog food with High-Fat Foods For Dogs:
Feeding your dog High-Fat Foods For Dogs: While feeding your dog with high-fat food for dogs may benefit underweight dogs to fatten up, own their own, dog food rich in fat can get the dog sick if fed too much of it.
The best way to feeding your dog food high in fats must also be complemented with dog food higher in protein and carbohydrates, just to make sure that your dog has an added healthy balance of calories to their diet.
Now, if your dog is underweight, there is a need for taking some hands-on responsibility here… Whether you are going to do that by taking charge of what your dogs’ food is a homemade higher in protein or trust the battle-tested supermarket. The key here is knowing what foods are high in fat for dogs.
There is no doubt that when your dog suddenly is underweight, there will be an element of panic and wondering what is the best food for a dog who is losing weight suddenly?
Feeding your dog with food that is higher in protein and fats is key. Luckily, this is easy for anyone as the majority of pet foods bought from Amazon contains some added fat or oils. You only have to know what dog food is best for dogs with underweight issues.
There is no shortage of carefully analyzed dog foods and reviews written for both cat foods and many of those pet food buyers guides you will see that 73% of dog foods and 65% of cat foods contain added fat.
So, if you are going to do a homemade dog food top-up, there are some great sources of Fat and much-needed protein for Pet Food like:
- Chicken fat.
- Beef fat.
- Lamb fat.
- Pork fat.
- Omega fish oil.
- Canola oil.
- Sunflower oil.
What would cause a dog not to gain weight?
Poor nutrition is the number one cause for dogs not to gain weight. However, there are also several other reasons why this could happen. And some of the most common causes include diseases, Poor Nutrition and many more.
In the case of poor nutrition, sometimes your dog’s food may, in fact, be the root cause as it may be made from inferior ingredients that are not offering enough nutrients ideal for their size, dog breed and level of activities.
Active dogs tend to demand more energy supply while docile and aging dogs will need fewer calories intake. As long as you have a dog feeding chart, and are sure that you are providing them with their daily needed food and nutrients, your dog may lose weight and be unable to gain it back.
Disease: Ailments like chronic pancreatitis in dogs are prevalent! And sometimes pet owners often assume that their dog is only a fussy eater, except your dog, could be sick with a variety of diseases that are causing their loss of appetite the leads into extreme and sudden weight loss.
Will Rice help my dog gain weight?
Yes! Feeding extra portions of rice on the sides of their normal diet is key to help your dog gain weight.
Pretty much like humans, eating plenty of carbs with fattening properties works for the dogs too.
There’s no secret that eating too many carbohydrates often leads to weight gain, good news for the dogs that are underweight is that you can easily harness this to fatten her up.
While this is all good news, make no mistake, commercially produced dog food also contains a lot of carbohydrates. Therefore, if you are considering feeding your dog with extra portions of rice, be cautious of the potential of overloading your dog with additional high-carb foods like rice.
The take away here is, as long as you have established that there is no underlying health condition, and he’s not maintaining a healthy weight, adding some rice to your dog’s meals is perfectly fine.
If your dog is skinny while looking healthy and doesn’t seem to muster couraged or care to eat, do not just sweep it under the rag and assume she is a fussy eater, ask your veterinarian about prescribing appetite stimulants.