What Dog Food Helps Dogs Gain Weight?
When it comes to keeping your dog healthy, maintaining a proper weight is essential. For many dog owners, the most common concern is keeping your dog from becoming overweight – but some have the opposite problem. If your dog is incredibly active or has lost weight due to an illness, you may need to alter his diet to help him gain weight in order to reach a healthy level.
Importance of Healthy Weight
Some dogs are naturally more active than others, so they may burn more calories and have a tendency to be underweight. It is also possible, however, for weight loss to be the symptom of a serious illness such as a parasite infection. In a healthy dog, you should be able to feel the ribs under his skin but they shouldn’t be visible – if the dog’s bones are sticking out or if he appears to be lethargic and weak, seek veterinary treatment immediately. Your veterinarian will help you to diagnose your dog’s condition and will also be able to provide suggestions for bringing your dog up to a healthy weight.
Helping a Dog Gain Weight
Once you determine that your dog’s low body mass is not the result of a medical condition, there are a few things you can do to help him reach a healthy weight. First, start feeding your dog several small meals throughout the day rather than one or two large meals. Especially for active dogs, this feeding schedule will help to keep his body fueled and his metabolism working properly all day long. Switching to a high-protein dog food like a puppy food or growth formula will also help your dog to reach a healthy weight. Do not be tempted to supplement your dog’s diet too heavily with treats because these foods may be high in fat – they could help your dog to gain weight, but they may not provide the nutrients your dog needs to stay healthy.
Recommended Brands for Weight Gain
While dog food manufacturers typically don’t market their products in terms of helping dogs to gain weight, there are certain formulas designed specifically for very active dogs. These foods tend to be higher in calories and protein to help your dog put on some extra weight to get him back to a healthy level. Below you will find a list of several brands of dog food that may help your dog to gain weight.
| Best Weight Gain Dog Food 2017 | ||
| #1 | #2 | #3 |
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| Nutro Natural Choice High Endurance |
Eukanuba Premium Performance |
Dr. Tim’s Pursuit Active Dog |
Regardless what type of dog food you choose, you also need to be sure you are feeding your dog the right amount. In switching to a new formula, you will need to monitor your dog’s weight to make sure he doesn’t lose too much body mass. If he begins to lose weight, increase his portions until he starts to maintain a healthier weight.
I have a 14 year old ridgeback mix that was diognosed with cancer 2 years ago. While we have managed to removed the tumors several times, his last surgery revealed that the cancer has gotten more invaisive and he is now showing weight loss. I put him on puppy chow supplemented with wet food, one of which is Science Diet A/D. He still has not put on any weight but rather seems to have lost more weight. I know he is now on borrowed time, but I want to keep him as health as possible for whatever time he has left. Do have any suggestions or could recommend a specific food
I have a 3 year old male Great Dane x Bull Arab who is extremely hyperactive and ACTIVE and cannot seem to keep weight on. He eats well and we have been working on him eating slower, as he used to inhale rather than chew his food. He has not had an illness and he is not lethargic, he almost never stays still- he is so active- and he certainly has not lost his appetite! Would keeping him on puppy food for the foreseeable future help to improve his weight? I have also decided to make a homemade stew with rice and pasta, which I am going to start feeding to him tonight. Is there anything else I can do to try and keep his weight up? Thanks!
I have 2 German shepherds. My female is a little over a year, and my male is almost a year. We are feeding them victor. My male is almost a year but he is small. He comes from big parents. He is only 60 pounds. What type of dog food can we give him that will help him gain weight.
Hi Kristy,
I also have a GSD. She is around 78 pounds, and we feed her ~2.5 cups of Victor Grain-Free Joint Health Beef Meal and Sweet Potato. She lost weight (which was the desired result because we need to keep her slim due to her hip dysplasia). She’s continuing to eat Victor and has maintained quite nicely.
On the other side, we have a presa canario (around 70 lbs) who has two bad ACLs, and we can’t seem to put any weight on her on the Victor food. We feed her 4-5 cups a day, and she isn’t gaining a pound. (Talk about expensive—especially with three dogs.)
If anyone else can post good experiences about premium dog food that helps dogs gain weight, I’d appreciate it!!
Hell I have a 5yr old Rottweiler who was at a good weight til she got sick two wks ago and then. She regained it back up and burned it off cause she’s hyper at times and last night she got sick I believe do to woofing her food down
Hey my friends dog is underweight because he runs. A LOT. The vet said that he is healthy but just super active and they didn’t recommend them anything. He is a pretty tall dog but you can see his ribs and back and he only weighs around 25 to 30 lbs. Is their anything they could do to make him gain weight healthily?
I like high protein Acana dog food for my 100 Spinone but he is gaining weight even though I feed him only three cups a day. He used to eat Merott healthy choice but we feel Acana is a better food. He is not real active should we cut back on feeding him Acana or go back to Merott healthy choice recipe? We originally wanted to give him some variety in food rather than the same dog food all the time.
I have two Lhasas one male aged 16 and one female aged 15. They have emphysema of the lungs and are on steroids. Although both have good appetites, they are continuing to lose weight and I need to have a recommendation for wet food that will help them to put some weight back on. They are both on a maintenance plan because of their ages with the vet, but I need to use a food that will benefit them . They are active in every way.