Underweight dog
There are several reasons why your dog may be underweight. Some of the reasons are listed below:
- Starvation
- Poor nutritional value in the dogfood
- Parasites (worms) {also causes diarrhea}
- Bad teeth – makes it hard for them to chew.
- Diabetes - Underlying disease
Starvation, malnutrition and parasites are usually the main culprit for underweight dogs.
Your dog’s ribs and hip bones should not be protruding. This is a sign of starvation. There are so many dogs that are abandoned and left homeless wandering the streets looking for something to eat. Mostly they don’t find any food and the food they do find is not healthy for them. If you adopt a dog that is emaciated, feed it small frequent meals each day. If they overeat they will only throw up the food as their stomachs can’t take a huge meal at one time. Feed your dog in this manner until he starts to visibly gain weight. You can then decrease the times he is fed and increase the amount of food each serving, you will need to do this gradually. Remember, make sure you check the breed for the proper weight for its size and feed him according to the chart on the dog food. If your dog still does not gain any weight after the proper feeding, please see your veterinarian.
You should check first of what type of breed you have and what the normal weight is for them. If you have a mix breed dog, of course you can use this as a reference guide as well. You also can ask your vet if you are not sure what breed you have. Dogs require a high protein diet. Remember, they are carnivores; meat eaters. Check the labels on the dog food bags and make sure there is not a lot of filler such as cornmeal. The bag should also contain a table of portions fed per each pound your dog weighs. If you are feeding him the proper portion as instructed and your dog still is not gaining any weight, this may be a sign that your dog is not absorbing the appropriate nutrition that he needs from the food. An indication of this is large frequent stools. Change your dogs’ food to a premium high protein type of kibble. Monitor your dogs’ weight, writing down the amount you are feeding and when you are feeding. The process of putting weight on your dog should be a slow one. By the end of one month you should be seeing signs that he is putting on weight. If not, take him immediately to a veterinarian as there my other underlying causes why your dog is not gaining.
Parasites can be taken care of with medication from your veterinarian. Your veterinarian will want a stool sample and/or a blood test to check which type of parasite your dog has for the proper treatment. It is important that once you adopt a puppy, you take it to the veterinarian for his first shots and for a deworming. Here is an ebook that may help. healing your dog naturally.
Your dog may have bad teeth (especially in older dogs). Make sure there are no loose teeth or excessive tarter buildup. Their gums should be pink (sometimes they are pigmented black). There should not be any bumps on the gums. Your dogs should not have “doggie breath” as this is an indication of bad teeth. With sore gums, just like humans, it is hard for them to eat the hard dog food. They will therefore not eat. This is why it is important to take your dog to a doggie dentist.
Diabetes Mellitus is an insulin deficiency and your dog may require insulin shots. Diabetes is a hereditary disease, just like in people. If you notice that your dog is drinking a lot of water and urinating more frequently than normal, this may be a sign your dog has this disease. You will need to put your dog on a special veterinarian diet.