# Dog needs to gain weight



## Ari1405 (Apr 18, 2017)

Buddy Bear has always had this issue but it hasn't come up in a while. At the moment he's pretty much just skin and bones. His backbone clearly shows and he needs to put on some weight. He's naturally very thin. So right now it looks as if I was starving him. 
Here's my issue it happens every time. I start to give him more food and he'll be fine for about a day or 2 but then he'll get too full and then start skipping meals. What I've never tried is to very slowly start adding more. Which I just started today. 
Today for breakfast I added a little extra kibble to his bowl. For his dinner I plan to just give him his regular meal. 
My mom said what about a higher calorie kibble. I told her that I don't mind buying a higher calorie kibble but I can basically do the same thing just adding extra kibble which is the same thing. She also asked if ground meat would help to add on top of his kibble. 
What do you think? 
Should I add ground meat? 
Would yogurt help add calories?
Would higher protein help overall keep some weight on him?


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## susan davis (Mar 25, 2011)

Ari, Most of the kibble has a calorie per cup on the bag. If it doesn't, then there is a phone number to the company, who can give it to you. I was told years ago that a chihuahua needed about 200 calories a day to maintain their weight. I would see if Buddy Bear would eat 2-3 small meals a day, rather than 1 big one? The only other suggestion would be a vet visit to see if they are worried about his condition. There might be a medical reason for the 'skin and bones' condition he is in.


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## MelodyoftheForest (Sep 11, 2015)

Have you tried adding some fat to his kibble? It would add calories without really making him feel more full. Start with just a tiny bit, of course. You could try vegetable oil, coconut oil, or pan drippings from cooking unseasoned meat, among other things.


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## Ari1405 (Apr 18, 2017)

He's getting 240 calories per day usually Tuesday to Friday/Saturday (days he usually doesn't get treats)
I don't think anything is wrong with him health wise as I notice it when it becomes colder/hotter. He eats 1/3 cup for breakfast and dinner. 
Is refined coconut oil okay? We just bought a jar last week but I don't know if it be okay. I think I remember giving Jr vegetable oil but for his skin. 
So far I've just been very slowly adding extra kibble for breakfast it's been about 2 days now and he hasn't skipped a meal like he'd usually do when adding extra food to his bowl. Maybe me doing it slowly is helping. 
Also "pan drippings" I've never done that before. But could I just cook ground beef with no seasoning and give him a bit of the drippings from the meat. And maybe just give him a bit of the ground beef?


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## susan davis (Mar 25, 2011)

Make sure you only give this little dog a LITTLE BIT OF pan drippings/or any 'oil'. If you let them lap a cold skillet with drippings, you may end up with a dog with pancreatitis. I'm talking no more than a 1/4th of a teaspoon at first. Then you can SLOWLY add more to no more that a teaspoon. Use a measuring device!

We had a sheltie that my roommate gave a pan that had some fat in it, and the poor dog ended up with pancreatitis. An painful experience for her, and an expensive lesson for my roommate!


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## Ari1405 (Apr 18, 2017)

Wow, maybe better off giving vegetable oil. I really gotta think about it


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## coco_little_bear (May 30, 2012)

My Lilo has a tendency to become very thin too during the winter. In her case getting her to eat more at meal times isn't a problem, but it can upset her tummy sometimes if she eats too much in one go... so what I do is increase her portions by just a bit (spread into two meals a day) and I give her other treats throughout the day like a bit of coconut oil, dog treats, little pieces of cheese or plain meat (ground beef would work too), peanut butter (stuffed in a Kong toy), chew treats (like tripe sticks, bully sticks, etc).


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## zellko (Jul 3, 2013)

Same problem here with lil' Piper. I can coax her to eat more for a day or 2, then she starts not eating again. I asked several vets about adding calories with fat and they all said I would be risking pancreatitis. I asked if I could feed her puppy food to get extra kcal and she said it would be fine if she didn't get fat. LOL! Not much chance of that. Switching her food (carefully, because she gets digestive upsets) frequently seems to keep her interested in her food. Right now we're on Blue Buffalo Basics limited ingredients. She also likes Merrick (even though it's owned by Purina now) Puppy Plate in the big cans. Be careful with that one, since the recipe is different for different size cans. The tiny small dog cans contain liver, which she cannot tolerate. I can still feel her backbone, but I don't worry about people thinking she's starving. She's 2 1/2 lb. This seems to be not uncommon in the tiny ones. Good Luck!


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## susan davis (Mar 25, 2011)

Wow! Piper IS REALLY small, isn't she?! I thought Bonnie was small at 3.8 pounds! She also gets days where she won't eat or drink for 8-12 hours. It has been almost 3 weeks since her last 'episode'. I stopped feeding her 'treats' that were not really grain free. I just use her regular food. So far so good.

I think puppy food would be a good option. You can check the calorie count on the bag/can and go from there. Some have more calories--just check and see. If the calorie count is not on the bag/can they will have a phone # on there. Call and ask.


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## zellko (Jul 3, 2013)

Treats seemed like a great idea, but they just ruined her appetite and she'd skip the next meal. Might work for another dog, though.


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## Ari1405 (Apr 18, 2017)

Thanks for the responses  
He's not that tiny compared to your babies (5 pounds) But he's the smallest Chi I own
When I 1st got him he was constipated it took at least a couple of months to get him normal. And once I got him normal I actually fed puppy can food. And the same thing happened he would get way too full and skipped meals. 
I've noticed that when I give treats he'll never skip meals. Maybe increasing his treats to daily and increasing kibble.


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## susan davis (Mar 25, 2011)

sounds like a plan.


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