Need Help Gaining Weight
 

I have a 7 month old male puppy who is thin. He has seen the vet and has been wormed. He seems healthy and is active, just thin. He weighs 3 1/2 lbs.

He seems to be a dog that eats to live, not lives to eat. He just really doesn't care about food - never has, although he does like treats. We rarely give treats though because he does not want to eat his meals.

I offer him raw twice a day. I have tried Nature's Variety and Honest Kitchen. He usually only eats a few bites and that is only if I hand-feed him. I leave kibble out for him 24/7. We have tried a variety of kibbles also - TOW, Innova, Chicken Soup, ZiWiPeak, and Nature Variety. He just isn't really interested and will only eat a few bites here and there.

So any ideas about how to get him to eat? I hate to create a picky little monster, but hate that he is so thin. How can I get him to care about food?

Have any of you used the Fat Balls or Satin Balls recipes?

Thanks!

Have you had Blood Work done on him, just to make sure he doesn't have issues going on?

I know people that have used Satin Balls with Rescue's they have fostered and they worked really well for them, although I have had no experience with them.

Roxy goes from 3.5 to 4.5 pounds. She is very active and a good eater- But she is a grazer- Eats a little goes to play then eats some more but with 3 other dogs a grazer is not a good combo. Some days she does eat more than others.

Sometimes it seems like are too skinny but really are in a healthy weight range.
Body Condition Scoring Chart | College of Veterinary Medicine
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UWJrvjc0Hs...ight+Chart.gif

She eats FROMM kibble and Honest kitchen topper. She is just petite always has been.

Do you have pics?

Georgie sounds like Roxy he is usually between 3.5-4lbs and he is 7 so he is full grown. Our Boxer has a set schedule for eating and Georgie well he eats when he gets around to it. There are times when we have fed him and we have to throw it out and at 2am he wakes up Daddy to eat. To the OP I would have blood work done just to confirm nothing is wrong. If that comes out ok I wouldn't worry about it. Oh and boiled chicken always entices Georgie to eat not a lot but enough to mix with his kibble on occasion.

I encourage you to have some blood work done on your puppy.

We went through something similar when my Mom's toy poodle was a puppy. He was always thin, his fur was not the correct texture and did not look healthy, and he didn't have as much energy as a normal puppy. He seemed to wear out more quickly and need more naps. He often had a worried "I don't feel good" look on his face that would come and go.

We tried everything to get him to eat; we tried so many different foods. He would take a few bites, and then lose interest. If you tried to hand feed him he would keep looking away.

After doing blood work we discovered that the ammonia levels in his blood were abnormally high. This meant his liver wasn't functioning properly. A long story short--now he is on medication three times per day and a special diet and he is doing great!

I don't want your puppy wasting away and not growing to its full potential because it didn't receive treatment for liver shunt sooner rather than later. That's why it'd be good to have blood work done just to rule it out. The severity and symptoms of liver shunt vary. Apathy towards food, low weight, and low appetite are key signs though. The high ammonia blood levels makes them feel sick, and the digestion of food increases the ammonia so they feel more sick. The dog associates food with feeling nauseous so they dread eating, even though they need to eat to live.

I hope it turns out that your puppy is just a picky eater and does not have liver shunt. Both circumstances can be dealt with, but being a picky eater is definitely less serious.

My little man will be a 1 yr old tomorrow...he is not a big guy either. He is 4 lbs and I feel he is done growing....Bentley is also thin. but, he is also very fine boned. Healthy as a horse and eats good. Back in March Bentley was sick. the vet did blood work, fearing the worse, liver shunt....His blood work came back fine for liver shunt but had a horrible UTI. I ask the vet each time I go if she feels he is too thin...she told me he is thin but, not too thin. I can feel his ribs and spine, He doesn't look sickly...Although I would like him to gain a lb or 2 I don't think it would be good for him where he is so fine boned.

OMG...Our dogs must be related!!! I also have a 7-8 month old that can go for a couple of days with just a nibble. He is not treat or food motivated and weighs about 4 lbs.