How to Help Puppies Gain Weight

Puppies are much like babies and small children in the sense that they must be taken care of when it comes to eating and going to the bathroom on their own over the first year of their lives. Sometimes puppies have trouble gaining weight due to what they are eating, how often they are eating or perhaps some other medical condition. Ensuring a puppy gains the proper amount of weight is important as it grows up into an adolescent and full-grown dog.

Things You'll Need

  • Veterinarian
  • High-protein dog food
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Instructions

    • 1

      Take your puppy to your veterinarian for a checkup. When dogs of any age don't eat, it often means something else is wrong with the dog, health-wise. Have the vet check the puppy out to make sure there are no other problems. Ask the veterinarian if there is any type of food she specifically recommends for the puppy to eat to gain the proper amount of weight.

    • 2

      Determine the weight of your dog and record it so that you can know if it has changed later on. Also determine your dog's Resting Energy Requirement, or RER. This is done by multiplying the dog's weight in kilograms by 30 and then adding 70. This will give you an idea of how many calories your dog would need if it were resting all day long, according to the Daily Puppy website.

    • 3

      Feed the puppy a different type of dog food that is high in protein. This means that its ingredients should consist primarily of meats like chicken, lamb, beef or pork. Avoid foods with non-protein sources in them. Feed this to the puppy two to three times per day, seeing if it eats all of the food poured into its bowl.

    • 4

      After a week, reweigh your puppy to see if it is gaining weight.