Weight Gain Help Needed

[Sevaede]

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to put weight on a dog? Not too much and not in a way that would be detrimental to a hypoglycemic breed?

Spanky is within Chihuahua standard and she weighs between two and three pounds (also within standard). I thought she had barrel ribs for the longest time but it just didn't add up. A while back, I realized she was just super skinny, was worried, and have been attempting to change that. I rub my hand down her back and can feel the full length of her spine, etc. Today really did it though. She was itching her neck/collar bone with a back foot earlier and you could actually hear the smack of her foot against the bone.

I am willing to try anything to make her gain weight. It's frightening and I am scared to take her anywhere and have someone take her away because they think I'm starving her or something. So far, she gets free fed and always has a full bowl of kibbles down (raw feeding planned for future), she gets wet food, she gets "people" snacks (although, she can be a chooser), baby food, canned tuna/ham/chicken, etc etc etc

She was at the vets in Jan/Feb. She was there for boarding and got sick and they took care of her but didn't offer any weight gain advice. She was also there in August and had a full fecal (completely negative).

Thank you much!

[caseysmom]

Sorry my dogs usually have the opposite problem. Last August was quite a bit ago, you might want to do another fecal. Sorry not sure about any other ideas.

[CathyBogart]

Perhaps switching to a higher calorie food would help. You could also try supplementing her diet with Nutri-cal. Poor girl. How frustrating for you, too!

[wolfsoul]

I have the same problem. My dogs have very high metabolisms. Visa is a bit easier to put weight on, but Solo is absolutely emaciated right now and I'm not sure what to do. The vet says to just keep up what I'm doing -- he is young and eventually he will start to gain weight. I'm spending $15 a day on food just for him. I am also interested in everyone's suggestions. I'm pretty sure I've tried and done everything but I have yet to find anything that has worked for Solo.

[Crazy-Cat-Lover]

Have you tried feeding a puppy or growth formula? This usually helps put weight on underweight dogs. Also, don't free feed her - free fed dogs eat less. If a dog is fed two times a day, they finish the whole bowl because they know that they won't get anymore until the morning. Being a free fed dog, she knows there will always be food in the bowl, so she won't eat as much as she should be.

[Giselle]

Satin Balls generally do the trick:
http://www.njboxers.com/satin-balls-recipe.htm

I also hear pasta helps put on weight, but that makes sense since extra carbs and little energy output = fat That's generally what you're trying to avoid with a healthy dog, but it sounds like your girl needs a bit of fat on her. In this case, pasta and other carbs might be a good option.