How to Make a Dog Gain Weight Fast

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Before we dig into how to make a dog gain weight fast, let us help you picture its importance. Joy is the perfect word to describe what dogs are in our lives. Dated as early as 12,000 years ago, the time has proven the bond between dogs and humans. At first, dogs were trained to help humans as hunting companions or as livestock guards. They live with us but not entirely merged lives as the dogs were kept outside and sleep with the livestock.

Fast forward now, though the practice still continues until now, dogs have earned their place beside us and many of us have dogs as our pets. How could we imagine a life without those big eyes and unfaltering loyalty? We take care of them as much as we do to our family members—which is what they deserve. It breaks our hearts to see them unhappy or ill.

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But what do we do when our beloved pup gets sick? We nurse them back to health with the help of the vet, of course, but sometimes an illness is so great our pup goes back home losing weight. It’s not just sick dogs, stray dogs tend to be malnourished that they become emaciated. Helping them get back in their prime condition is a must, but that leaves a question: “what to feed a Pitbull puppy to get big?” It’s crucial to know the healthy way to bring a dog get out of the threat of emaciation to go back to their puppy self.

how to make a dog gain weight fast

Preparation

Your first task for a weight gain plan for your pup is to have a record note on your pup’s weight throughout the process. Keep organized entries of dates, condition (behavior, moods), weight, and diet of your dog as meticulously as you can. It seems trivial, but we promise you it’s an important step and will take you a long way. Use this record as a guide and a target projection as your dog proceeds in gaining weight.

Your second task is to determine whether the pup is underweight. To do this, you can do a simple test using the Body Condition Scoring Test. If the dog is underweight, the ribs and spine are easy to be seen and felt, unlike those of a healthy one. When you put your fingers on a healthy dog’s ribs, you’ll notice that there’s a layer of fat covering the rib. It’s approximately the same feeling as your finger on a clenched knuckle. Another thing to check is the waistline. If the dog is underweight, the waistline should be curved, while a healthy dog will have a straight waistline.

Things that Play Parts in Dog’s Weight

  • Food

Just like humans, their health and bodily changes rely a lot on what we eat. When we have a balanced diet to fuel our day, our body will function properly and it put us under the ideal weight. But if we choose candies or junk food, we’ll eventually feel uncomfortable, and catching an illness is easy. Most likely, this food will put your body into stupor or overweight as the result of an imbalanced diet. Because they have less protein and fat your pup needs as an exchange for prices.

The same goes for your four-legged creature. What do you feed to your dog? Is it a well-crafted diet according to his needs or just anything you can find in your leftovers? Yes, low-grade dog food products are cheap and food leftover is free, but a prolonged intake will cause your dog to be in serious malnutrition. You’ll soon notice that your dog has less energy than others in the dog park or having no interest to be active at all. That’s not how to make a dog gain weight fast!

  • Illness

If you’re ever in doubt, a visit to a vet wouldn’t hurt, especially, for stray dogs. Stray dogs have a rough life on the street that will put him under the risk of health problems. Sometimes, the cause of underweighted dogs doesn’t lie on how much he eats, but because some underlying conditions that prevent him from gaining weight. Illnesses like allergies, kidney problems, heart disease, and dental problems are some of the conditions that halt your pup’s weight gain. Seek for your vet’s guidance to maneuver these problems to make sure your pup is gaining weight healthily.

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  • Traits and Environmental Changes

When your pet just moved into your house or a new environment, it’s normal that they prefer not to touch their favorite kibbles. Dogs are creatures of habit. So, any changes to their familiar environment will cause stress and further decrease their appetite. If you can help it, a smooth transition to the new environment helps a lot to reduce the stress level. But if it isn’t possible, help him with some treats to induce his appetite.

Picky eaters, however, often reject some type of food, brand, or flavor. Some of them can’t stand eating the same food after several days. What they like today, they may loathe it the next day. It drives us crazy while we just try to make them eat anything. Making a good observation of what they like and dislike will help you create better planning for the weight gain. They need to eat as much as they should!

What can I give my dog to gain weight?

To help a dog gain weight fast will need thorough planning with clear aims and targets. It’s more important to gain weight healthily other than merely gain weight. The result of bad planning often resulted in unnecessary stress and health problems. Here’s the answer to “How to make my dog gain weight?”:

  • Feeding Schedule

The way dogs and humans process their food is not very different. Sure, their metabolism is a lot faster, but how they treat nutrients is pretty much the same as us. To put it simply, we eat to process our food into calories, spend it, and possibly store it into fat. The more activity we do, the more calories we need; but if there are more calories than we need, our body will store the excess into fat. This is exactly what we want our dogs to achieve, to have more calories than they need so they can gain weight.

One way to do it is to adjust their feeding schedule. If your dog eats twice a day, you may add it up to three times a day using the same proportion then add it up gradually. You can even adjust the feeding schedule by dividing their meal into smaller portions at more frequency so they have a chance to process the food. Have you tried allowing your pup to graze? Some dogs like to finish their meals in parts, so keeping their bowls full will help them eat more. When you start making adjustments, balance it with the next step. Here is another post about American bully feeding secrets.

  • Exercise

It may sound counterintuitive, but dogs need to do exercise so they can turn food into muscle. Since exercise burns calories, your dog will be hungry more often and eat more food. If your dog already has his portion of daily exercise, you can make some changes in his routine. You can either take him for more walks in a day, have him walk on a treadmill, or put more duration in your walks. The best way on how to make a dog gain weight fast is to make a visit to a dog park with their favorite active toys. They will certainly look forward to it.

how to make a dog gain weight fast

  • Supplement

To support your furbaby’s journey to weight-gaining, adding supplements to their meal regime will accelerate gain. In our book, supplements should not be limited to commercially made products. There are many veggies and fruit you can give to your pups that are not only good for his digestive system but also maintain a steady weight gain. Take some pumpkin and sweet potato, for example. The high content of fat and fiber will keep their tummy healthy and aid weight-gaining without adding more protein to their diet. But wait, as they will need food that’s high in fat, peanut butter is perfect for the purpose. It’s a win-win!

There are, however, more straightforward products that can help your furbaby gain weight. Protein-loaded treats with real meat is your best shot. However, some supplements prefer to be more subtle in their approach. Supplements enriched by Curcuma or CBD can increase your pet’s appetite so they are more compelled to eat more.

  • Nutrition

Meals that are high in protein and fat are the key to how to make a dog gain weight fast. Finding the proper dog food is not very hard but it does require a bit of research. To do this, look for certain keywords or labels such as ‘nutrient-dense’, ‘high performance’, or ‘weight gain’. So what can I give my dog to gain weight? While it takes some time to do the research, we have some suggestions so you don’t have to:

Purina Pro Plan SPORT Formula Dry Dog Food

Purina is a brand that consistently produces some of the best pet food worldwide. The Purina Pro Plan SPORT Formula Dry Dog Food contains 30% protein and 20% fat with calorie up to 1928 kcal/pound. This dog food is highly suitable for competition dogs that need to gain muscle and weight quickly, but this product offers more than just weight gain. Aware of the problems caused by large weight mass, this dog food is enriched with EPA and glucosamine to maintain mobility and health of the joins.

Bully Max High-Performance Super Premium Dog Food

Searching for a fast way to gain muscle mass and fat content? Look no further! The Bully Max High-Performance Super Premium Dog Food has been getting rave reviews from customers who love to see their dogs healthily bulky. The secret of this product lies in the lack of plant-based ingredients and relies on 100% meat-based ingredients. A cup of this dog food contains more calories than others we see so far. This product is especially great for active larger breed dogs that require huge calorie intake. This dog food is the best answer to “How to make my dog gain weight?” Read our extensive comparison on Bully Max vs Gorilla Max next!

Purina ONE SmartBlend True Instinct Adult Canned Wet Dog Food

Another amazing product from the best brand, Purina ONE SmartBlend True Instinct Adult Canned Wet Dog Food perches high in the top most-sought dog food in the market. The balanced and engineered formula will help your pup healthily gain weight. This dog food uses poultry as its top ingredients to make sure high protein output. Is your dog a picky eater? This kibble will entice even the pickiest one to try on its real venison addition. To make it extra, each cup of this product contains 4 antioxidant materials that will enhance your pup’s immune system.

Diamond Naturals Extreme Athlete Real Meat Recipe High Protein Dry Dog Food

From its name, Diamond Naturals Extreme Athlete Real Meat Recipe High Protein Dry Dog Food is guaranteed to giving your pup the leanest, strongest muscle he needs. This dog food is engineered for workers and competition dogs alike to match their tough training regime. To do that, it has to be able to fulfill their daily calorie needs with protein and fat. The company that produces this dog food is proud of its source of real chicken that is cage-free. This ensures the protein source is as lean as possible to deliver maximum muscle growth.

Eukanuba Premium Performance 30/20 dry dog

In their line of premium dog food, Eukanuba Premium Performance 30/20 dry dog food is made to support the endurance of sporting and working dogs to achieve their best competitive weight and performance. The body it builds is rich in lean muscle, fat, and energy. Active large breeds take the best use of this dog food, but smaller breeds will also gain benefit from its nutrient-rich formula. Feeding this dog food means your pup’s joints and muscle is well-taken care of thanks to the glucosamine and chondroitin enhancement in every cup.

Conclusion

For thousands of years, time has cemented the bond between humans and dogs. Meant to be workers and guards, eventually, dogs became an inseparable part of our lives. Often in our lives, we need to nurse our beloved companion back to their healthy weight. An emaciated dog needs to gain weight as fast and safely as he could. This guide on how to make my dog gain healthy weight offers a tact and safe solution to achieve that while the pup is waiting for a vet’s appointment. By recording his weight and make adjustments in feeding frequency and nutrition are the first steps to help your dog gain weight. Exercises and supplements are also crucial as they can accelerate the gain. But again, gaining weight healthily is always the best way, even though it takes time in the planning.

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