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Puppy underweight

9 replies

Ljh2019 · 04/12/2019 16:10

Hello, just wanted to get some opinions on how I can help my pup gain weight. He's a Bichon x shitzu, just over 12 weeks and just bony all over! To be fair he's gained some meat since we picked him up but was definitely the runt - sister was nearly double his size when we collected him!

He has endless energy, wolfs down dinner, is up to speed with worming, no vomiting etc but still feels ribby and the vet has said at just over 2kg he's definitely on the lean side.

Has anyone had similar? He's currently on Royal Canin puppy pellets and has some chicken at night with this.

Thanks for any insight!!

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CMOTDibbler · 04/12/2019 16:12

How many meals is he on? At his age it should be at least 3, and for an underweight pup I'd do 4 or 5

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Ljh2019 · 04/12/2019 16:14

Sorry should have clarified, he's on 4 currently I'll have a go at adding one more in as a first step!

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talia66 · 04/12/2019 16:37

My puppy is on Royal Canin and I was feeding him incorrectly because their feeding chart is very unclear! He just wasn't thriving so I emailed them directly and I had been underfeeding him!
Make sure when you read the feeding guide you are basis his weight on what he will be as an adult dog. We had feed our puppy on his current weight! But on their complete kibble it is their predicted adult weight. The table on the packet is all over the place. so he now has 3 times more! and good news - is thriving!
I hope that this makes sense

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StillMedusa · 04/12/2019 19:56

As above.. check you are feeding the amount for his exepcted adult weight! My brother did the same with his Havanese pup and was horrified to find he hadn' been feeding near enough!

Also there is way better out there than Royal Canin.. check the allaboutdogfood site! Might be worth switching to a better quality food too.

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talia66 · 04/12/2019 20:09

@stillmedusa - Its so bad isn't it! Myself and 4 family members all looked at it and we all interpreted it incorrectly. When I realised how much we had been under feeding him I was mortified (How funny my puppy is a havanese also!)
I agree about the quality of royal canin as well. We went onto that all-out food site and have slowly started changing his food - we have picked 'Barking heads'.

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mimbleandlittlemy · 04/12/2019 20:35

Definitely consider swapping to Barking Heads puppy food. Royal Canin is dire, just dire. As others have said go on the allaboutdogfood site and see what else there is that is in the 90% area and feed him the best you can out of those. Mine came from breeder on Iams puppy and I switched him slowly over to BH and the difference was noticeable almost immediately.

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bloodywhitecat · 04/12/2019 20:39

Mine was on the lean side (he's a Spaniel cross), it's taken him a couple of weeks to settle in to his new home but now he has he is gaining well. I would agree about using the allaboutdogfood website to make an informed choice about a better quality food.

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CarolJones342 · 04/12/2019 21:03

I'd change food also. Our newest pupper was the runt of her litter too (exactly 2kg at 12wks) and was also on Royal Canin from the breeder. We changed her food at around that time and she quickly started gaining weight. Look on allaboutdogfood.co.uk, there are many foods which are better than RC, and for much less £ too!

Other than that, if the vet is happy that there are no underlying issues, I’d continue as you are - he’ll gain eventually.

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Ljh2019 · 04/12/2019 22:09

Thanks all, royal canin is what he came from the breeder with so will definitely look at barking heads and start the transition. Thanks again everyone 🍷