Anyone know what is wrong with my 6 month old puppy?

Question

He is a golden retriever/ chocolate lab mix. we got him when he was ten weeks old. we feed him the right amount of food and everything, but he won't gain weight. he does not have worms...or any other diseases that we know of. we always thought he just had a fast metabolism. plz help!! he acts like a normal puppy though.

Answer 1

What do you consider enough? Unless a Vet told you or you read the dog food package, you may have guessed the wrong amount.
Remember that all dogs are different and the package is what the average dog eats. Yours may need more, especially puppies who need extra food to grow and exercise.
A poor quality of food my not be providing enough nutrition. Like when people eat junk food, they don't get enough vitamins and minerals. Go to naturapet.com for all you need to know about dog nutrition. They also put out one of the best foods available today.
I would suggest that you take him to the vet as well. There may be something wrong, like worms (good possibility) or a deformity of his insides (rare, but worth checking out). He may also have a Thyroid condition. The vet can tell you more, and it is better to be safe than sorry.
I bet he is fine, just growing and playing so much he can't gain any weight.

Answer 2

Hello -

Have you been to the vet? Have you confirmed with you vet what you are feeding and how much you are feeding? Could you tell us a bit more about what food you are feeding and exactly how much you are giving him? That would help me personally in answering your question. Thanks =)

EDIT: Considering it is kinda hard to have "conversation" on this thing I will go on a bit further.

Your puppy should be eating a food that contains 29% protien and is preferably made for large breeds as their muscles develop different than small breeds.

You should be feeding a food that does not contain any of the following: meat by-products, soy, what or corn. Meat by-products can mean feet, feathers, etc. Soy is a protien but animals need to eat animal protien. Wheat and corn are just filler grains. They just cause you to buy more food, to feed more food, to have more poop.

This is your puppies most critical time of his life. This is when all of his muscles, bones, brain are developing that will create the roadmap for the rest of his life and health.

You should find a pet supply store in your area (not a PetCo or PetSmart) and pick up some samples of California Natural, Innova, Artemis, Pinnacle, Solid Gold or another high quality premium dog food. Even if you don't feed it exclusively, to mix it in with a less quality food (Eukanuba, IAMS, pretty much anything that is sold at PetCo and PetSmart) will help benefit your puppy's growth and health for years to come.

Good Luck.

Answer 3

The first thing is what does the vet say? A good checking over by a vet is a starting place. Second, are you feeding a good quality puppy food? The old saying of "what you pay for is what you get" often applies. If he is healthy, and it is good quality food, simply try doubling his ration or allow free graze. Typically, large dogs that stay outside in the heat in the summer will loose weight and sometimes the puppies don't gain as much weight as they do in the winter as they don't eat as much. If this heat related, it will self correct when it cools down.

Answer 4

So you have had him checked for worms recently. The possiblity of worms is an ongoing thing with dogs They are constantly sniffing poops & licking their noses. So, if you haven't had a fecal exam since he was 8-10 weeks old, I would have one done.

The simplest solution is to increase his food intake. Puppies grow wildly during the first year of life and at about 4-8 months they can look pretty gangly.

Feed a good brand of food and you can supplement with scrambled eggs, cottage cheese, & cooked hamburger (drained) mixed with white rice. Nutrical is also a product that adds calories and can help put weight on a skinny dog.

Answer 5

Are you feeding him puppy food? He needs to be on puppy food till he is at least 1 year old. He should be eating twice a day for a total of 4.5 to 6.75 cups a day of a good quality puppy food. Purina One makes a good Large Breed Puppy formula. Does he eat around other dogs, who may be sneaking his food? If so make sure the puppy eats separately. Is he still drinking water? That's a good sign. Is he peeing and pooping normally? If he is that is also a good sign. It may be he was not getting the needed nutrition from his food or not enough of it. I would still recommend a quick visit to the vet to check again for worms and intestinal parasites, they are easy to pick up if he is around other dogs. Remember to take a fresh stool sample for the vet to check. Best of luck. He sounds like a beautiful dog!

Answer 6

Your puppy is A:not on good food by-products are a big no no for puppies heck for any dog *points to first answer* she said all the good foods. B: Your puppy may just be growing rapidly like most dogs do my friends didnt gain that much weight until he was finished going through fast growth spurts.

Answer 7

Are you feeding him puppy food? You should really feed him puppy food. And I would suggest the more expensive brands like Science Diet. Puppies and other baby animals usually need more fat in their diets than adult animals. If you are not giving him the correct food formula that could be why he's not gaining weight. Good luck. Take him to your vet.

Answer 8

Have the vet check the puppies petuitary gland function. The puppy might have a congenital birth defect, which would cause the petuitary gland to grow at a slower rate than the puppy, or not produce the hormone required for normal growth. I hope this helps.

Answer 9

There's no way to know what the problem is just from your description. However you may want to have him checked for a heart problem or a defect known as a 'portosystemic shunt' - both of which can cause stunted growth. Certain metabolic diseases can impair growth as well, but are harder to detect.

It wouldn't hurt to deworm him anyway.

Answer 10

Something is wrong with him! Get another vet, fast! It could be any number of things from cancer to worms, but get him checked out by a good veterinarian before it's too late.