Pit bull puppy will not gain weight but has been to vet. How do I get her to gain weight?

Question

I recently took my 3 seven month old pit bull puppies to the vet and had them given a full check up. The vet gave all three of them a clean bill of health. I had him do a full run of tests on the female puppy Panda because although she eats a bowl of food 3 times a day she will not gain weight. I'm concerned that if I take her out for a walk I will end up with an animal control officer at my home half an hour after I get home because she is so thin. I feed her 3 times a day. I give her only Puppy chow with some grilled chicken and steamed veggies mixed in which is what the vet told me to do. She doesnt have worms as that was one of the tests the vet did both for intestinal worms and for heart worms also doesnt have the onset of parvo. The vet ran tests for all puppyhood illnesses and the three are fine even after Oreo was exposed to parvo in his other home. I just need ideas as to how to get her to gain weight.

Answer 1

If your puppy is clean of parasites, and eats more than enough food in a day, what you may need to look for is mal-absorption, and other genetic defects. Ask your veterinarian to pursue the matter further, and recommend a specialist if necessary. As you can probably imagine, if your puppy continues the way she is, unable to make use of the food she is eating, then this situation can only end badly for her.

There are several defects, most of them genetic, that cause a patient to lack specific enzymes and structure of the bowel tissues that are required for proper food digestion and absorption. Many of these are treatable, but of course, you need a positive diagnosis.

PS - if your dog is indeed eating puppy chow with additional meat and vegetables, then the problem here is not her diet. However, I would suggest not letting her get used to having the human foods, and just soak her puppy chow in warm chicken broth to add a little fat and moisture to the food.

PSS - good quality puppy chow IS good. The research has been done, the food is balanced, and is highly digestible especially when softened with water or broth. Those who say otherwise have dogs with specific allergies, or like to be nay-sayers for the sake of sounding more educated.

Answer 2

I have the same problem with my Great Dane mix puppy. I got him from a meth head who forget she had a dog, needless to say he was completely emaciated when we got him. He's put on weight, has a clean bill of health and no worms too but won't gain weight. We feed him twice a day and one day I decided to read the ingredients on the bag of large breed puppy chow we were feeding him. I know that ingredients are listed by whatever is the most abundant first, the most abundant item in his food was corn, a filler. He wasn't getting enough protein to gain weight as he's still growing. So we went to a pet food store, Wilco, and got him a high protein food. He's still skinny but now it isn't the first thing people notice when they meet him. Good luck!

Answer 3

Take your pup back to the vet and have him check the health of the pup's pancreas. If there is something wrong with it, she may not be producing the enzymes necessary to digest her food. Without treatment, it won't matter what, or how much, you are feeding her ... as little to none of it is being converted to useful nutrients. She can effectively starve to death because she is expending calories trying to digest food that can not be digested. If this is the case, the more you feed her, the more weight she will lose.

There is treatment for this condition ... IF it is properly diagnosed in time.

Tony A-



I've seen this before and your pup is just the right age for onset of the problem.

Answer 4

OK there are skinny pit bulls and there are chunky pit bulls. That's because there really is no breed standard for pitties (which indeed are wonderful pets).

Panda happens to be a "skinny" pit bull. But how skinny? I mean, does she look emaciated or is that in your eyes only. Seriously - how many gawky teenage kids have you seen only to watch them fill out later on?

As long as she is well fed and healthy in every other way, she'll be fine. And by the time she's a couple of years old, she'll have filled out nicely. But do have her - and your other pitties - spayed/neutered (if you haven't already)

Answer 5

look at the fat content in the food. Is it fairly high up? The more fat a dog food or puppy food has, the more weight the dog should put on. If it has a fairly high fat percentage, yet she's still skinny, try switching foods to something more rich, yet hollistic and all natural. Try switching to Solid Gold or Wellness or something around there.

If none of those works, try switching to a Large Breed Puppy food. It will have more protien and more fat than what a regular puppy food would have

@Rocco
You have just showed how STUPID and IGNORANT some people can be. It's NOT the DOG that is evil, it's the OWNERS who TEACH the dog to bite and attack things. Pitbulls can be GREAT dogs! They are one of my favorites. ANY dog, whether a Pit, Pomeranian, Lab, Chow, Yorkie, and so on, can be evil...IF the owner TEACHES them to be

Answer 6

My dog has lots of allergies and every time he has a bad bout with his allergies, he looses weight and won't gain it back. The following recipe I obtained at an AKC meeting. It can be cut in half or quarters and frozen in packages. The ingredients are just mixed together and fed to the dog raw. Hope this helps.

10 pounds of fatty hamburger
1 large box of Total Cereal
1 large box of Quaker Old Fashioned Oatmeal
10 packets of non-flavored gelatin
10 eggs
1 jar of wheat germ
1 cup of safflower oil
1 bottle of molasses

Answer 7

You can use the Satin Balls Diet.

10 pounds hamburger meat [the cheapest kind]
1 lg. box of Total cereal
1 lg. box oatmeal
1 jar of wheat germ
1 1/4 cup veg oil
1 1/4 cup of unsulfured molasses
10 raw eggs
10 envelopes of unflavored gelatin
pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients together, much like you would a meatloaf.

Divide into 10 quart freezer bags and freeze.

Thaw as needed and feed.

That whole recipe costs about $30, and should last your dog a good little while.

This diet is what I used to get weight back on my dog after she was sick, and it works great and her coat was SO soft and shiney after eating this for a week.

Rocco, there are no bad dogs, only bad owners. My neighbor raises Pit bulls and they are some of the gentlest dogs around, because he loves them, and doesn't hit them and abuse or neglect them or teach them to attack and kill.

Answer 8

i have a pitbull and im not exactly an expert on them but ive noticed that she doesnt really gedt fatter she just seems to get more muscular and shes about 4 months old i think if you just give her some time shes still a puppy if she gets closer to 9 months or a yr then b worried o and rocco mccock face or what ever your name is shut up u obviosly are some over protective little girl who is afraid of every thing th news tells you to be

Answer 9

My vet told me to feed my puppy 4 times a day, but ask your vet what kind of DOG food he recommends. Also, pit bulls are wonderful pets, so good choice!!

Answer 10

How funny my pitty won't stop eating! I would reccomend getting some puppy formula and either giving it to her to drink or mixing it with her food. Also make sure you are feeding her a high quality puppy food and check at your local pet store for other supplements.