Petco Text Logo
Petco Pet Logo

My healthy dog is underweight. What are the best weight gain foods?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Large (61lb +) | Male | neutered | 3 years and 3 months old | 70 lbs

Bruno has severely lost weight in the past couple months to the point his bones are easily felt. Vet gave him a clean bill of health. He eats twice a day 2 cups each time. And he just turned 3. Vet told me to look into a weight gainer product. What are your recommendations?

This question includes photos that may contain sensitive content. Click to view.

View more to consider that the photos may include sensitive content.

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Image profile

Answered By Ana M, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on January 26th, 2020

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Bruno. If you veterinarian has found him to be healthy, then I recommend feeding a high energy food. Purina ProPlan Performance diet is formulated for athletic dogs. This or something similar should help him gain and maintain weight. I hope this information helps!

Vote icon

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

  • Image profile

    Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

    Veterinarian

    Published on March 11th, 2017

    Unfortunately, without know what type of pet you have, I can't suggest a specific food. I recommend posting again with the type and age of your pet, and I or another expert can offer advice on what food to feed him :-)

    Vote icon

    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

See More Answers

Related Questions

Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Hi, we rescued a dog a little while ago and named him blue. We took him to the vet and they said that he is about 4-5 years old. Its been going great except he hasnt gained much weight and is skinny! Any tips on what to feed him to help him gain wieg
First off, I would check with your vet to make sure that he actually does need to gain weight. I often see dogs that are a very healthy weight but the owners think that their dog needs to gain weight because they are used to seeing overweight dogs. A good rule of thumb is that in short-haired dogs you should be able to actually see the last rib in the rib cage, not just be able to feel ribs. If your vet does indeed think Blue is too thin, he/she may be able to recommend a good high quality prescription diet like Royal Canin High Energy that is designed to provide increased calories without causing digestive problems.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Food & Nutrition
My two dogs don't seem to be putting on any weight. We feed them twice a day we tried 3 times but they didn't want food the third time. We have tried a wet/dry dog food mix nothing. We took them to the vet they both have been dewormed. Do you recomme
If you can’t increase the volume of food the pups will eat, try to increase the calorie content. Also making sure you feed a high quality food will ensure that the pups absorb the nutrients appropriately. I like Royal Canin and Purina Pro Plan. You will find information about the calories on the side of the package. They are called Kcalories in dog food. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Iam feeding my dog grain free dry food high energy cause she is very active but she is getting thiner not fatter what should i do feed her dry food with grain or what?? Note: she doesnt have any problem in her enzymes
As long as she does not have any medical problem for the weight loss, then my favorite for very active high energy dogs has been Purina High Performance dog food. This is formulated for athletes. I have a very active standard poodle who finally gained some weight on this food. As with any diet change please do this slowly over a Week or more to decrease the likelihood of diarrhea. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Hi, how can we help uno to gain some more weight like 2-3 kg's at least ? He is so athletic and running a lot but kinda looks skinny , thanks !
You can speak to your vet about increasing Uno's daily food allowance, or look into a food for high energy and active dogs. I suggest speaking to your vet about it first because you don't want to give him too much food and cause him to gain too much weight :-)
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Food & Nutrition
What’s a good healthy way to get you’re dog to gain weight? She’s completely healthy we recently just went to the vet I just have such a hard time putting weight on her
Getting her spayed would definitely be the most effective and easiest way, if this isn't something you would consider then i would recommend switching to a better quality food such as Orijen, Acana or Taste of the wild.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
How do I get an elderly dog to put on weight, he has had blood work done and all that picked out was his protein level was slightly low, vet didnt suggest anything regarding this, also had a faeces analysis done, came back all normal. I'm feeding Mr
Provide food that is high in calories, like puppy food or a food that’s designed for active, athletic, or working dogs. Higher protein and fat pet foods are best. Underweight pets should be eating foods that are around 30% protein and 20% fat if they’re eating dry kibble; 7% protein and 5% fat (or higher) if you’re feeding a wet food. Intersperse your pet’s diet with small amounts of high-calorie supplemental canned food or canned products made of 100% meat sources. These will have a high protein and fat content, like 100% pheasant or bison, for example. They won’t say “complete and balanced” but rather “for intermittent or supplemental use” because they’re not meant to replace regular feeding. Some moist foods may be easier to digest, so your pet may retain more nutrients, and more importantly these products tend to be more palatable and tempting to a pet who isn’t eating enough. Any diet changes should be done gradually over a week's time as to not cause any GI upset. Hope this
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
hello..i am trying to get my english coonhound to put some weight on.he is an active hunting dog.he is also 2 years old.i have wormed him.i even switched up his food to a 30/20.now my female has no problemkeeping her weight on while being active.i ju
Thank you for submitting your question regarding Yukon. It can be difficult to keep weight on some young very active dogs. First, he should see his veterinarian for blood and urine testing to ensure there is no underlying disease that is affecting him. If he is deemed healthy, then you can consider another brand of food. Some dogs will respond better to one brand over another. I would stay within the performance line of foods though with the 30:20 ratio you are using. You can feed more than the bag recommends if necessary and supplement with canned food. Your goal is to be able to easily feel all of his ribs and see the last few for him to be at a healthy weight. He needs a defined waist from the top and side views as well. Lastly, neutering him will slow his metabolism and result in weight gain. I hope this information helps!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Food & Nutrition
My dog is very skinny, is there anything we need to give him to help him gain weight or do we just continue to feed him on a regular bases?
Weigh loss causes are multiple: insufficient food intake, increased exercise, anorexia, diseases affecting the intestine/pancreas/liver, infections, tumors....To exclude all the health related causes of weight loss a vet check up would be needed. If everything health wise is in order I would recommend to check if the amount of food he is getting is enough for his weight; consider to adjust the dose if needed and/or change the diet completely. Good quality commercial diets (Hill's, Royal Canin) are definitively the best choice to make sure you provide all the nutrients Pancake needs. Please post again on the forum if you would like to discuss it further. I hope my answer was helpful.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Hello I own a small spayed female chow mix. I’ve had her for two years. Shes very high strung and gets nervous and stressed out easily. She’s been very skinny since I got her. I’ve spent a lot of money on high calorie stuff to mix in her food, have t
First make sure she doesn't have parasites and you may consider testing her pancreas as well. It's always best to rule out a medical reason. Otherwise feed her the highest calorie food you can find. Purina ProPlan makes a Sport formula and it has one of the highest calories and contains high quality protein. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
We want to switch our rescue dog's food. He is on ProPlan EN prescription food and we want to find a food that would be easy to switch and we could get at the store. He also needs to put on some weight, he is a black lab mix with hound but very ski
Thanks for using Boop by Petco! I would recommend another of the Purina pro Plan diets which is the Purina Pro Plan shredded blends. This is easily found at a pet store for an affordable price and it is of very good quality. Good luck and have a good night!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
image
Have A Vet Question?

Book an appointment with the pros – our expert vets are here to help.

Book Now

Sponsored