Have you ever thought about fattening a dog? Well, however, absurd this may sound, it is important to consider fattening your dog especially if they are skinny. Some dogs are genetically skinny because of their genetic makeup. However, others are skinny because of malnutrition or consumption of less food below the dietary requirements.

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One important thing to note is that the weight of your dog is dependent on the food that the dog consumes. This means that if the dog is consuming much of filler foods such as grains, then they tend to grow skinny. Therefore, it is important to adjust the diet for your dog to make then fat and healthy. By putting much of our focus on the weight of the dog, the assumption might be keeping the dog from being overweight! However, you have to realize that an underweight dog should raise the same concerns as that which is overweight. This means that the process of fattening the dog has to be done just right.

I. Four steps to fatten up your dog

1. Figure out the cause of the dog’s loss of weight

The first thing that you have to do is to monitor the dog in such a manner to unravel any underlying issues that may be contributing to their weight loss. This makes it very easy for the problem to be fixed. The best way to achieve this is by first assessing the overall health of the dog through signs and symptoms such as a decrease in appetite, vomiting, diarrhea. This way, you will discover what disease the dog may be suffering from and getting the advice from a vet on how to improve the dog’s appetite and boost their weight and health.

2. Adjust the calories you give your dog

The second thing that you do to fatten the dog is to assess the actual weight of your dog relative to the ideal weight of that breed of dogs. This way, you can determine whether it is the breed that behaves this way or there is an underlying abnormality. Next is checking the food packaging against the ideal weight of the dog. This is to ensure that the dog is getting the required amount of calories per meal based on their body weight. Make a clear comparison of what the dog has been feeding on against what is recommended. This will allow you to measure the food portions accurately to get the correct daily food allowance. Then make a decision on how to increase the food allowance gradually to maintain the bowel balance thus ensuring the safety of the dog.

3. Change the dog’s diet

One thing that you have to note is that feeding the dog the same food over and over often is not healthy. This means that you have to invest in dog vitamin B-rich foods such as beef, chicken liver among other snacks at least thrice a week. Then follow this with a gradual transition to high-energy foods. These foods have a high caloric content and thus ensuring easy absorption and assimilation into the body. This in effect prevents emaciation by giving the dog extra weight. Another trick is switching the dog from dry to wet foods that are vet-approved for homemade recipes to stimulate their appetite.

4. Address the dog’s basic health issues

It is important to pay close attention to the overall health of the dog. The best ways in which you can do this is by giving the dog basic vitamin supplements that will in turn stimulate the enzyme system boosting their appetite and energy metabolism required for growth and maintenance. Regularly deworm the dog using de-wormer medications to eliminate the worms’ competition for food in dog’s bowel causing poor conditions. You have to bear in mind that dogs that are actively working, lactating or travelling require much energy. This means that you can give them energy supplements rich in carbohydrates and vitamins for growth.

II. Conclusion

Typically, it is required that dog packs on weight as their bodies require a wide range of essential nutrients for a healthy body. However, a lack of these nutrients in their diet can cause myriads of issues that could inflict suffering on the dog. Any dog lover will agree with me that seeing a malnourished dog is heartbreaking. We have seen some dogs that are taken to a rescue facility or a dog shelter when they look severely underweight. This does not automatically mean that the dog is sick but could be because the dog did not have access to sufficient food. In other cases, the dog could be ravaged by parasites or even serious diseases as cancer. Irrespective of what the main issue is, it is important to plan on having the dog checked by a veterinarian. This permits one to rule out issues that could be associated with severe loss of weight. This way, you get the ability to build on a highly specified diet to get the dog fat and healthy using the simple ways we have discussed.