# Puppy is under weight?



## t0ny (Mar 29, 2011)

My puppy Chase will turn 1 year old on the 25th I recently went to the vet and was told he was under weight. He weighs 6.2 lbs and has a long coat so it seems like he weighs more. The problem is that if you feel his body you can feel his bones sticking out. I am currently feeding him Nutro Natural Choice Lamb Meal & Rice Puppy Food. Any recommendations on a food change?

Also recently his breathe started to smell really bad and its kind of hard to brush him because he would refuse to let me do so. Any advice on something for bad breathe?


----------



## Snowbody (Jan 3, 2009)

At one point the vet said Tyler was too thin and to increase the amount of food he was eating. That did the trick.Nutro's really not a very good food. Check some of the threads here on food and find something better. There are other great choices. Just transition gradually. As far as breath goes, did the vet look at his teeth? Sounds like he might need a dental if it smells really bad. Have the vet check that. You need to try to diligently brush the teeth every day but also some dogs are more prone to decay. Some people us Leba III system or Petzlife.


----------



## Bonnie's Mommie (Mar 2, 2006)

I was thinking the same thing as Sue, about the bad breath and dental.

As far as him being underweight, that's easy - just feed him more, lol! And yes, try a different food; there are some great high quality foods out there.


----------



## t0ny (Mar 29, 2011)

I always leave a bowl of food out for him and he eats about a bowl a day. Is there a type of food with higher calories that I can look into feeding him?


----------



## Summergirl73 (Sep 18, 2011)

You may want to consider Natural Balance from Petco (it comes in a roll - kinda like a sausage roll). You can add this to his current Nutro and that should plump him up nicely (without a big diet change). We have a 15 year old and a 6 month old and they both absolutely love it. Our 15 year old is winding down and it's tricky keeping weight on him....the Natural Balance has been a God send (and even helped some upset tummy issues). Oh and they have a little $1 trial size you can pick up and try. Hope this helps


----------



## Cosy (Feb 9, 2006)

I would get him off that food and onto a premium food. TO name a few...Natural Balance (kibble, canned and roll), Blue Buffalo, Royal Canine. I feed Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Venison kibble and also feed a few veggies and a little fruit most days. They usually love green beans, broccoli, spinach (cooked) and apples (no skin)and bananas. You can find other suggestions by searching nutrition and foods on this forum.


----------



## edelweiss (Apr 23, 2010)

It is a little unusual for a 1 yr. old puppy to have issues w/his teeth (bad breath), but not impossible. Do you brush them regularly?
My other thought is bad breath can come from the digestive tract also---gut, liver, kidneys. Did you mention this to your vet and do a full chemical blood panel? Just a thought.
Also did you do the BAT as a base-line earlier?


----------



## beckinwolf (Sep 2, 2008)

You should have the vet check his teeth. Since he is only a year old, he might have some retained baby teeth that are interferring with his adult teeth. If he has both baby teeth and adult teeth sometimes food can get stuck inbetween the two sets of teeth. Also switch to a better food. I usually feed Spot's Stew, Nature's Variety, or Wellness.


----------



## LJSquishy (Feb 27, 2008)

I would switch to a better food. If you only have access to Petsmart, you can try Wellness (grain-free) or Blue Buffalo. Petco has a few more choices, such as Solid Gold, Natural Balance, plus the others I mentioned. If you have a specialty pet supply boutique near you (not one that sells animals), you can try even better brands like Acana grain-free, Orijen, Now! Small Breed, etc. there are many threads here on SM about good foods. And, you will want to increase the amount of food you feed as well.


----------



## t0ny (Mar 29, 2011)

Thanks for the advice. I bought him blue buffalo wilderness the chicken recipe and he is loving it. Hopefully he will be eating a lot more and gain a little weight.


----------



## Sylie (Apr 4, 2011)

beckinwolf said:


> You should have the vet check his teeth. Since he is only a year old, he might have some retained baby teeth that are interferring with his adult teeth. If he has both baby teeth and adult teeth sometimes food can get stuck inbetween the two sets of teeth. Also switch to a better food. I usually feed Spot's Stew, Nature's Variety, or Wellness.


Becky could have a good clue there...retained baby teeth.


----------

