# underweight



## Jamie (Jan 25, 2017)

My 12 week cockapoo is underweight- 3.5 kg and doesn't gain, though he seems well enough in himself and is growing. I'm anxious because he wouldn't eat the food the breeder sent down (Dr John's) and will eat everything else but it's a long haul because he has loose stools from the diet change. I tried to do it gradually but the stools are no better. He won't eat 4 meals a day. He likes 'wet' food but I'm worried because the vet says to stick to the dried. Help! How can I put weight on him?


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## Lexi&Beemer (May 5, 2013)

I switched mine pretty quickly as the food the breeders fed them was not good quality food. My Beemer was a real picky eater and was always always lean. At one point the vet told me to put some weight on him and his stomach would not tolerate more than 2/3 cup of dry food a day. I switched him to a raw diet and that did wonders. It also helped me figure out that he is sensitive to turkey and chicken. Well some form of chicken is pretty much in everything, so that may not have helped. Since on a raw diet, Beemer is no longer picky (though we rotate proteins every meal) and has been able to put on weight. He also stopped having runny poos. 


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## HenryPup27 (Sep 28, 2016)

We had this exact same problem with Henry when he was little. He didn't like the food that the breeder had him on either (Burns dry food) so we changed him slowly to James Wellbeloved dry food but then he ended up not keen on that either. It was a struggle to get him to eat anything, we tried soaking it and also giving it to him dry, but he wasn't keen either way. Mealtimes were a calm affair on purpose to limit distractions, but it seemed like he thought there were a million other more exciting things he wanted to do except eat. A lot of the time we had to make it into a game in order to get something down him! A few months ago (Henry has just turned a year old), I did some more research and came across Akela food, which is a raw diet but in dry form, and it was a winner hands down! We ordered some samples first and he hoovered them up! Success! He now eats two portions a day to make up the amount he should be eating at his age. It has become apparent that he's not really a breakfast-y kind of dog, I have to really encourage him to eat it, and most of the time he'll eat half. I take it up and give him the rest at lunchtime (unsoaked) which he scoffs down because we've usually had our walk by then. And then the evening meal is soaked in hot water and then cooled down...he eats that in less than 30 seconds flat! They also do fishy bites, so he'll get one of those with dinner occasionally. He always eats that first!

I think it's just a case of finding the right food, and making sure he is in a nice calm environment without any distractions. If you have to sit with him to reassure him, then do that if it means he will eat something. Our vet told us Henry was too skinny when he was about 12 weeks too. I used to give him a few biscuits here and there, and because we were training he would get some good quality treats too, so I think that helped to bring his weight up a little in the early days. Henry was definitely more interested in food when he was having a little growth spurt though. He's still very slim now, but has more muscle tone and is about the right weight for his age and height.

With regards to the poops, Henry had really loose ones too when he was on the Burns and the James Wellbeloved...sorry for the description but when we were out on walks some were like the consistency of shaving foam! Some of this is down to excitement of course, but once we changed to Akela that went away completely, and now they are proper poops, ha! Thank goodness!! 

If you try the Akela food, follow their instructions and change him over nice and slowly. I would recommend it 100%, Henry won't ever have anything else now, he loves it! Suffolk Duck is his favourite, then Original, then Fish flavour. The list of ingredients is just amazing, such good stuff! We even changed our cat over to the cat version.

Good luck. Remember he is still only little and it will take some time for things to settle down, there's so much to see and do in the world that eating might be taking a back seat for now!


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## sunnydayswithseth (Feb 6, 2017)

We have a 10 wk old Cockapoo and have just changed him over to Guru food, after seeing it recommended on this forum. He is really thriving on it, gaining weight steadily and he certainly eats it alot quicker than he did the Royal Canin he arrived on. We've gradually introduced it to his food and currently have. 75% to 25% mix, so it's nearly all Guru. Because he is a puppy, we add some boiling water to his food to soften it but this will gradually stop. Maybe worth considering if your pup prefers his food watered down a bit? 

Seth's bowel movements have been much better since we changed over too and he goes much less often, but more regularly. It seems to be working!

I can understand why you're anxious about the whole thing, it's hard trying to figure out what the right thing to do is. Hope you find a solution soon! 

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## Jamie (Jan 25, 2017)

Thanks to all of you- very reassuring. He really loves food, (apart from Dr John's) so that is not a problem. I have put him on plain boiled rice and organic chicken with the broth for 24 hours as his poo was getting steadily worse. It looks like his tummy doesn't tolerate dried food- I had been recommended a raw diet and will try the Akela, introducing it very slowly when I can get some. Many thanks again.


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## Jamie (Jan 25, 2017)

Thanks to all the very helpful replies. Another vet in the practice put him on Hills i/d Turkey and he now weighs in at 4.174 kg (14 weeks) so he is growing a bit though still thin. So far the only food I have been able to add (a teaspoon at a time) is Wolf of Wilderness which is tinned but otherwise supposed to be natural food. I'm wondering if he is actually intolerant of chicken. (Vet had said to wean him on more substantial food). Just ordered a sample pack of Akela, which sounds similar to the Wolf one though dry.


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## sunnydayswithseth (Feb 6, 2017)

Jamie said:


> Thanks to all the very helpful replies. Another vet in the practice put him on Hills i/d Turkey and he now weighs in at 4.174 kg (14 weeks) so he is growing a bit though still thin. So far the only food I have been able to add (a teaspoon at a time) is Wolf of Wilderness which is tinned but otherwise supposed to be natural food. I'm wondering if he is actually intolerant of chicken. (Vet had said to wean him on more substantial food). Just ordered a sample pack of Akela, which sounds similar to the Wolf one though dry.


Our pup is 13 weeks tomorrow and is only 4.1kgs so he's quite small too. He's only put on 1kg since we brought him home but my vet is happy enough with his size and weight gain. He is certainly happy in himself, although he would try to eat anything! He has been weaned onto Guru food which seems to satisfy him more now that we're down to three meals, although I'm still feeding him slightly more than the recommended amount because he seems so hungry. Not sure what his weight gain should be at this stage? Hope you have some success with the new food, it's a minefield trying to pick the right one! 

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## Jamie (Jan 25, 2017)

Thank you to all who posted. Jules has been on 'raw' food (I still put boiling water on it very briefly) for over a month and now weighs in at 8 kg at 32 weeks-about 8 months. He still has three meals, but the improvement is very noticeable. The supplier I have used is excellent but beyond belief expensive, so am going to move to a local one in due course. Not sure if it's chicken he can't tolerate or if it was just the dried food in general but will skip the chicken for now. Very relieved.


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