Won't Gain Weight.

[lostinutopia]

Hey there,

My Siberian Husky (age 2) is a very active dog. He seems for the most part fine and he always eats when we feed him. We usually feed him alot of table scraps and dog food (about 4 cups a day). The thing is he looks really thin and I've increased his dog food to 6 cups a day in total. I don't think he has worms, his teeth look fine and his belly isn't round. My mom recommended we switch to "active" dog food formula instead of just "regular" or "original". Is there any healthy way I can help him put on some weight? Like I said, he doesn't seem weak at all just really thin.

[Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A]

This is a problem that everyone who has ever struggled to lose weight (including myself) wishes they had!

I would have your dog dewormed even if you believe he does not have parasites, just in case.  Having a fecal sample performed would be a good idea, but tape worm is very difficult to find in a stool sample, so even if the fecal result was negative, your dog could still have parasites.  Drontal Plus anti-parasitic medication would be a good choice since it kills tape worm.

Inexpensive dry dog food may contain a lot of fillers that may not fill your dog up.  I don't advocate an all dry diet either.  Two thirds of every dog's food should be wet, or canned, and only one third should be dry.  Brushing the dog's teeth and good teeth genes are what keeps dog's teeth clean, not dry food unless it is a tartar diet.

Try using a performance quality dry and canned food.  Evo/Innova, Wellness, Natures Variety, California Naturals, to name a few are good quality foods.

[lostinutopia]

Thanks so much for the suggestion! I will definitely get him checked for worms this up coming week. I didn't think of organic dog food, but it does make sense. He eats so much and he's still so thin. I'm going to try the Evo dog food for now.

Thanks again :)