My puppy is "thin", according to the vet......

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My puppy is "thin", according to the vet......

Posted : 8/26/2006 7:03:48 AM

We took 12-week old Rudy (long-haired chihuahua mix) to the vet yesterday, and after examining him, the vet looked me square in the eye and said, "This dog is too thin!" in a very accusatory manner!

I had to remind her that JUST LAST WEEK he was treated for a tapeworm, and couldn't that have something to do with it?!?!

I think she felt stupid after that, but she didn't concede. She made me feel like I was starving my puppy. I told her that, because he's a tiny breed, we keep food and water out for him all day, and it seems to us that he eats quite a bit! I told her I felt confident attributing the poor weight gain to the recent tapeworm incident. She said that MAYBE that had something to do with it. MAYBE?

Anyway, she told us to feed him some wet food once a day to help him gain weight. My DDs hate the way it smells - LOL!

BTW, he weighs 2.8 pounds!

mrv

Posted : 8/26/2006 7:11:24 AM

little puppies can go hypoglycemic (sp) very quickly. adding some calories via treats during multiple short training sessions during the day may be an option to prevent any low sugar complications. I would still free feed a toy puppy until they were 5-6 months old. Then I would switch to multiple timed accesses (4 a day about 20 minutes). If you continue to free feed in adulthood, I respectfully suggest measuring in the AM and that is the ration for the day.

Xerxes

Posted : 8/26/2006 7:59:01 AM

Certain breeds will eat much less during the warmer months than at any other time. If you follow the suggestions above and don't notice any weight gain, I would get a full blood panel done. There are many possibilities as to the "why" he would be thin. Just keep a close eye for other symptoms (watery stool, listlessness, etc...)