High Calorie Dog Food: Is it Suitable For Your Dog?
Most dogs don’t need high calorie dog food; these are given in certain special situations. If you are particularly looking for high calorie food, it is a possibility that you won’t find it in most pet stores. But you should instead look for high protein dog food; it is technically the same thing.
If your dog is in need of weight gain, then some good quality high, protein dog food is just what they would need. So let’s scroll down and find out the best high calorie dog food and whether it is suitable for your dog or not.
What Are The Reasons For Weight Loss In Dogs?
There can be a number of reasons why a dog is losing weight and is in need of high calorie dog food. Normally a dog becomes “clinically significant” when its weight loss is more than 10% of its normal body weight.
For those looking to address their dog’s nutritional needs, consider exploring options like probiotics chews for dogs, which can not only aid in weight management but also contribute to overall digestive health for your furry friend. It’s a tasty and beneficial solution to support your dog’s well-being.
Let’s say, for example, a Labrador loses more than 7 to 8 pounds from its normal body weight. It can be very concerning. But in the case of a Yorkshire Terrier, even a 1 pound weight loss is dangerous for them.
Normally a dog loses weight when its calorie intake is less than its daily calorie burn. This is the reason why dog breeds such as German Shepherds, Labrador Retrievers, and Dobermans, who are more active breeds, need more high calorie dog food to keep up with their calorie burn.
Few reasons for unhealthy weight loss.
🐶 Low-quality or inadequate food intake.
🐶 Less food intake due to some dental issues.
🐶 Poor absorption or digestion of nutrients.
🐶 Continued exposure to lower temperatures.
🐶 Dealing with acute vomiting or even diarrhea.
🐶 Prolonged stress and anxiety, which resulted in an eating disorder.
How To Help Your Dog Gain A Few Pounds?
It is always advised to contact your vet for a proper diagnosis of the problem and then take the necessary steps needed. Even if any medical treatment is needed, here are a few things you can do to ensure weight gain.
🐶 Improve the quality of food you are providing your dog for better digestion.
🐶 If they have problems with digestion or an eating disorder, feed smaller amounts of meals 3 or 4 times a day rather than bigger meals.
🐶 Help your dog to do as much healthy exercise as possible to increase their appetite and build muscles.
🐶 Make their food more appealing by adding high calorie wet dog toppers on top of the food.
🐶 You can even feed your dog high calories dog food in smaller quantities all day.
High Calorie Dog Food: For Weight Gain
If you are looking forward to gaining a few pounds for your dog, then the best way is to give it a high protein content diet. And if you are already doing that, then you can just add a little extra to it.
You can even give your dog a few nutrient supplements that will enrich their diet and help them gain the ideal weight. Rather than high calorie canned dog food, you can give high protein content dog food so as to avoid any extra calories.
Here are a few things that help in weight gain.
🐶 Slightly cooked or raw protein.
🐶 Scrambled or raw eggs. They are full of nutrients and protein.
🐶 You can feed your dog cottage cheese as it contains good fat.
🐶 Quinoa works great for dogs as it is the only carbohydrate that has the necessary amino acids required for muscle build-up.
High Calorie Dog Food: For Sick Dogs
If your dog is dealing with some sickness or any illness, there is a big chance that it will lose weight due to a lack of appetite. So if that is the reason for your dog’s weight loss, then the first thing you need to do is handle the sickness first.
If the sickness is taken care of, then the appetite will also return and gain the weight back again. Once your dog is on the path to recovery, you can now focus on increasing the lost weight back. For doing so, select a few high calorie dog food and aid your dog in gaining weight.
High Calorie Dog Food: For Older Dogs
Once your dog is gradually crossing its youth and moving towards its old age, you will start to notice a few health problems arising. Certain health problems such as dental problems, skin conditions, and also poor vision.
Weight loss is also a very common side effect of old age, and also digestive issues can contribute to weight loss. As the dog gradually grows older, its ability to digest or absorb nutrients reduces.
Hence, in that case, you need to adjust your diet to adjust to your dog’s growing age and reducing health. Before any type of high calorie dog food, it is better to talk to your vet first. It has been seen that high calorie diets for older dogs have more protein content in them.
High Calorie Dog Food: For Puppies
When you are buying puppy food, you will see it has high calorie content, more than that of normal adult dog food. These extra calories and protein will help the puppy to grow up faster and build its muscles.
Puppy food is generally high in amino acids and protein to help the puppy put on a healthy weight to keep up with its active daily life. Make sure not to overindulge in the puppy food and try to make it grow faster than normal; let them grow at their own pace.
How To Choose The Best Dog Food For Your Dog?
It is very important that your dog gain a healthy weight, and in order to do that, you have to provide a healthy food diet with calories and proteins also amino acids.
1. Quality Over Quantity
Whenever you are buying high calorie dog food for weight gain, you need to endure that it is of the best quality. The serving portion of the dog food is not the only way to increase its weight; you need to make sure that the food is of great quality. A few of the best dog foods are, Bully dog food,
2. Adequate Protein Is Needed
At least 30% of a dog’s diet should contain protein. It helps in building up muscles and putting on healthy fat. Always make sure to check the label of the item before buying it to know the protein content in the dog food and miracle vet high calorie dog food.
3. Make Slow Changes
If you are thinking of changing the diet of your dog, then you need to do it gradually and very slowly, or else it will cause it stress. Your dog might not wanna eat anything and then become skinnier.
4. No Junk Foods
It is always advised that you should never give your dog junk food. They are definitely not healthy and contain no important nutrients as such. Junk food contains fat, but they are definitely not healthy, nor do they help in gaining muscles.
5. Supplements Are The Key
Maybe to avoid giving your dog any sort of stress, you don’t wanna change its diet, so the best alternative option in such cases is giving supplements.
You can easily mix these supplements with dog food and give them to your dog. Supplements are available in all forms, from pills and liquid to even powder form.
Alternatives That You Need To Know About
Apart from high calorie dogs foods, there are other alternatives that you can try. With high calorie foods, there always runs a risk of developing co-morbidities like heart and digestive issues. This in turn can prove detrimental for your pooch.
Before you rush to the market, just know that such a supplement can be only prescribed to dogs that are gravely under optimal weight index. You would find several dog or pet owners give these supplements to their dogs in order to make them look more intimidating and big. However, as a pet owner, this is a highly unethical practice as it can risk the life of your pet. So before going for any of the supplements listed here, consider consulting a doctor for the best advice
With that in mind, here is a list of some of the supplements that you can consider for your pup’s weight gain.
- PET CARE Sciences Dog Weight Gainer: The company claims that this is the safest and most effective way of making your dog gain weight. This is a high-quality supplement that is rich in proteins. fats, and Vitamins that promote healthy weight gain.
- PetAg DYNE: This is a liquid supplement that you can give your dog along with the food that you are giving him. Unlike most other supplements, Dyne is actually made with high-quality organic materials in order to promote safer weight-gaining journey.
- Miracle VET Weight Gain & Recovery Chews: This would be the most convenient way that you can opt for. Here, the supplement comes as chews that would not only provide necessary vitamins and minerals. But will also keep your pooch engaged for hours.
Products That You Need To Know About.
Now that you know everything there is to know about high calorie dog food. I think that you are ready to know the names of some of the highest quality dog foods meant for dogs in order to help them gain weight.
- Bully Max Dog Food: This is the most popular choice for dog owners who want their dog to gain lean muscle mass. Therefore, these are perfect if you are one of them. The food is filled with proteins and natural vegetable fibres that your dog needs. However, this is very expensive. Still, given the value that it adds to your dog’s health, the cost outweighs the value.
- Wellness Store’s CORE Grain-Free Dry Dog Food: This dog food contains at least 15% fat. Therefore, it is perfect for dogs that are dangerously underweight. However, if your dog is already a chonky one, this probably is not the one you must gravitate towards. It can turn your dog into obese, which would then affect the overall health.
Wrapping Up!
When it comes to your dogs, trust me, I know that you would wanna give the best of everything. That is what I do for my dog, and I give him high calorie dog food when he lost a few pounds due to digestive problems.
So don’t worry while choosing the best dog food, but if you need help, just ask your vet. If you find this article helpful, then let me know in the comment section whether your dog’s health is better or not.
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