Dog Food Supplements for Weight Gain

There are many reasons your dog could have trouble gaining weight.  Like with humans, people tend to focus more on overweight dogs than underweight dogs, but underweight dogs shouldn’t be overlooked.  Luckily there are some supplements to help a dog that is underweight gain a few pounds to get into a normal weight range.

This article will explore the best dog food supplements for weight gain as well as some tips for you to help your dog gain weight.

*This article may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of the links I get a small commission at no additional cost to you 🙂 .

Reasons Why Your Dog May Need to Gain Weight

Your dog is a picky eater

Just like people like certain foods and dislike other foods, dogs can be the same way.  Some dogs are just pickier about what they will eat. 

Until you can discover what your pup likes, they may not be consuming as much and may lose weight from not getting enough calories on a daily basis.

Your dog is a slow eater

On the other hand, some dogs eat super slow.  When your dog is a slow eater, they may not finish all of their food before they are ready to move on to something else.  Accordingly, slow eaters may also have trouble getting the calories they need to keep at a healthy weight.

Your dog is a rescue

Rescues can be wonderful additions to our families.  However, sometimes these dogs come from bad or neglectful situations where they weren’t getting fed enough so they are malnourished. 

Your dog is stressed

If you have a dog that has separation anxiety, or easily gets stressed out, that can affect their desire to eat.  Just like some people eat more or less when stressed, the same thing goes for dogs. 

When your dog is stressed and they are given food, they may not have the desire to eat until the stressor goes away.  If your dog is often stressed and not eating enough this can contribute to their weight loss.

Your dog has or had health issues

Unfortunately, our dogs can also get health issues that affect their appetite or cause them to lose weight.  Illness takes a toll on our dogs’ bodies, and sometimes they may need some additional supplements to help them gain weight while overcoming a health challenge.

Your dog is fatigued

Is your dog tired all the time?  If so, definitely talk to your vet to make sure nothing serious is wrong with them.  However, sometimes your dog just isn’t getting enough calories to sustain their energy level. 

Just like we have less energy if we haven’t eaten enough all day, our dogs can suffer from fatigue if they aren’t getting enough to eat, and not getting enough to eat long term can lead to weight loss.

You can see your dog’s ribs

If you can visibly see your dog’s ribs when looking at them, they need to gain weight.   A dog with noticeable ribs is malnourished and you should talk to your vet about how to get them up to a healthy weight safely.

Tips to Help your Dog Gain Weight

Higher calorie dog food

The dog food your feed is one of the most important things to look it when you are trying to help your dog gain weight.  If you aren’t feeding your pooch enough calories, it will simply be harder for them to gain weight.  Look for a dog food that has a high protein and high calorie count to help your dog gain weight.

Check out this article on the best food for German Shepherds to gain weight if you want to learn more about this topic.

Regular feeding schedule

Regular feeding is key to your dog’s ability to maintain or gain weight.  As people if we only ate one small meal a day, most of us would lose weight.  The same goes for our dogs. 

They need a regular feeding schedule and we need to make sure we are feeding them the correct amount of food for their size and age.

Give them healthy treats

Treats are a great way to get your dog more calories during the day.  However, you want to make sure you are giving healthy treats that are good for your dog in the process. 

Regular exercise

Regular exercise is another great tip to help your dog gain weight.  Think about it, when we workout we get hungrier because we have burned off a lot of our stored-up energy reserves so they need to be replaced by eating. 

If you keep your dog active during the day, they will be hungrier when it is time to eat, and thus may eat more even if they are a picky eater. 

4 Best Dog Food Supplements for Weight Gain

MVP K9 Formula Mass Supplement

The MVP K9 supplement is a powdered mixture of healthy fats, whey protein, and BCCA’s. 

There are no fillers, salts, or sugars making this a safe and healthy supplement to give your pooch. 

The MVP K9 supplement also will help give your dog more energy, which will also help them be hungrier at mealtimes. 

Buy this supplement with confidence because they offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee and will give you a full refund if unsatisfied.  They stand by their product and guarantee your dog will gain weight with this supplement.

Bully Max Supplement

Bully Max focuses on muscle growth and boosting the immune health of our dogs.  In addition, it has other benefits of helping bone nourishment and helping your dog’s coat and skin. 

Although this supplement is focused on muscle and immune health, it also helps promote a healthy weight gain in dogs.  This supplement is sucrose, trans fat, and corn syrup free so it is healthy to give our dogs!

Dyne Liquid Supplement

The liquid comes in a vanilla flavoring that even the picky dogs love.  The Dyne supplement is high in fat and added vitamins, so your dog is getting good calories not empty calories for a healthy weight gain.

This supplement is also good for nursing dogs as it helps give them the extra nutrition they need to be able to feed their new pups and recover from birth.

Miracle Vet Supplement

This supplement is in a liquid form so it is easy to give to your pup directly or over top of their food.  Miracle Vet is a 100% natural supplement that has 29 vitamins and minerals and is suitable for all breeds and dog ages.

If you are looking to help your dog gain weight as well as increase your dog’s energy, improve their coat, decrease joint problems, and increase energy this is a great supplement to try!

Instructions for Giving your Dog a Supplement for Weight Gain

Talk with your vet before starting any supplement

As always, before making any big change that can affect your dog’s health, you should talk to your veterinarian. 

First, you want to make sure there are no underlying health issues that are making it hard for your dog to gain weight. 

Second, you want to make sure that any supplement you give them is approved by your vet as being safe and get their input on how much to give and for how long.

Follow the instructions

Always follow the instructions for any supplement.  Never give your dog more than what is recommended unless doing so is prescribed by your veterinarian.

Start slowly

When starting something new, it is best to start slowly.  This goes for both dog food and dog supplements.  

Just like you don’t change your dog’s food overnight, you shouldn’t introduce too much of a new supplement at first. 

Try half of the recommended dose to start and then build-up to the full dose once you see that the supplement agrees with your dog and they aren’t having any negative reactions.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully this article helped give you some insight on some dog food supplements for weight gain as well as things you can do outside of supplements to help your dog put on some pounds. 

A dog food supplement is a great option for those picky and slow eaters who may not eat enough to gain weight just on the calories they are consuming. 

Remember to be sure to talk to your vet to rule out any health conditions that may be inhibiting your dog from gaining weight.

What dog food supplement worked to help your dog gain weight?  Let me know in the comments!