Small puppy. Rnt?

Dr. Marie replied:

Hi Brandi and thanks so much for your question.

There are a few reasons for a puppy to be underweight. However, it is really good that he is eating well as most of the things that would make me concerned would cause a small appetite.

One thing that can cause a dog to be really small is a condition called a portosystemic shunt (or liver shunt). However, this is much more common in little breeds, and usually we will see a poor appetite and other signs of "just not doing well."

Have you had him checked for parasites? Even if he doesn't have diarrhea it is a good idea to have your vet look at a stool sample to be sure that there are no parasites affecting him. There are some parasites that are not killed by regular dewormers so it is still a good idea to do this even if he has been dewormed.

Do you have a way to weigh him every few days? As long as he is gaining weight from this point on then I am not too concerned. Some pups do get off to a slow start. Sometimes one pup can have a hard time nursing because the other pups are more aggressive and hogging the mammary glands, so this could be why he is smaller than the others.

How is his thirst? If you think he drinks a large amount of water then I would highly advise having your vet do some tests to make sure he hasn't been born with a congenital kidney disease. But again, this is quite uncommon.

As far as what to do now, it's all about good nutrition. But, I don't think you need to be adding supplements or anything to his food. He simply needs to be on a good quality puppy food. I like Royal Canin, Science Diet and Iams, but there are several good ones out there.

It sounds like you are doing the right things. So, keep checking his weight. My guess is that he will catch up in no time!

Dr. Marie.


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Dr. Marie replied:

You're very welcome!

It sounds like you are doing all of the right things.

Parasites can cause some failure to gain weight but really it is not usually dramatic. I really think this is more a case of him not nursing as well as the other pups when he was little.

Eating several small meals is actually better for him than eating a massive meal all at once.

Most foods will have a guide on the side of the bag that tells you how much to feed according to his weight. Usually this guide is a little on the high side. So, if he is eating close to this amount then I think all is well. If he is eating quite a bit less then I would suggest adding a canned food like you mentioned.

It's hard to say how much weight we should expect him to gain each week. Really, as long as the weight keeps going up then there is not likely to be a problem.

Hope that helps!

Dr. Marie